Our Sunday walk

If we had kept to our usual pattern  this is where we would have been walking today.
It's just a 10 min.drive from where we live,

  it's a man made lake from the streams that weave their way through the woods.

This is where we start. it's very scenic.

During the summer months the nearby camping site is full
and in the winter it's very quiet and usually it's only dog walkers we pass.

We can walk all the way around
 and when we are on form and need a brisk walk, it takes about 30 mins.
But on the days when I have my camera in my pocket it takes a little longer,
 Depending on the time of day or the year and whether the sky is blue it can look totally different.
.

These photos show the vast amount of rain we've had this winter

Perhaps we should go early in the morning as I'm sure we'd see the deer.
Unfortunately we've never see them here, they're probably hiding in the woods.


However we didn't go today.

Nothing untoward has happened.
 It was pouring with rain, and I'm only a fair weather walker.
also there was something more important going on.
Well, more important for Mr France, as he's an avid Rugby fan
  and this time of the year it's the six nations championship.
Which for all those who don't follow rugby or like me are not interested.
The six nations we're playing Saturday & Sunday.
just in case you're just a little bit interested and curious to know who the nations are
 they are
ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND,WALES, FRANCE & ITALY.
Although we live in France , Mr France will still be cheering for England
One of our grandsons plays rugby
and has now been chosen to play for our region The Limousin.
 that's when he cheers for France
and shows how proud he is of his grandson.



This photo was taken  in February last year.
when
Most of the lake was frozen .



I can't wait for some clear skies and some sun .
But the forecast is more rain.
So our walk around the lake will have to wait a bit longer.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit more of where I live.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Are You Thinking of Visiting France soon ?

Then remember your P's. & Q's.

Always say Bonjour / Hello 

and

S'il vous plait / Please

This article was in our local English Newspaper;

It really made me smile.

When you were little I'm sure your parents taught you to say Please & Thank You.

Do you remember the old saying 

'manners don't cost anything' !!

Make sure you are polite.

or you might pay over the top for your drink.

But seriously just a word of warning !

Have you ever wondered why the locals go into the Bar/Cafe

 in towns or cities and stand at the bar with their drink ?

 Usually you will be charged more for drinks served to you if you sit outside on their terrace.

But at this Bar / Cafe  it was manners.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Grow Your Blog Party & Give Away

 I saw this button on a  blog   "Grow Your Blog" party!"    and thought it would be fun. it's a blog by  Vicki

 If this is the  first time you have visited  Me    I hope you'll enjoy what you see. I'm an English lady,  living in rural France, and my blog is about my daily life, my garden and the wild life I see. I can take you on lots of walks near to my home, and share with you the things that make me love where I live. Some times I share a special recipe . 

I do some crafting,  less than I used to.

I've always loved making things, ever since I was at school

 my favourite class was  what they called 'Needlework ' way back then.

My school reports had remarks something like this

'' If Barbara gave as much time to Maths 

as she does to her 'Needlework' she will go far''

Reading my grandsons reports, I don't think teachers have changed much, 

when summing up a pupil.

My lane which I take everyday for a walk.

I only started watercolour painting a few years ago,  when I feel brave enough to share something I've sketched or painted, I'll slip them into a post.

My painting corner 

 I love challenges.

Oh I forgot to tell you, I'm learning how to use Mr France's camera.

Mr. France is my husband, so he'll be popping into a few of the things I share with my followers.

We love to share a good bottle of wine.

If you'd like a peep at some of the things I share 

Make yourself a coffee or a nice cup of tea in your favourite cup.

and 

enjoy a few photos I've taken.

A few flowers to make you think of spring .

This is my potting bench, I spend a lot of time here.

 If you're looking  for  places to visit in Paris and see  lots of photos of the Eiffel Tower I'm not for you.

I'll let you into a secret, I've only ever stayed in Paris once 

and that was only a long weekend.

However if you love the country life

 with some extras thrown in

go to my sidebar and click on follower.

  I hope you'll like what you see.

I'll be waiting for you.

                    
                    Thanks for visiting, and thank you to Vicki at 2 Bags Full, our host.

I will be having my first Give Away  as a thank you
The give away is open to any one that comments on this blog post. 

this will be announced on the 15th February 

This is my first party link up

So look out for your name it might be you

Not sure yet what it will be, but it will something French.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

A little bit of this and some of that.

What do you do when it's raining ?

 I'm indisposed as they say !

even if it wasn't raining,

I would only be doing armchair activities.

A good time to get the camera and paints out,

but half way through the day, I felt tired due to the strong pain killers I'm taking.

Which means I will only be showing the shots I took of my indoor gardening. 

Hopefully the paintings will get done when I feel in the mood.

Back in November I bought several packets of dwarf daffodils,

 for the new area we started near the deck.

and thought it would be fun to plant some in unusual containers,

 and grow them on a sunny window ledge.

They took awhile to sprout , but are now shooting up, some more than others.

I thought I'd take a few photo shots, to test my improvement

 playing with Mr France's camera..

This is a vintage cup I've had for a long time and never used for tea,

so thought I'd put it to good use.

I planted these dwarf daffodils at the same time I planted the Paper whites.

which have been and gone.

The daffodils indoors are all growing at different paces .

This is a square glass container I use for  displaying  lots of different things.

It was full of dried Lavender and dried rose buds before I planted the daffodils.

 I like this simple shot.

I use Picasa  for the photos I post on my blog.
Usually for creating a collage.

Look what I did with the above photo. 

Today I tried clicking on a few other things to see what else I could do.
 and found several things like this sketching method. which I'll  certainly be trying in the future.


maybe for a watercolour of the cup and saucer

I collect things I like, not because they have a certain name.

But for all of you who collect pottery

this cup has a group of pretty little flowers on the inside of the cup

and the name underneath is

Soliam ware

made by 

Simpsons Pottery Ltd.

 Cobridge .England

.

The saucer is one of a few pieces I still have from a full tea-set.

which I had a long, long time ago.

Made by Johnson Brothers .England.

I hope you liked seeing what I did with my cup & Saucer. 

When they're in bloom I'll show you what they look like.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian.

Sleeping garden.

Although our winter has been mild we've had a lot of rain.
My garden is still sleeping.

Crocosmia


this is what we have to look forward to later in the summer.

How often do we not look up and take time to see the beauty of nature.

The sky was blue and the sun was shining

I took time this morning,
there right near to my house was this holly tree, still with plenty of berries.
 These have usually all gone by now.


Though we always make sure our bird feeders are kept full.

Coal tit

A few weeks ago I mentioned I was going to join a photography blog.

Well after reading what my first task was to be I realised it was not for me.

So Mr France has been giving me a few tips, 

and I took  these photos of the birds with his camera ,

I've been using some different menus

and I know I have a lot to learn 

but I feel I have improved.

What do you think ?

Nuthatch

 

Blue tit

I'm not able to do anything strenuous in the garden at the moment,

so as the sun was shining I sat in our sheltered spot 

& Mr France brought me coffee.

We sat at our little round café table

and watched the birds flying from feeder to feeder.

It won't be long before we hear them singing 

and see them starting to build their nests.

I hope you take time to look around
 and see what nature brings where ever you are.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian