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

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

 

21/12/2020 Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and a much improved 2021.

   Maximum temperature here today 14⁰C, minimum 6⁰C.  3 mm of rain measured this morning but it has been raining all day.  23km/h North-westerly winds with gusts up to 46 km/h.   The freeze arrives on Christmas day.  Temperatures drop and frost arrives.

I had intended doing another blog before this one, but time caught up with me, and the speed of the WiFi just got worse.  I hope it will improve in the New Year but I do not have much hope.  I have picked one photo from each month of 2020, thankfully COVID has not as yet killed off my photos.  Probably not the best photos as far as photography goes, but the ones I like from each month

12.2 km walked yesterday the best ever!

14/01/2020 A sunset that looked like a fireworks display.

03/02/2020 Snow drops appear in the garden.

21/03/2020 Blossom and insects start to appear.  Mirabelle blossom and hoverflies.

11/04/2020 Butterflies are very visible out on my walks. Orange Tip butterflies  

(Anthocharis cardamines).  Male on the left and the female under the leaf.

25/05/2020 Lots of Damselflies around. Beautiful demoiselle Male (Calopteryx virgo).

09/06/2020 I just liked this shot of the Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis) eying up the hornet (Vespa crabro). They both finally decided to go in opposite directions!

04/07/2020 Happy and smiling Sunflowers.

16/08/2020 Lesser purple emperor, female butterfly (Apatura ilia).

11/09/2020 Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

18/10/2020 Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

14/11/2020 One of our neighbour's little ponies, they have four, and none of them are higher than my waist.

16/12/2020 What else but a Robin for Christmas. (Erithacus rubecula).

Happy Christmas 

Gesëende Kersfees

Nginifisela inhlanhla ne mpumelelo e nyakeni

Nadolig Llawen

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur

Buone Feste Natalizie

Feliz Natal

Feliz Navidad!

God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt Ar

Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan

 Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun

 Kung Ho Hsin Hsi. Ching Chi Shen Tan

Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Sawadee Pee Mai

Gajan Kristnaskon

Froehliche Weihnachten

Kala Christouyenna

Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova.

Vrolijk Kerstmis en een Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar

See you all in 2021 I hope.

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

10/12/2020 All photos taken while out walking fairly close to home.

   Maximum temperature here today 11⁰C, minimum 5⁰C.  10 mm of rain measured this morning but we have had quite a lot over the last few days!  22km/h North-easterly winds with gusts up to 49 km/h. 

I apologise for the 'break-in transmission', but our WiFi has been ridiculous and I have not been able to load any photos easily, and sometimes not at all. Also visiting has been a problem as there has not been enough speed to download your blogs for me to see them.  It is frustrating, and very time consuming trying to do anything on the computer. 

 I have been doing quite a lot of walking now as not so much to do in the kitchen, all fruit and vegetables have considerably slowed down!  Now I am allowed more time, and a bigger radius to walk in, although still in lockdown, I am most days walking between 8 and 11 kms.

I just liked this shot of the moon behind the clouds and over the top of a barn roof,

If you follow the road in the centre to the top, our house is a little further on, on the right-hand side behind the trees.

The church in our local commune of Vitrac Saint Vincent...

The church Saint-Maixent (eleventh and 12th centuries). The first stone was laid in the year 1080 under the tutelage of the powerful lord of Chabanais...

and taking a peek inside.

Cowslips - what are they doing in flower at this time of the year???

As above.

Hawaiian geese or Nene (Branta sandvicensis) seen in a field where they were chasing some ducks.

Possibly Campanula_trachelium .

This hardly needs an ID but somebodies goat.

 Generally this is a small trickle of water over the road!!!

Old Mans Beard (Clematis vitalba).

Hop. skip and jump, yet another goat having fun ...

As above...

As above.

At the entrance to a farmyard.

Moss - it just appealed to me!

My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/08/2020).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

Photo competition running until 31 December - colourful photos.

B u n t

Let us all join in great fun.  Not much time left now.

01/12/2020 Out walking last week.

  Maximum temperature here today 6⁰C, minimum 2⁰C.  A light shower of rain not measured as yet.  Rain forecast every day for the next week!  13km/h North-easterly winds with gusts up to 27 km/h. 

I have been walking every day, but this weather does not look good for getting out.  Only 4C yesterday, but blue skies, sun and no wind and I walked an easy 8.2 kms.

Sunset.

Number 105 taking a rest.

Probably not a good route at this time of the year, hi-vis- vest necessary as the hunters are back out! 

Spindle tree berries (Euonymus europaeus),

Calendula and bee...

As above.

Oak leaves in their autumn colours.

Just saying hello.

Wow, this has to be twins!!

Gorse, oddly flowering in late November.

Mushroom of some sort.

Think this might be a couple of Marmalade Hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus).

Still quite a lot of green around in some places.

Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea).  There are several very similar so this could be wrong!

A slightly bedraggled Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Last day of November and the cranes are still flying South. Common crane (Grus grus).

I don't generally do not show photos like this, but this is sadly the third one now I have found that has been run over. This is a farm track where I see almost no vehicles at all. The Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) generally only comes out at night, though if raining will appear during the day. They like to lie on the roads for warmth and they are very slow-moving creatures.  I have yet to see one alive!  They have very long life spans so it seems, but these are having a very hard time.  I find it very upsetting.

My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/08/2020).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

Photo competition running until 31 December - colourful photos.

B u n t

Let us all join in great fun.