More Brooklyn Summer Harvest: Pears Ripening

Maybe it was all the rain we had this spring, but look all around you in Brooklyn: the fruit trees seem to have produced an incredible bounty this year. Last week, I posted photos of my neighbor's amazing peach harvest. Well, on my walks around the neighborhood, I have spotted others, which are covered with equally beautiful fruit. Look at this pear tree, for instance.

It has never been covered with as many pears before. They are ripening beautifully.

And I know that the fig trees are also doing amazingly well this year.

I only hope the fruit gets picked and eaten and doesn't just rot. Pssst...if you want to share your bounty, I'll gladly take some off your hands.

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Pardon Me For Asking Back To Its Regular Brooklyn Beat Next Week

Dear Reader,
I am heading back to Brooklyn and will be reporting from Carroll Gardens by early next week. I will try to post news of the neighborhood just as soon as I can. Till then, I will be in transit and will not have internet service. But please, leave your comments and I will post them when I get back.
Thanks for being patient.

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A Brooklyn Blogger Says Good-Bye To France

Has it really been four weeks, already? Please tell me, it is not so. However, a quick glimpse at the calendar has confirmed: It is time to pack our bags and to head home to Brooklyn.
But, oh, how sad I am to leave my little French village in the Auvergne. With a heavy heart, I have said goodbye to the spot under the linden tree, where we shared many a dinner and drank too many bottles of wine. I closed the shed door and walked down the stone steps to the village for the last time this summer. I encouraged the roses, the vine and the newly planted daisies to grow higher till I return and said my goodbyes to dear friends.

To Marinette and René, to Claudine and Michel, to Charlène and her parents and to all our other wonderful neighbors, I will miss you very much.
Merci pour un été formidable. Je vais revenir bien vite, c'est promis.


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Picture Of The Day: Shopping For A Bagette And A Live Chicken

She was walking just a few steps ahead of me, a bagette in one hand
and a live chicken in a cartboard box in the other.
"Pardonnez-moi", I asked her as I caught up to her. "Is this chicken for supper?"
"Non, non," she replied, smiling. "It is for my hen house."

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A Moment In Time: Bringing Home The Cows

Early in the evening, he was bringing home the cows from the field. It was milking time, you see.
The cows knew where they were going and obediently trotted along the main road through the village towards their stable. They did not care that they were blocking traffic. Neither did the passengers in the cars behind them. It was summer, after all, and life had slowed to a crawl here in the Auvergnat countryside.

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Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

Wherever you go here, dear Reader, there are flowers everywhere. They cascade over balconies, over fountains and from planters in every little town and village. Such profusion of blooms.
Note to myself: I must remember some of these flower combinations for next year.


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A Moment In Time: Strolling

She was strolling
through the ancient streets of
Le Puy
in little pink sneakers,
her walking stick
making click-clack
noises on the lava stones
which lined the street.

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Picture Of The Day: The Béret Mannequin

"Authentic French bérets for sale here"
yelled the vendor of hats at the market in Ambert.
He pointed at his mannequin, whose
stern stare was
just a tad intimidating.

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A Charming Garden In the Auvergne, France

Richard and Elaine's bountiful vegetable garden



Ms. Twiggy, the dog.



A walnut tree



Tomato vines



Yellow zucchini squash



and some more squash



A few varieties of salads




English Runner Beans



A morning glory growing against a stone wall.

Oh, how I wish I had a vegetable garden like the one above. It belongs to Richard and Elaine, our English friends who live here in the Auvergne permanently. How lucky is that?
Amidst stone paths, a bounty of vegetables grow in raised beds and against the old walls, which shelter this wonderful garden. Walnuts, squash, salads and flowers co-exist in perfect harmony in this place and provide its owners with fresh produce well into the fall.
Elaine and Richard operate two wonderful rental cottages in Chantagrele, a picturesque village here in the Auvergne. They are the perfect hosts, so if you would like to explore this area of France, their web site is a perfect place to start.




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A Day Of Leisure In Le Puy-En-Velay

Dear Reader,
Please forgive the lack of posts in the last few days, but we did have some rather severe thunderstorms here in the hills of the Auvergne, which knocked out our internet service. In addition, we had visitors staying with us, plus took time off to visit with both old and new friends.

One of those visits was to my friend Violaine, who is lucky enough to live in what must be one of France's most romantic little city's, called le Puy-En-Velay. Violaine and I went to Junior High School together. I tried to catch up with her in Le Puy last year, but we missed each other.
We were more organized this time around. We had a lovely afternoon visiting the famous cathedral with its famous black Madonna, walked around the charming cobble-stoned streets and ate lunch in one of the cafés on the main squares.

Le Puy is not only an important medieval Christian site, but is also one of the starting points of the pilgrimige to Santiago De Compostela in Spain.

Merci, Violaine, pour une journée extra. Á l'année prochaine, mon amie.

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Picture Of The Day: Evening Sky Over the Puy-De-Dôme

Photo credit: Max Kelly



The nights have already gotten shorter here
in the Auvergne,
but as the sun settles,
it offers an amazing evening sky.

The Puy-de-Dôme is a 10,000 year old volcanic lava dome which towers over the landscape of our region of France. It is 1,464 meters (4,803 feet) high. It is the highest point of a 25 mile-long chain of volcanoes called the Chaîne des Puys.



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Picture Of The Day: Cat's Balancing Act

She was perfectly camouflaged,
so I almost missed her
as she balanced herself on this rickety old gate
in our little French village.
Her brothers and sisters roamed around as well,
but only she was performing such a daring manoeuvre.

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A Moment In Time: Flower Girls In The Auvergne

They were on their way to someplace special,
bearing gifts and roses,
which they
proudly held in their hand.
Graciously, they stopped and smiled.

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A Brooklyn Blogger In France: Team Brooklyn At The Village Pétanque Tournament 2009

Under a bright blue, cloudless sky,
right below the village church,

the inhabitants of my little Auvergnat village assembled

to take part in the 2009 Pétanque competition
and to possibly win the much coveted trophy.

Spectators took their seats

as the teams took their positions

and the game began.



Team Brooklyn, which included Mr. Pardon Me, son Max and niece Julia,
had been training hard beforehand.



In their Pétanque America T-shirts,
gotten just weeks before at the Smith Street Bastille Day celebration back in Brooklyn



They proved to all that 'Pétanque is for losers...




because the winners pay the drinks'

There is always next year!

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