Sunday, January 10, 2021

10/01/2021 Trying to catch up......

   Maximum temperature here today 3⁰C, minimum -2⁰C.  Dry  26km/h North-easterly winds with gusts up to 52 km/h.  

I apologise for not answering comments on my last post but feel now, that it is far too late.  There were no questions to be answered, so to all of you now I can only say Happy 2021 and let us hope that the vaccines will soon work, and the rising numbers of COVID cases will soon drop.  The numbers now are beginning to have names and I have lost one friend in South Africa to date.

Much has been going on and time never seems to be on my side.  I will though try to get a few blogs done over the next few weeks.  These photos were all taken in December, I still have to work on January!!!

23 December Nigel had an appointment in Soyaux the other side of Angouleme, we really picked a bad day for the drive!

Sunset, not the same day as above.

I just liked the reflection in this muddy puddle seen out walking.

The Gorse seems to have the dates all wrong as do many other plants!

Common Holly (Ilex aquifolium).

Our garden on a very grey day when a glimmer of sun suddenly poked through a cloud

Flowers on the rosemary.
Seen out walking, the farmer's way of hooking up the telephone line!!

Ivy in an oak tree.

Striped Toadflax (Linaria repens).

Sitting Bull!!

The local, quite small chateau.

Box Holly (Ruscus aculeatus).

Mistletoe.

Puzzle that we both did over the Christmas week - not easy!!

Take care everybody, keep well and stay safe.

See also my

 

37 comments:

  1. That puzzle looks hard.

    The photos are beautiful. The oak tree must be covered in ivy. It must be beautiful in full leaf. Do the birds eat the holly berries? I left my holly exposed this year. I usually put burlap around it. However, the birds haven’t found the berries.

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    1. Marie we were certain they there were pieces missing from that puzzle, but no all was intact at the end. The birds seem to totally ignore the holly berries !! There were many berries everywhere this year except the holly in our garden which didn't have a single berry!
      Keep safe and stay well, cheers Diane

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  2. Happy New Year, Diane and Nigel.
    Lovely photographs as always. Take care, Gaynor

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    1. Thanks Gaynor and a Happy New Year to you. I hope that you will soon be able to visit your French home but it appears you have a few hurdles to overcome thanks to Boris and COVID.
      Please stay safe, maybe we will meet up again one day. Diane xx

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  3. Yep...I totally dislike driving in the pouring rain. Not so much worried about me but the other drivers!! Like you I love the mud pond...and I love trees with their own look. Mistletoe being a parasite tends to take over a tree, but I don't think I have seen that much in one tree before. Nice....

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    1. Pam that tree is no exception with the mistletoe, many trees here are like that. Yes I agree it always the other driver that is a worry!

      I hope all is well, all the ver best to you and the fur-babes. Diane

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  4. Wonderful pictures. The sunset is stunning and you really got a good shot of it. I like the Sitting Bull.

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    1. Haha Ann I also liked the Sitting Bull. We get some great sunsets here but not so often in winter.
      Take care and stay safe Diane

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  5. So sorry to hear of the loss of your friend in SA, Diane. Do you have any citizenship complications in getting the vaccine there?

    I have greatly enjoyed this post from you, with some super observations and delightful photos. That sunset is amazing!

    Take great care and stay safe - - - Richard

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    1. Thanks Richard, the loss was a shock as they live in the middle of nowhere on a game farm. He had one visit to the hospital for something else and then went down with COVID. We are permanent residents in France and in the health system. We get notified for flu vaccines so hopefully we will get notified for this as well. I will be first I presume as Nigel is 5 years behind me. The health system all connects up though with the NHS so we have yet to see what harm Brexit has done!

      We are being as careful as possible, in the past 11 months the only time we have been out has been fortnightly for shopping for necessaries. If we had a cow and some chickens we would be almost totally self sufficient!! I have not yet got the knack of making flour or loo paper! Thankfully I can walk anywhere around here and not see a single person though at the moment it is a little chilly!

      Very best wishes to you and the family, we all have to be very careful for a while longer yet. Diane

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  6. I always enjoy your photos, they let us see a little of your daily life. I believe that the local, quite small chateau is probably just the right size for today's living. I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend, especially reading that he might have contacted it at a hospital. You just don't know with this terrible pandemic. I know quite a few people who have gotten it but thankfully they all survived.

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    1. Hi Karen, thanks for the comment, I just hope the vaccine soon takes over and that the COVID cases very soon drop, but so many people who do not take precautions will keep it going 😢
      Keep safe and hope that all is well with you Diane

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  7. Hi Diane - yes ... desperate to read of one of your friends being lost to the dreaded virus. Still - the photos are wonderful to see ... as you say it's chilly. That bull ... yes I'd be off. Amazing number of berries on that holly - yet you say your bush only had a few ... there seems to have a lot of berries here too. Love the photos ... and good to see you here again - all the best - Hilary

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    1. Hi Hilary, I am hoping that that COVID will soon disappear but I think this is wishful thinking as new variants keep appearing and numbers are not coming down. Our holly this year actually had none!!
      Please keep safe, cheers Diane

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  8. Like the intro photo.

    Best regards
    Bernhard

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    1. Thanks Bernhard for the visit and the comment, appreciated.
      Keep well, Diane

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  9. That is a very dramatic sky, Diane. I am glad that you took the picture to share with us. And I can't imagine your perseverance in completing that puzzle. My head aches just thinking about it! Stay well. One day the virus will be behind us...or so I'm told! It's getting harder to believe it.

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    1. David I think that is one of the most difficult puzzles we have ever done, not that we have done one for a very long time!
      I agree it is getting harder to believe, we have been in some sort of lockdown now for almost 12 months and it just gets worse. Hopefully the vaccines will get control, but many people say they will not have it so......

      Best wishes to you both and take care, Diane

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  10. All the photos are spectacular. My favorite is the 2nd photo of the sunset, it is wonderful.

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    1. Hi Maria, the sunset appears to be a popular photo. Hope that all is well with you. Keep safe Diane

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  11. What a sky and love that bull, perfect shot of him! That's a great puzzle, I've got one out with border pieces ready to start on soon. Sorry about the loss of your friend, these are difficult times for sure. Here's to a good 2021! Take care

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    1. Haha I also loved the Sitting Bull. First time I have ever done a circular puzzle. Hope all is well over there, take care Diane

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  12. Terrible weather for a drive, gorgeous sunset, and what's with all the flowers. Is it spring? I know the getting behind feeling.

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    1. Not a lot of flowers but certainly a few around!!! Keep safe Diane

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  13. Gosh that's cold weather Diane, I can just imagine how cosy the house is with fire going etc. lovely 💛 Beautiful series of images here for us today. Love the jigsaw puzzle, we do a big one every year at Christmas when the kids are over from Sydney, it takes over the dining table and is a family work in progress over the time they are with us, always get it finished 😊 Best wishes to you both for 2021 💙

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    1. I have not done a puzzle for years and this was not the easiest!!! I will be glad when winter is over!!! Keep cool and stay safe Diane

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  14. I enjoy the beauty of your photos. And the sitting bull is so cool's photo and a rare sight.

    Happy New Year 2021, Rhodesia. Hopefully many good wishes will come true.

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    1. Thanks so much for the visit and comment I also just loved the shot of that bull, haha. Thanks also for the good wishes and the same to you. Diane

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  15. At -2 deg C, I think I will be shivering away...brrr. Scary to drive in that kind of weather. Stunning sky shot. Sitting bull gave you a good pose. Take care and stay safe.

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    1. It has been very cold and we have had a number of frosts this year. Stay safe, Diane.

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  16. STUNNING shot of the sunset! Wow!

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    1. Thanks Pam, not many good sunsets recently!! Keep safe Diane

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  17. Diane, I'm so sorry you lost a friend to that dastardly virus. One has to wonder if it's ever going away. That sounds defeatist, I know. Sorry.

    Your photos are glorious as always, my friend. And, the way you know the name of all is amazing to me.

    You're a trooper and I send my best to you and Nigel.
    xoxo

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    1. Thanks Sally, We have to eventually get on top of COVID but I think it is going to take a good while yet!! Keep safe and thanks for the comment. Diane xx

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  18. I love all your images, even the rainy one to start your post. Like you, I've had some pansies blooming early too due to the warmer temperatures. It is going to get much colder in the next few days. Take care Diane.

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    1. We have just had a few very cold days but thankfully it is slightly warmer at present, hopefully it will last. I hope all is well with you, take great care, Diane

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  19. That sure is a brilliant sky photo.

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