Pre-dawn of the Winter Solstice gradually brightens the firmament, while the festive lighting is still reflected in the calm river. The cormorants arrive for their breakfast before the first true light of the new sun, neo helios, or noio hel in Celtic Breton. The modern French word for Christmas “Noël” may very well have its […]
Read more "Happy Noio Hel!"Slowly traipsing around the house to wake up, brewing coffee, cradling a warm cup between my palms I move over to the front window. Looking out across the river Charente, I contemplate the quiet Christmas village under the arch and notice five white animals. The dog soon disappears, while the swans continue to drift lazily […]
Read more "Christmas Swans Swimming"Minutes before the official opening of the Christmas Village in Saintes, Charente-Maritime, some residents aren’t happy …
Read more "Sapin Snafu or Fir Fiasco"Enjoying a lovely walk on a foggy winter morning.
Read more "A Foggy Walk"The scene is almost set for this year’s Christmas Market in Saintes, Charente-Maritime.
Read more "Sapins de Noël – Part 2"Preparations for the Christmas Market in Saintes are well under way.
Read more "Les Sapins de Noël Sont Arrivés"Renewing the landscaping design for the Christmas season in the city of Saintes, Charente-Maritime, France.
Read more "Huch …"Having arrived at the conclusion that posting a lengthy opinion on terrorism just adds yet another superfluous outburst to all the other emotional reactions crowding the internet after the latest string of massacres across the globe, I removed the text of this post. The two hashmarks in my image above express everything I want to say.
Read more "#ContreTerrorismeMondial #StopTheCarnage"Saturday dawned pretty in pink, accentuated by a solitary cormorant passing overhead. As the rising sun backlit the trees and rooftops across the river Charente with ever increasing brightness, mist gathered gently to envelop the landscape in milky fuzziness. Inside, morning light filtered through sheer curtains creating mottled patterns across walls and objects. A few […]
Read more "Sculling and Rowing with a little buildering thrown in"A beautiful afternoon, overflowing with autumnal sunshine and culminating in a mild evening with a 97% full moon, gave way to a cloudy sky on Monday. Monday’s 99% full moon should have progressed to a smashingly stunning proper Full Moon on Tuesday night, but the weather gods decided to give us rain instead. Or, as my British […]
Read more "Moon over the Arch"
NOT IN A STRAIGHT LINE by Photolera Claudinha 