News from Gigondas

Snippets of 'news' and pictures from Gigondas

The swifts are here! - April 25th

Actually they have probably been around for a day or two but they are definitely tearing up the skies now, so that makes me feel very happy, summer is on the way!  So far they have shown no interest at all in my swift nest box, but, well who cares as long as they are here and happy!
I also spotted a shiny silver bird flying very high in the sky and leaving a long straight vapour trail, I wonder what that could be?  Must check my bird book.

Now I know this blog has readers on at least two continents so why not send in some of your signs of Spring or Summer even?  Pictures of the flowers in your garden or the veggies in the allotment, we all want to see them!
If you are not yet registered as an author and want to post just send me an email.

More Early Signs - April 23rd

Here's another little flower we don't usually see here for another couple of weeks yet, a helleborine.

And below left is another interesting find, purple salsify. I've never seen one of these before, not because they are rare, actually they are very common, but they flower early in the morning, before I'm up and about and as soon as the flower has been pollinated the leaves close back over the flower while it develops the seeds.  What we usually notice is the big fluffy seed head, a little like a dandelion clock but much bigger, see below right.

In this case it was a damp misty morning after three days of persistent light rain so I guess the insects had got up and out to work later than me for a change!



 

Bigger and Earlier - April 23rd

As promised I have some pictures of the asphodels for you, these grow high up in the Dentelles and the hike to them is a tough round trip of over four hours, so not something I do every day. That's my excuse to explain that I was a little late to catch the peak flowering, as you can see these are a little past their best, but like everything else this year they are very early and huge, standing well over knee high!
That's my backpack in the picture to give some sense of scale.

An update - 16th April

I'm sorry but any of you who bet on the asphodels are hopeless optimists, they started to bloom a week ago (I'll take a pic next time we hike up that way) but meanwhile, the big surprise - the early purple orchids are already blooming, maybe a month before 'usual'!

Like everything this Spring they are even bigger and more beautiful than ever, see what I mean?  So the question still stands - when will 'normality' return - with the pyramid orchids maybe, or the harvest - this year or next?  Any bets?

OK I know that's a difficult question, so here's an easier one:
When will President Trump prioritise truth and the well-being of the American people above his own ego?  (a) this year, (b) next year, (c) sometime or (d) never?
Answers on a postcard please to:
The White House, Washington D.C., U.S.A.

Spring in the Dentelles - 6th April

The maytrees are blossoming, the violets and primroses are in flower so it must be Spring!
What do you think - will 'normality' return by the time that the asphodels are in flower or will we have to wait until the purple orchids are out, or harvest time, or the next one?  Place your bets!

Hunting and Gathering - 4th April

Yesterday (Friday) was my day to raid the supermarket at Orange as we had thoroughly cleared out the fridge.  All went well and I whisked through gathering a truckload of provisions and avoiding eye contact with potential plague bearers.  I've attached (left) a copy of my official authorisation to perform such an excursion, a shining example of the best in French bureaucracy, you Anglos might well take note!

Carrefour came up to scratch and had everything we needed, I've included (right) a photo of a local speciality for our English and American friends - we call this "Toilet Paper" - remember that?

Deliverance ... 1st April

One of the (few) burdens we bear living in France (the penalty for all that good food and wine maybe) is that delivery companies just don't deliver!  I should explain that we live in a little village where the streets are just wide enough for a couple of pedestrians to pass (provided they are not social distancing) but certainly not wide enough for cars or trucks (though there must be hundreds of villages in France just like this).  Now most delivery drivers are probably gig workers on a tight schedule so they don't want to deliver unless they can stop their truck within five paces of our door, which they can't ( they could actually get within 50 paces of our door if they searched out the back way but admittedly that's not obvious).
The result is that over the last 20 years getting a parcel delivered has been a major headache, we have had them left at the post office in the next village, sent back to the supplier, delivered to random restaurants or simply "lost".  If we are lucky the delivery will be left at the village épicerie or one of the wine tasting shops in the village but none of these are open all the time.  One strategy has been to have the driver call ahead and arrange to meet in the village square, sometimes this works but of course the driver is using his mobile and the signal coverage out here is not great so often the result is "a failure to communicate".  And, of course, the driver calls our mobile and those electromagnetic waves have trouble wriggling down between these old stone buildings - result no signal downstairs, does nobody under 50 know about landlines anymore?

Where am I going with all this wingeing?  Deliverance!  An actual benefit of lockdown!


Yesterday morning we were startled from that first cup of tea in bed by a loud knocking on the front door, and there he was - a delivery man! (2m from the door of course)  Now that just about everything in the village is closed, and I don't think the épicerie wants to accept strange parcels, the delivery companies have no option but to  deliver - Hallelujah!
And what was the delivery you ask?  Survival essentials, a replenishment of our prosecco  stock, see pic.  This is a really nice prosecco, I buy it mail order from Giordano, usually it's €11+ per bottle but once or twice a year they'll put it on sale at €7/bottle with free shipping, so that's the time to stock up.  Roll on Happy Hour!

It's not just the virus that's growing well ... 30th March

On a much happier note this seems to be a bumper year for the Spring wildflowers that are flourishing
in the vineyards and verges, for example the Giant Orchids that flower from February through to March or April are both bigger and more abundant than usual.  These extravagant striking flowers are often up to 30cm tall but this year many are twice that size and while they often occur singly along the road verges this year they are everywhere, looking more like a garden border of lupins than orchids!
The examples shown here are past their best at the end of March, and that's my hat just to give an idea of size (OK I have a big head - physically!)