Spring is here…
Printemps est arrivé!
All of a sudden (tout à coup) the willows are weeping, the garlic is showing, the trees around the house are budding and the almond blossom is out.
Our resident tree frog croaks a greeting–joining the spring awakening.
A low buzzing creeps into our consciousness and sure enough there are bees above.
A frosty start this morning but now a gentle warmth pervades–and the quiet is palpable.
Beau, head cat, spent the night locked in the dependence (our mistake), but shows no resentment–and is doing what cats are expert at–lying in the springtime sun.
Il profit du soleil.
I saw three baby elephants on a patch of grass outside the Géant supermarché this afternoon.
Pas vrai–spring fever!
No, really! The circus is in town.
Even the parking fine notice that just arrived–two weeks after the offense–can’t dampen the spirits.
It is good to be alive.
Robin Ellis 
Il neige a Alexandria. But it’s coming down very lightly and I’ve a beautiful circle of fully blown daffodils in the front of my house.
Beautiful view
Robin,you are a master of ekphrasis! Your words paint a most lovely picture and make us feel that,indeed, it IS good to be alive.
Thank you!
A word I never heard ’til now! But happy to be a master of it though doubtful it could be true.
What a view so beautiful I can see you & Meredith sitting enjoying the spring sunshine enjoy
With hope and promise…something we need desperately here in the U.S.
Love your natural garden and the view is spectacular. I’d love to have a distant view like that, but at least we look at a farmer’s fields, albeit ones that slope slightly upward so we don’t get any far view. But they’re green and tree-lined and have sheep and lambs and later beautiful Charolais cattle and calves. Far better than staring at brick walls!
Robin, your very timely and cheery words just cheered me right up! I’ve been sitting here in snowy New Jersey thinking that winter will never end (nor’easter expected next week). Thank you for giving me a window into spring!
Makes my heart ache (in a good way!) for the le pays Lautrecois. Enjoy the Spring Robin and the good feelings its bringing with it.
OOps! – not my normal grammar/punctuation. Feel free to edit out ‘the’ in front of le pays and add an apostrophe to ‘its’. Obviously too much vin from Dept 34 and cassoulet with friends this evening.
Here in Los Angeles, the weather has warmed. We’ve had almost too much rain (!!) after 6 years of drought. The hillsides all around the San Fernando Valley are green with wild barley and yellow with mustard blossoms. Everything smells fresh. It’s so good to enjoy the fresh, warm air. I love Spring!
It’s snowing in Boston
What a beautiful area you live in
I was thinking about you both the other day when I saw a 60 minutes program about the new possible president of your country and how it might affect you both as expatriates, that is if you are. I am sure all of us who are in communication would love an update on your views of the political situation in France.
The photos of spring are as always beautiful photos Meredith Do enjoy 😊 your news Rachel
Sent from my iPhone
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Gorgeous flowers!! Our daffodils are showing a little green, but not for long. Last week, it felt like spring! We were wearing short sleeves, it was nearly 70 degrees (21 C), and our cats took up their spring/summer posts soaking up the sun in the bay window. Awesome! But today was gray and they stayed on the bed. We had errant flurries, then a brief blizzard, a few inches of snow, and now a winter weather advisory for tonight. But on Tuesday–la pièce de résistance! They say we’ll have to measure the snow in FEET!!! But that’s New England for you. If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute and it’ll change! 😉 Lovely to see all the green in your yard, though!
How beautiful. Across an ocean and a continent, we have fruit trees blooming this week in the San Francisco Bay Area, and green hills to admire before the winter rains stop and the hills turn “gold.” Having a French surname, St. Amour, I rather like knowing that your part of France and our part of California are in sync.
Merci for giving me something beautiful to focus on; for reminding me of the beauty outside of my own door; and for taking my mind off of that all too encompassing political chaos here in the US.
What lovely photos Robin. Your daffodils are ‘ahead’ of ours in the Midlands. We have lots of beautiful primroses in full flower which seem to keep going for ages. Yes, good to be alive and know how lucky we are 😃 Thanks for posting, Heidi x
We, too, have daffodils and crocuses in full and glorious bloom…the birds (especially blackbirds) are singing their approval at the change in weather…and the days are lengthening wonderfully…vive le printemps! Happy March to you both xx
Hi Rachel–to you two too!
Always a treat to find a post from Lautrec – especially one with pictures. A cloudy morn in Santa Fe, but bulbs are beginning to put up green shoots. A coyote just passed by and my resident bobcat is beginning to snooze outside the south windows after a busy night’s hunt.
Hope to hear more from you soon.
Nancy
Spring is here, at last, after the boring winter; the days are getting longer and we feel nature is waking up: it’s a magic we rediscover every year. Yes, it’s good to be alive!
You live in such a beautiful place.
Hi Robin, Thanks for sharing your beautiful pics. I am glad that winter is almost over here. we didn’t have a lot of snow this year as we often did several years ago.
Thank you Mr. Ellis for the beautiful photos. They reminded me of central Wisconsin where my relatives farmed in the late 1800’s-mid1900’s. Spring IS special!
Meredith Wheeler, my wife, is the brilliant snapper.
Hi Karen, My grandparents also farmed in southern Wisconsin–80 acres just off Rt 50 near Kenosha! I have fond memories of their farm, which was called Jobudodie (after their three children, Joe, Bud and Dodie (my mother)). The had pasture for cows and grew alfalfa (my introduction to alfalfa tea!). When asked what he raised on his farm, Gramps would reply: “Grandchildren”. 🙂 Meredith
Dear Meredith–Thanks for your reply telling of your family’s roots in the Kenosha area. Of course, those family farms are diminishing now, and my cousin rents out her pasture to other farmers, including the Amish. I enjoyed those trips to the farms. Let me share with you my most memorable visit at age 7: I walked down the concrete ramp into the milking area. The cows had generously covered the ramp’s surface with their excrement. Despite walking cautiously, I slipped and fell in it, covering my entire side and ruining my new toreador pants (then in style!). Well, you’d think I’d lost a limb, I was carrying on so. But Mom cleaned me up, and all was okay! Thanks again, to you and Robin for sharing with us!
Hey Robin! Rosaria and Giuseppe from Italy!! We are so glad to read your news from France!! We have no farms but live not far from the river Po, so, during this period we are surrounded by a sudden blossom of spring everywhere !! Have nice spring days with your Meredith! Bye!
Hi Rosaria and Guiseppe–happy Spring to you too!
Nice article. Yes, Life is precious.
Yikes! All our daffodils are now covered in TWO FEET of snow!!! (And still counting.) It was coming down sideways for most of the day! Don’t remember EVER seeing such winds & driving snow like this before…
We are still waiting for spring here in Michigan so I’m reveling in the thought of springtime in France!
Hot and windy in Las Vegas.