It is difficult to believe that tomorrow we enter our fifth week of physical distancing (aka Lockdown). The time is passing so quickly and evidence of this would seem to be the fact that I never found the time to sit down during this past week to write the words “we are in our fourth week“.
M. Macron speaks to the nation this evening and it is widely expected that he will be increasing our sentence by a further four weeks. That’s okay – having done four already, that would mean that we have done half of our time so the second half should be a doddle.
Once again the weather is helping. It has been dry, hot and sunny here and we have been spending time outside in what passes for our garden. We have been eating outside and with that on top of our daily hour-long walk, it scarcely seems as though we are confined at all.
Spring has definitely sprung over the past seven days and everything now looks very green. The Ash tree that I recently commented on as showing distinct buds is now very green, though not yet in full leaf. It is however sufficiently dressed to hide the birds that sit in its branches and sing. There are Black Redstarts that sit up there and the Tits that nest behind our shed also use the Ash as a vantage point.
The Featured Image for this post was taken on our daily dog walk last Wednesday (8/4/20) when I first really registered that Spring was here. Nature has been rampaging since then. I must take a camera out with me tomorrow to do a comparison shot.
Yesterday afternoon I commented on the fact that I have been hearing Woodpeckers at work and also the call of the Cuckoo but had not yet heard a Hoopoe. This of course prompted one to start calling immediately. Shortly after he began to call, I spotted two buzzards wheeling overhead and they soon added their mewing to the sounds around us. Then a small group of Swallows flew close by. It is good to see them back. They nest in our neighbour’s barn and hunt all around, entertaining us when we sit outside.
On Friday, the Crooked Man went into Montmorillon to do our shopping. He filled in the digital version of the Attestation on his phone but forgot to pick up the phone when he had parked the car at E.Leclerc. As he approached the entrance to the shop he noted the presence of Gendarmes. He spoke to one and asked if he required the Attestation which had been left in the car. “Oui“. Well, he said, he wasn’t going to argue with a large uniformed individual toting a gun! “And we aren’t talking side arms here!” he added. No, it was a very large and efficient looking machine.
On returning from the car with the required Attestation, the Crooked Man approached the Gendarmes, who were by now chatting amongst themselves. Holding out his phone in readiness – he was a bit miffed to find that the same armed Gendarme simply waved him away and into the shop.
it’s all very French.
So, what exactly have we been up to and where has the time all gone to. I can’t point to very much at all. We built the marble run , one of us went shopping and we planned (and later cooked and ate) our Date Night dinner and we dyed my hair purple. I suppose we have also done a lot of sitting out in the sun and watching the lizards.
This week’s Date Night Menu:
I can’t wait to see what we come up with for our next Date Night. One thing is for certain, it is going to come around with speed.
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