Beauregard

Juan, this post is for you - so you can see I have got my head around blogging on the new computer!

A Saturday morning stroll 1000m above Vaulnaveys, with crocus emerging as the snow recedes. On the lower slopes we picked our way carefully to avoid crushing the carpets of pansy and gentian.

deeply interesting for my husband!

 

a stroll in the Trièves

In the valley it feels as though spring has been here since February. But up above it'll be a few more weeks before the annual renaissance of colour and flora. Unlike the die-hard outdoor clubs who continue to chase the last snowy landsapes (you need to be a born-and-bred Grenoblois to have that burning desire), or even in comparison to how we were in our first years here (in a hurry to get up high even as we got soaked in slushy snow-melt) on Sunday we opted for an ambling walk in rolling countryside that Juan thought reminiscent of the UK. Well yes, apart from the back-drop:

Monestier du Percy, with Mont Aiguille

We got very tired walking for just two hours, heard the first cuckoo, soaked up the sun and were home in time for a siesta.

garden flowers

How did we manage to invent so many jobs - two days' worth!?

Fiery tulips jostle for attention; double-headed daffs knock you out with their scent; Japanese quince red makes a scrumptious clash with anemone mauve; and drifts of daisies erupt through the lawn, joining with the grape hyacinths that surround the base of the lime tree.

We are in love with our garden.