Other summer feelings

My last entry spoke of the arrival of summer. I must say now that I wrote this after a beautiful hot weekend, and a strong wish that this really was summer arriving.

Well, crossing fingers worked this time, and the weather all of a sudden has returned to its normal south of France weather, with wall to wall sunshine and temperatures now hovering everyday in the mid high twenties.

An after lunch walk today with David has really confirmed this in other ways. The walk took us out of the village and across the small pathways that criss-cross the hundreds of nearby vineyards. This is a good opportunity to get out of the home and the office and breathe fresh air.

At the same time it gives a chance to see nature awakening. Plenty of birds - swifts wheeling around the sky, two falcons, and even a snake eagle catching the thermals high. Unusually alone - normally at this time of year they are in pairs, or even small groups. This may be the last time to see them before they fly back to the Pyrenees where they will spend the summer.

And of course, the vines are now shaking off the winter grey, and bringing patches of greenery that contrasted beautifully with red from a neighbouring field of poppies.

There has been plenty of growth over the last four weeks, and now the first 'grapes' are beginning to form. Still in infancy but well on the way to developing into the 2010 vintage cépage. We can wait for that, we have plenty of 2008/9 to be going on with.

Looking across the poppies, towards the vines and the Mediterranean.