My photo blog

Today's favourite photos: strong, colourful,bright,a statement;

pale, minimalist, grey, but also a statement!
Straight but twisted, two dots and an oval, in opposite corners.
They are very different but I like them both. Both taken in an instant, with no hesitation.

Independance Day for America - bravo! Not everybody's independant these days (de nos jours) And they have been for 217 years.
"Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks (feu d'artifices), parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States." Wkikpedia


Here's a model specially for the day - but who would dare wear it (qui oserait le porter)?

What on earth is an osaka orange? Here it is

I picked it up (ramassé) in the middle of a country road near my house. It's an enormous fruit fallen from a tree, and there were dozens of them, some squashed (écrasé) by cars. I cut one open to see what it was like inside

I looked on internet to discover what it was and all about it. I read it is not edible and the seeds (graines) are not fertile.
Still, I planted it and now, in May look what is happening (ce qui se passe)

Lots of seeds are growing and pushing the fruit out of (en dehors de) the soil (terre)! Unbelievable! I am delighted (je suis ravie). I hope they will continue growing (pousser).
One month since (depuis) the last entry! I promise I won't do it again.

Curious! Never seen these before - but I'm not a regular visitor to building sites:) This is on the beach in Charente Maritime.



These had just been taken out (enlevé) and some had already walked on the sand garden. Can't see people - or dogs - respecting this, it doesn't look like a garden.

Armoiries I hear you say. OK, coat of arms.
Manteaux de bras?
No, armoiries - read closely, there is 'arms' in armoiries
OK, what can you see on the coat of arms?
Snails?
No, , they don't have houses on their backs, they are slugs(limaçons)! Beurk! Yuk! But look at their eyes, they're wide awake(bien révéillé), looking around, not sliding(glissant) along under the grass!
It's not a joke, this is real, this is somebody's coat of arms.
Whose?
You'll never guess in a thousand years.
They belong to Lenôtre - no, not the chocolate man. That was GASTON Lenôtre. This is André.
You remember, LouisXIV favourite gardener between 1645 and 1700, the one who created the gardens of Versailles and the famous 'jardins à la française'.
Mind you, he had no real merit, his father Jean was already(déjà) the king's gardener in the Tuileries gardens and his mother the daughter of a gardener; his godfather(parrain) was chief administrator of the king's gardens under Henry IV and Louis X11; his godmother(marraine) was the wife of a king's gardener!! In the family, so to speak (pour ainsi dire)!!
So, why did he have slugs on his coat of arms?
He was ennobled by Louis XIV in 1675 and when Louis ordered him to choose his coat of arms, he joked about it and said he had already 3 slugs crowned by a cabbage(un chou). The king had a coat of arms made: a sand coloured background(fond) engraved with a gold chevron shape and three silver(argent) slugs!
(A chevron symbolizes protection; for builders or others who have accomplished some work of faithful (bons et loyaux) service. A slug is a symbol of foresight (prévoyance). READ ABOUT HIM IN FRENCH)
So, why am I writing about him today?
Because I discovered 2013 in Lenôtre year and all sorts of celebrations will be taking place(auront lieu). He was born on March 12th 1613, 400 years ago and his gardens are still admired today. What an achievement! (quelle prouesse)!
So, everybody, get out(sortez) into your gardens, onto your balconies, it's celebration year for French gardens, let's see what you can do.

What am I going to put in for my 300th entry?
An outside view?

An inside view?

A close-up?

Or a mystery 'don't know what it is" shot?

I couldn't decide, so you got all four

Is anybody reading this, except me?

Shocking! I was absolutely disgusted (dégouté) by the so-called (soi-disant) works of art chosen to go along the new tramway in Paris!



This one is canoes - along a tramway?



This one a broken lamp post!
There was also rocks on top of masts, a moving frieze that started as big black ants that became all deformed and ended as circles, a frieze of carved rabbits that I didn't even recognize....! Unbelievable. And so childish (enfantin)! Not worthy of Paris.
I've seen better things than these on the roundabouts, and in England there are some fantastic immense scultures along the motorways.

More than one month since my last entry, but nobody has said anything (personne n'a rien dit), so probably nobody's reading it! What a pity! (quel dommage)
In the mean time (entretemps) the Christmas and New Year celebrations have passed, even an alert for the end of the world - and I'm still here (je suis encore là).
I have made two calenders, one with 12 photos of Paris in 2012 and one with 12 red photos; I'm very pleased with them.
I didn't take many photos in Paris in December, the weather wasn't very good: cold and very grey most days, no good for taking photos. Even the pigeons were cold - but they knew how to get warm (se réchauffer).



One day the Eiffel Tower completely disappeared in the mist.



I took confusing, busy photos full of incongruous details; but this is what Paris is like.

Beautiful blue lights at the Rond point de l'Elysée on the Champs Elysées at the end of November in the rain.



Beautiful blue street art in the Belleville district by ROTI a very well-written article - in French.



As it says, it's a sort of Noah's ark driven by a rabbit - what imagination!

All the colours of Autumn in these chrysanthemums that have become the graveyard (cimetière) flower in France. What a pity, they are beautiful vibrant colours, but they don't like heavy rain (de fortes pluies) or cold.
I bought 3 pots of yellow ones for my garden and they add a spot of colour among (parmi) all the dark greens.

What a beautiful door! Where does it go? What is inside? What is outside around it? Mystery.
The grapes are delicious

What sort of a garden is behind the gates? Flowers? Vegetables? Fountains, lakes? Trees? Fruit trees? Stone sculptures? Secrets?

Temperature already hot under the tree, going up.

Still going up, it's getting difficult to stay out even in the shade under the tree, I have to keep going in the house where it's cool.

It didn't get any hotter than this, the wind stopped and it started cooling down.

A very good initiative this summer: pianos in different place in the capital, here in Montparnasse station, for the public to play. On the piano is a notice saying "à vous de jouer" (your turn to play) and for the hour I was there waiting for a train there was always someone playing. It was very agreable and pleasant to listen to; I heard classical music, jazz and even children playing. What a good idea.



This is the ceiling (plafond) over the piano I found the shapes and patterns interesting.