Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Duck
Roosting on the gate

2011 - My second year of blogging in Brittany

I felt I would like to share some of the photographs I have taken so far this year and some from other years. I live in a beautiful part of Brittany and just love being here. It's a lovely place to photograph and enjoy being in through all the seasons and hopefully this blog will show you where I live my life.



Friday, August 30, 2013

Harvests, butterflies and my granddaughter

Yet again I lost my three month prescription this week.  I put it somewhere ready to go to the Pharmacy but when the moment arrived I couldn't find it.  The receptionist kindly arranged for another one for me to pick up and while I waited for it to be signed I wandered outside and saw these wonderful thistly-looking flowers over two metres high stretching into a blue, blue sky.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Beautiful isn't it?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
An equally beautiful bloom - a passionflower on my pergola.
 
 
The lanes have been filled with tractors and combine harvesters and here is one local farmer getting in his hay crop.
 
 
My harvests day after day are keeping me in veggies and eggs - here is one day this week.  I love the shiny aubergine and am eating tomatoes in lots of meals now all the different sorts are ripening.
 
There are butterflies everywhere in the garden but they particularly like the buddleias in the main flowerbed.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The weather's been so good that I decided to get the large rug from my sitting room shampooed and dried in the sunshine on the terrace.  As soon as it I came inside the three cats appeared and started playing on it. 
 
 
 
Purrdy slept there for most of yesterday afternoon.  I usually do this earlier in the year, at the start of summer and leave the floor bare until the colder weather starts but I am late because of all the rain we were having a few months ago.   I also stripped the covers off the settees and armchair and all the cushions and got those laundered and dried too while the sun was drying everything so well.
 
Here are two photos of Mia - she's definitely got yawning off to a fine art whether she's with her Daddy or Mummy.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hard to believe that my lovely granddaughter, Mia, was a month old on 27 August - she is growing so fast.
 
 
Three things I like:
 
1.  The thank you card my lovely German guests made for me and gave me tonight.
2.  Getting my under cupboard lights working again - thanks, Andy, finally I can see what I am preparing in the kitchen.
3.  The free books and DVDs I collected yesterday which will keep me occupied when I go into hospital on Sunday week.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Roscoff Onion and Garlic Festival

Today was a brilliant day out at Roscoff Onion and Garlic Festival.  It rained for the whole one and a half hour journey and then the sun came out as we parked in a great space inbetween the main onion sales area and the town.
 
 
Jane and I wandered around the main onion and garlic area and between us bought nearly 70kgs of onions and rose garlic.  There were lots of demonstrations of onion stringing, wicker basket making, clog carving, cookery etc. and lots of possible tastings of cheeses, seaweed products, onion confits. 



Two of the girls and a young lad from the stall we bought our onions from helped Jane get the produce back to the car while I stood idly by taking photographs!

Banners were all over the place and there must have been several thousand people in Roscoff for the event.

Here clogs are taking shape from a block of wood.


Artichokes got in on the act too and there were several stalls selling them and tarts with both artichokes and onions.

 
This was a good band in the town and there were lots of other little groups of people playing, a trio of strings and woodwind and of course, the obligatory Breton music group.



This was a sundial on the wall of a rather impressive church and some interior shots.




In the street there was an apple press from which the juice was being sold at €1 a glass, certainly not "rip off" prices.


The tide was out and four boys were investigating in the salt water pools and seaweed left behind.



Here I am supporting a large apple made from apples raffia tied to a chicken wire frame on one of the floats from the procession.

 
Before we came back home, we sat on a bench on the prom looking out to sea and people watching while drinking coffee from china cups with saucers.  The hundreds of people who passed us clearly thought we were a couple of very eccentric Brits and we had lots of comments and some slightly longer exchanges from thirsty passersby.
 
It was a really lovely day out and one which I hope will become a regular appointment in my diary.
 
Three things I like:
 
1.   Spending the day with a good friend.
2.   Being slim enough nowadays to walk all day without being tired.
3.   The thought of all those onions and rose garlic waiting to be used.