Month: April 2012
Hippity-hop-hop
And I am not talking Beyoncé! That would be Remi, Ben and I as we are out the door and hopping along down the bunny trail. We are taking a well-deserved breather. Hooray! I hope to be posting while on the road but wanted to be sure to wish all of you that are celebrating a Happy Easter and a Peaceful Passover. For all of us, this weekend is a wonderful opportunity to stop and appreciate regeneration and rejuvenation. Life keeps going, breathing and blooming. Have a wonderful time everyone!
Ardeche under the trees
The rain is a coming down outside my window but I am certainly not complaining. No. The land in the surrounding Alpilles is so parched, it is as brown as burnt butter. So I know that today is a good day, one to help the wild things grow.
And besides, I have so many wonderful memories to keep me warm–enough to last the winter that we didn’t have! Do you remember my tiny video for Dejeuner sur la herbe? With the birds chirping insistently and the blossoms floating by?
We had headed to the Ardeche after a week that was so rotten that we had to drive into a neighbouring province to try and escape it. But Life can give us such gifts. Just to say, “Hold on, it will be all right”. It was such a day. And there was even a touch of mystery in the old stones surrounding us. Celtic marks dating back two thousand years. No one knows what they mean.
“I’ll be right here,” I called out to Remi as he picked up his tripod and camera. “I’m not going anywhere,” I added, half-giggling and leaned back into the petal-strewn grass.
How wonderful are those rare moments when vision softens into mere lines traced on the sky and there is no pressure to make rhyme or reason out of what is being seen or felt. Senses are awakened only to go back to sleep again.
Little prickles of fallen branches and the soft smush of moss under head. The worn husks of almonds already emptied of their treasures by an early harvest. Perfume carried past and then gone.
Ben arrived next to me with a thud. Panting. Tired of following Remi around aimlessly in the hot sun. And knowing that there were probably still some crumbs from our lunch that could soon be his if only he looked cute enough. He did.
I am not sure how long I laid there. Quite sometime. At some point I raised my head to see a chipper family winding their way back to the beautiful bastide on the back of the property after a long bike ride. Their happiness mirrored my own and I feel it again, fresh, as I type. No amount of gray capped skies can push that out of me. Let it rain!
Red and gold
A little Monday sized post to send some warmth to whomever needs it. According to my friend Debra at Acquired Objects, spring is not yet in full bloom everywhere despite her early advances.
I never take the light for granted in Provence but it still can surprise me in its depth and variations.
These two buildings are just off the Rhone in Arles. Sadly, they are always closed up. For me, they are far too lovely to not be lived in but apparently the owner doesn’t agree.
I find such beauty in the patina of paint and lime wash scraped away by hard winds and time’s wings.
Even in the shadows, I felt the heat of red and gold searing out of the stones.
Wishing everyone a lovely week ahead. More soon when my pollen dusted head is in less of a muddle!