Tuesday, November 6, 2018

06/11/2018 Autumn colours and out to lunch - celebrating two birthdays.

Maximum temperature today 14C, minimum 8C.  Rain on and off all day and raining now. 5mm of rain measured this morning; 25km/h South-Easterly winds with up to 49 km/h gusts. 
The sunset a couple of nights back which I had not downloaded.

Driving to the restaurant today trying to get autumn colours avoiding reflection on the windscreen and raindrops!... 

As above.

Driving back home our neighbours walnut tree.

Arriving at St Sornin.  Remember I showed you the pictures of over 800 houses with roofs destroyed during a storm in July, still many are covered with plastic sheeting.....

Some are being worked on...

The restaurant has scaffolding but we were told they still have no date for when work might be done.

The place was packed so luckily we had booked for 4, the two men were celebrating. Jim on the left had his birthday yesterday and Nigel has his on Saturday.
Excellent value €14 each for a 4-course meal including wine and coffee.

The Euonymus back home is showing its autumn colours.

The Acer has silver seeds.

The Stinking Iris (Iridaceae foetidissima) has bright red seeds.

Surprisingly there are still buds on the climbing rose.

The lavender that I grew from seed is still flowering while the old plants were over weeks ago.

Good to see there are still some bees around and a few cosmos for them to collect pollen from....

As above

Last but not least a visitor to the window sill.
Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).
I love the feather definition and the single raindrop on its tail.




I have at last updated my bird blog HERE

21 comments:

  1. Oh, those cosmos are brilliant, Diane, love them! I've never heard of Acer or Stinking Iris, but they're both pretty. Cute bird too. It's great that the town is recovering from the storm, it's definitely a long process. Looks like you had a great time with friends and here's wishing Nigel, Happy Birthday!

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    1. Pam it is a slow recovery for the town, but with only so many roofing guys, and getting the supply of the correct tiles, 800+ roofs is not going to be quick! The stinking iris is wild and spreads easily, we have two Acer trees and they are both very different. Think the cosmos are not going to last much longer, the weather is taking its toll. Will pass the message on to Nigel, thanks. Keep well Diane

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  2. The walnut tree is gorgeous. It's so full and symmetrical.

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    1. I agree it is a beautiful tree and it is huge. Hope you are well Diane

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  3. I would never think you were out to lunch! Now that does seem like great value. I will be having lunch out tomorrow with a friend of mine. It’s something we do about every four to six weeks and it is very pleasant. Tomorrow will be sushi.

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    1. This is a busy week - we also have a repas tomorrow for the club. I will cook a special meal for Nigel on Saturday as we have another repas on Sunday after the commemoration service for Armistice day. We have friends coming here for lunch on the 14th and more friends the following week. A night out on the 25th to see Bohemian Rhapsody. After that we will be thinking of what we need for our trip to the UK! Busy, busy.

      The restaurant at St Sornin is the best value around and always an excellent meal. I love sushi and often make it at home. We have no restaurant nearby that we can have it out.

      Hope all is well Diane

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    2. In the misspent days of my youth I knew a girl who was a Bohemian Rhapsody, let me tell you! I suspect that the musical version has proven a little more durable and remains entertaining.

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  4. It is taking a long time for the repair work to start. The restaurant will be losing its business if the repair work is not done. Happy birthday to the boys. Our weather is also much, much cooler these days.

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    1. Nancy the repair work started long ago, but with only a few specialised roofers and getting a supply of the correct tiles, it is going to take a long time before 800+ houses and businesses are complete. The restaurant was very busy yesterday not a spare table in the place, so they are definitely not losing business. The roof is covered with plastic sheeting, so it is quite dry inside. Take care Diane

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  5. Gosh that must be hard for home owners to have to wait so long to get their roofs fixed Diane, I thought perhaps local tradesmen might get a bit of outside help. Lovely to see there is still some colour in the garden, the bees will be happy too 🐝 Belated birthday wishes to Jim and Nigel. The silver Acer seeds reminded me of a pair of gorgeous drop earrings ✨

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    1. Grace 800 roofs are a lot. It is also the supply of tiles, most areas have their own patterns! If the seeds lasted I could make earrings from them 😉 Take care Diane

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  6. There will also be a very long recovery from hurricane Matthew. Very sad.

    I love your photo's as always, Diane. You have such a great eye!

    Nice to see you and Nigel, and friends. Happy Birthday to both!

    xoxo

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    1. Thnaks Sally, message past on. Take care Diane xx

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  7. Sometimes with insurance and things like that just makes getting repairs done. It took me forever to find someone to do just small jobs around the house for me. Most folks around here want a big job to do....although this looks like a big job. Beautiful nature pics. You know I love those shots. Hoping you are having a great day.

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    1. It is just soooooo much work and not only th nimber of workrs involved but the supply of tiles. Thanks Pam and I hope you have a great weekend Diane

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  8. Great variety n this post, Diane! Happy birthday to Nigel this weekend!

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    1. Thanks Marie and message past on. Keep well Diane

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  9. I wish we could get a good lunch at that sort of price, Diane. It seems, in the Midlands, that quantity takes precedence over quality when dining out, and even then it's not that cheap.

    My best wishes to Nigel for a happy birthday tomorrow! - - - Richard

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    1. We have several good places that we can go to for reasonable prices, this is one of the best and it is the closest. The wine alone over there is the cost of our meal. Nigel says thanks for the good wishes. Have a great weekend Diane

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  10. The blue tit is awesome, and you know how much I love your bee photos, Diane. Happy birthday to the two men. Hugs, my friend.

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  11. The sunset matches your brilliant Autumn colors. Happy belated birthday Nigel!

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