Of Sunflowers, Daisies And Busy Days In the Auvergne, France

A sunny day in the Auvergne with the Chaîne des Puys in the distance

Usson,  named one of the most beautiful villages of France, under a cloudy sky

Fields of sunflowers in full bloom near Usson

I really meant to post immediately after arriving in France, I really did, but the days here have a different rhythm than back home in Brooklyn and they seem to pass by quicker than back home.

The last week-and-a-half has been filled with getting our old stone house in the Auvergne ready for family and this summer's guests, which means lots of dusting, working in the garden to do battle with weeds that have grown with impunity for the past few months, and fixing all sorts of little (and not so little) things that have broken since we were here last.

The weather has been alternating from scorching heat to rainy and cold, so that my husband and I made a fire in the wood burning stove to keep warm in the house. But no matter if sun or rain, the landscape of the Auvergne is always stunning.

At this moment, the sunflowers are in full bloom, and the sight never gets old.

Stay tuned for photos of our first market visit, and of a big project on the house that was completed

in our first week here.

The 1866 stone farmhouse in the Auvergne, which has brought my family back to France
 for the past forty-five years.

The daisies in front of the house are particularly beautiful this year.

Evening light and a curious neighbor