20/01/2022 Three weeks since my last post - I must do better !

  The maximum temperature here today is 7⁰C, minimum 2⁰C. Blue skies but with quite a lot of clouds. Wind 15km/h North-Easterly winds with gusts up to 33 km/h.  4mm of rain was measured this morning.  We have had a very chilly week, today thankfully it is a bit warmer. 

The Christmas decorations in our supermarket just after New Year....

and the window of my hairdresser with reflections from outside and the lights inside.

Fascinating clouds that just caught my eye.

A Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) on a frosty morning.

A walk around the January garden......

A raindrop showing the house upside down!

European Holly (Ilex aquifolium).  No berries this year!!

Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana).

Hydrangea dried on the plant.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis).

Viburnum tinus.

A surviving but very brave rose.

Camellia japonica bud..

Playing with the Pampas grass. 😉

We have had a few icy mornings.

Eurasian Running Crab Spider (Philodromus dispar) on the poinsettia.

13th January

14 January

16 January about 20 minutes before the Full Wolf Moon.  Clouds moved in about an hour after taking this photo!

19 January after a very stormy day.

A lovely surprise 9 January when this Cirl Bunting ( Emberiza cirlus) was spotted on the verandah.

More photos on my bird blog.

My local list of wildflowers. (91 Species 02/12/2021).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

30/12/2019 December in France and the last post this year. Happy New Year everyone.

Maximum temperature in the Charente today 12C, minimum 0C. Dry but a frost this morning. 10km/h South-Easterly winds with gusts up to 17 km/h.

01 December - the last of the cosmos.

07 December - cotoneaster berries which are still going strong.

17 December - caterpillars of the Large White butterfly (Pieris brassicae).  Our winter veg was under threat!!

17 December - Le Gendarme beetle or the firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus). There were a few hundred of them on the hibiscus shrub which is covered in moss.

18 December - Our local supermarket, animated polar bears playing musical instruments.

19 December - Pointsettia in the dining room.

26 December - a surprise; roses still in the garden...

As above.

28 December - early sunset....

and about 30 minutes later.

I will be returning to our 2019 South African trip with blogs and photos next year - not that far away now.

See also my Bird blog I have many photos of birds and I will put most of them on this blog.

07/12/2018 This and that!

Maximum temperature today 12C, minimum 6C.  5mm rain measured this morning and it is still raining; 29km/h North-westerly winds gusting up to 69 km/h.   

Total so far this year of 964mm. Last years total rain for the year was 739 mm!

Autumn colours in the next hamlet to us...

and a little further down the road.

The shop windows in Intermarche supermarket...

as above.

Back home in the garden, a wet calendula...

and berries on the Cotoneaster.

'Our' Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is still around...

I first saw it on 8 November and it has been around ever since.  It waits under the cherry tree in the mornings for me to go out and feed the birds. What a pleasure.

I have updated my bird blog HERE.

14/11/2017 Trying to catch some autumn colours.

Maximum temperature 5C, minimum -1C.  8km/h NE winds, 18km/h gusts. Dry but still very cold !!

Driving into Chasseneuil...

Heavy pruning going on in the town!

The first and only sign of Christmas seen so far in Leclerc.

The usual tractor obstruction...

but luckily it turned off just as we caught up with it.

Driving back home...

As above. I loved this last mix of colours.

N.B.  Because photos are hard to come by in this weather, posts may well be a bit intermittent and not daily!!!!

30/11/2016 Nigel goes to town and I walk around the garden.

Maximum temperature 15C,minimum 2C. 38km/h SW wind.  

Wednesday market - fish and vegetables.

The local Intermarche has all its windows painted for Christmas, also some interesting reflections...

As above.

Still connecting the Christmas lights.

The Renault is booked in for a service next Wednesday.

Choisya ternata and a surprise to see a bee out although the sun was shining today.

Holly.

Hydrangea.

A new rose bud!

and the one I have been watching is still holding on.

Fresh chard for dinner tonight.

and last but not least our neighbours.