Maximum temperature here today 16C, minimum 4C. Dry. 13km/h North-easterly fairly cold wind with gusts up to 28 km/h.
Carpenter bee (Xylocopa violacea or Xylocopa valga)
Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).
as above.
White 'Blue' bells. Albino Spanish bells.
Ginkgo Biloba shoots.
The final stages of the Christmas Pointsettia.
Tulips at the end of their time; bought almost 4 weeks ago.
Bumble bee on the cherry blossom.
As above; I just liked the position of this shot!
Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)
As above - Love is in the air!
Cherry blossom in the garden and a Red Robin shrub.
Heating oil delivery...
As above. 1200 litres delivered and not quite full.
Last but not least - I have been busy in the kitchen. The cornuelle is a flat cake a dozen centimetres wide. It forms an isosceles triangle whose centre is pierced with a hole and whose edges are generally ribbed. (Mine aren't as I do not have the right cutter.) This triangle, therefore, has three horns, which probably give its name to the cake.
The cornuelle is consumed traditionally around Palm Sunday (5 April this year), generally fifteen days before and fifteen days after. In the South West of France, this festival is traditionally associated with the blessing of Palm Sunday. The hole in the centre of the cake allowed a sprig of blessed boxwood to slide in and the cornuelles were often sold at the entrance to the church. They can only be found today in pastry shops or in supermarkets. (Or in our house 😊 ) Recipe see Here
See also my
Piękne fotografie , wiosna nie boi się epidemii.
ReplyDeleteDziękuję za komentarz. Masz rację. Bądź bezpieczny, Diane
DeleteHello, awesome capture of the bees and the lizards. Love the shot of the 2 lizards together. Your blooms are beautiful. The cornuelle cake looks delicious. Take care, enjoy your day and the weekend ahead.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the kind comment. You also take care and have a great weekend. Diane
DeleteBeautiful details in this series.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the visit and the comment. Much appreciated, take care Diane
DeleteI'm also planning on some baking today. I wish I could also go outside and take some photos.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I am so glad we have a good size garden, I would never cope with my camera if we are closed in! Stay safe, Diane
DeleteYour garden is far ahead of ours, Diane, and the presence of all those pollinators is very encouraging. Hope that you and Nigel are doing well during this period of enforced confinement. I shall be keeping an eye open for the birth announcement in about nine months!!! Now speaking of miracles..........
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see the insects returning. As for 9 months it would be a lot more than a miracle!! Yes we are fine, we are used to months apart and months together, absolutely no problem. Stay safe and have a good weekend, Diane
DeleteLife goes on.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly hope so 😊 Enjoy your weekend and stay safe. Diane
DeleteThe way the hairs of the bees fee so alive on your shots is just magical! And these flowers bring so much joy to me as always, especially in times like these when one can appreciate the outdoors and nature the most! Wishing you best of health and stay hydrated. (Took a piece of cornuelle before I leave your blog)
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed it as much as we do 📐😊 Your very kind comment is much appreciated, thank you. Have a good weekend and just keep safe and well Diane
DeleteSuch a lovely tradition!
ReplyDeleteI always love your attention to detail with the insects, Diane.
Interesting tradition. So good to see the insects returning. Hope your weekend is a good one, take care Diane
DeleteThank you for the visit and the comment. Appreciated. Have a good weekend, Diane
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely collection of photos, Diane. I love the wonderful capture of the flying hoverly. You know I am in love with your photos of the microworld. But I love lizards too. Thank you so much for sharing these beauties with us, my dear friend. Kisses and stay safe.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy taking macro shots, it would be so much easier if I had a macro lens but all the extras for the camera come at a price and is it essential, probably not :-( Thanks for the kind comment, take care Diane
DeleteSplendid macro shots of beautiful flowers and their visitors. Love the little lizard and other photos of around and about. The story of the cookies was very interesting also and thank you for the recipe. I enjoy learning about different traditions around the world. Take good care of yourself Diane, we are ordered to shelter in place also now.
ReplyDeleteDenise I am happy the insects are returning especially now that we are isolated, it gives me something to look for in the garden besides the few flowers that are coming out now. I hope you try the recipe they really are very tasty. Keep well Diane
DeleteHAHA....Scrolling down reading your blog when I come upon the last pic...thought it was ants on them at first! HAHA...good to see all the bees and critters out and about these days. Great pics.
ReplyDeleteNope we don't eat ants 😊 I did not have aniseed so I had to make do!! Hope you are well and taking care, Diane
DeleteHi Diane - how interesting to see the traditional biscuits - and to note they're 'flavoured' with anise ... rather than our caraway seed ... that I seem to recollect we had as kids. Wonderful flowers and insects ... and yes love does look to be in the air with the lucky lizards - not confined. Take care - and all the best - Hilary
ReplyDeleteHi Hilary we really like those biscuits though this time I could ne get anise, I will have to look again but shopping at the moment is a quick trip in and back out. We have managed only one trip now in 3 weeks so we are doing quite well. Thank goodness all the little creatures are not confined or there would noting to photograph!! Hope you are well and take care Diane
DeleteBeautiful series of macros Diane, those 🐝🐝 are extra busy in spring. Do your cornuelles taste a bit like shortbread, the ingredients are similar. Hope you are both well, keep safe 💜
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace, the insects are very active now it is warming up. No the biscuits do not really taste like shortbread. Not as much butter and thay have eggs in the which shortbread does not.. You stay safe also. Diane
DeletePretty insects and beautiful flowers. The biscuits look good. Take care and stay safe.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nancy the biscuits are great and we love them. Yes staying safe and isolated at present is very important, think this could go on for quite a long time. Diane
DeleteYour garden screams Spring! Love it. Your flower and insect shots are superb. Glad you got heating oil as it's not summer yet. Stay safe and be well.
ReplyDeleteGaelyn we have had a couple of colder days which I hope has not harmed the fruit trees all in flower. Looks like spring has arrived again now though. Take it easy, Diane
DeleteWow, those cookies look amazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you Natalia and they taste as good as they look as well 😊 Stay safe, Diane
DeleteRhodesia - joining you from My Corner of the World. Your close-up photos are really special. Can you believe it will be Easter already next week? Although it seemed a bit silly given everything that is going on in the world, I asked my husband to buy us a little Easter candy! Stay well, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
ReplyDeleteHi Angie, thanks for the visit and the comment, much appreciated. Yes Easter is upon us but with the situation as it is we will not be celebrating anything and no Easter eggs. We are in day 23 of lock-down and it looks like it could go on for a lot longer yet. Stay safe and keep well, Diane
DeleteExcellent photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda, stay safe and keep well. Diane
DeleteAbsolutely lovely photos and detail of the insects. I've never seen or heard of the cracker before. You did a great job of baking them!
ReplyDelete