03/03/2025 Trying to catch up!! The last photos of February,

 The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 16⁰C, minimum 1⁰C.  A 14km/h North/East wind with gusts up to 22km/h.  Rain only forecast for Sunday it looks like a good week!!

European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) Chardonneret élégant.

European Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) Gros-bec casse-noyaux.

European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) Verdier d'Europe.

This shows how much bigger the Hawfinch is.

European robin (Erithacus rubecula) Rouge-gorge.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis).

Snowdrop - (Galanthus nivalis) - Crocus - (Crocus vernus).

Persian Speedwell - (Veronica persica) - Daisy - (Bellis perennis).

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Étourneau sansonnet ...

As above.

Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) Ficaire fausse-renoncule.

Crocus (Crocus vernus) Crocus.

Hazel nut tree - (Corylus avellana) Individual flowers are tiny and have no petals, the male ones are numerous and borne on yellow catkins; female flowers are few and hidden under the buds' scales, the only flower part showing being the red, linear stigmata.

Sweet violet (Viola odorata) Violette odorante.

Cotoneaster berries (Cotonéaster coriace).

Celandine with a Marmalade Hover Fly (Episyrphus balteatus) Syrphe ceinturé ou syrphe à ceinture.

Common Bitter Cress (Cardamine hirsuta) Cardamine hérissée. The little leaves taste just like watercress and yes they are edible!

Crocus (Crocus vernus) Crocus.

Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) Cactus de Noël.

Bellis perennis with what I believe is a Golden Dung Fly (Scathophaga tercoraria ).

Common Cranes (Grus grus) Grue cendrée flying North to their breeding grounds over the top of our house.

Cattle egrets (Ardea ibis) Héron garde-boeufs with a lamb in the background.

Mother sheep with her twin lambs.

Cowslips (Primula veris) Primevère officinale.

Gorse (Ulex) Ajoncs by the sides of the road.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) Chevêche d'Athéna. Sitting on the roof of our barn.

European Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) Gros-bec casse-noyaux.

08/02/2025 - 15 years of blogging today..... 08 Feb 2010 - 08 Feb 2025

   The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 7⁰C, minimum -1⁰C. Rain is forecast for the next few days and it is raining as I type this. A 22km/h southwest wind with gusts up to 39km/h.  Snow is forecast for many parts of France but hopefully, it will miss us!

My very first blog ever is HERE if you should be interested!!

N.B. Joyful (Snap That) was following me then and is still following me. Thanks Penny for your continued interest, it is much appreciated.

Catkins on the Hazel nut tree

Chaffinch (Female) (Fringilla coelebs). Le Pinson.

Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) La Tourterelle turque.

Great tit (Parus major) Mésange charbonnière.

As above

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Mésange bleue.

Hibiscus seed pods.

Our new neighbours....

Red Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncate) Cactus de Noël.

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Mésange bleue....

Enjoying a bath...

Wide angle photo of our house and garden.

More new neighbours...

As above.

Painting the doors at the back of the new barn (No3)

The land attached to the new barn.  The house lawn is on the other side of the laurel hedge;

 

A surprise visitor when the sun came out.  Hoverfly (Eristalis tenax).  

I am now up to date with recent photos.  With our cancelled holiday and the mostly rubbish weather at home, good photos are not so easy to come by.

20/01/2025 The end of December 2024 and some of January 2025....

  The maximum temperature in the Charente today is 10⁰C, minimum 2⁰C. Rain is forecast for the next few days. A 14km/h southeast wind with gusts up to 25km/h.

A December rose hanging in there...

The following bird photos were all taken at a distance through the window.

Chaffinch male (Fringilla coelebs) Pinson des arbres.

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Mésange bleue.

Great tit (Parus major) Mésange charbonnière.

European robin (Erithacus rubecula) Rouge-gorge.

House Sparrows female and male (Passer domesticus )Moineau domestique.

and now moving into 2025 herewith are a few photos from January.

Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncate) Cactus de Noël.

Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) Épervier d'Europe...

As above...

As above.

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Mésange bleue.

              Viburnum tinus - Cotoneaster

A new shoot of the Photinia × fraser - Bergenia cordifolia      

   

Common Blackbird male (Turdus merula) Merle noir...

As above.

I looked this mural up and this is what I found 
Mokä, PerroGraff, Face cachée
Pedro le Coati  hidden face, street art Angouleme
Artist - Perro Graff
Pedro the Coati is a humorous Franco-Belgian comic strip series created in 1998 by Manu Larcenet (script) and Gaudelette (drawing) in 3126 of the Spirou newspaper . It features a group of animals in their life at the zoo, including the coati named Pedro.
 
I ♥ Croix Rouge is visible written on his body and the mural is on the wall of a building where the Red Cross work from.  Further info can be found on the links if you are interested.