Number 1 - Lizard skin? Someother reptile? In fact when we dismantled the above ground pool that we have, this pattern was impregnated in the carpet under the liner. It's the mosaic pattern from the liner photosynthesised into the white carpet by the sun and algae...wierd.
....some amazing bas relief carving.....
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| From Windows of Provence |
With apologies for the gap - I have been busy with some consultancy, I thought I would post some photos of a new event which took place in the village this summer, to huge public acclaim. As I think I have mentioned, throughout the summer we have a series of bull and horse related events - one of which is known as the 'abrivado' and involves 5 camargue horsemen and women galloping up the main street with a bull, and the locals trying to stop the bull, turn it round and send it back in the opposite direction. The somewhat hazy origins of the practice seem to be that that's what happened historically when bulls were being brought to market - the locals seized the opportunity to indulge in a spot of bull theft.
This year's new event was billed as a 'transhumance des anes' or a version of the seasonal transhumance, where sheep (mostly) are driven from the hot lowlands to cooler mountains in spring and driven back down again in autumn. Guy tells me that animals used to do this themselves without any prompting, which I guess makes sense as their instincts seem somewhat more honed than our own.
Anyway, on the night in question, the horsemen came galloping up the street in the usual intimidating manner....and then nothing much happened - as the 20 donkeys who were following them ambled up behind, heading off down side streets, stopping to eat geraniums etc. They eventually made it to the end of the road, at which point, the riders tried to round them up to take them back in the opposite direction to no avail as the entire population of Rognonas seemed to be in the street, stroking the donkeys, who were having a very nice time, thank you very much and were going no where. A mass therapy session then ensued before the donkeys were eventually persuaded back down the road and home to their fields full of hay, offerings of carrots and general goodwill. Let's hope it becomes a regular feature.
Having recommended canoeing under the Pont du Gard to almost all of our guests for years, we decided that we should give it a go ourselves this summer. And it proved to be a great recommendation. It's an 8km journey down river, ending just after the Pont du Gard. The view as you approch the aquaduct is extraordinary. 
However in the intervening two weeks the temperature seemed to have dropped by about 10 degrees. I still made it in. I can't say it was a pleasure. Guy stayed on the edge with his feet in the water and swears they went blue.
The sun has come back, the storms have passed and it's back to summer again. Cooler mornings and evenings mean that autumn is on the way, but afternoons are lovely, still 30 degrees and with the pool at 24, a swim around 4 (after a siesta under the pergola) is just perfect.
We often have ferocious storms at the beginning of September and this year is no exception. Terrible timing for the wine makers who are anxiously watching over their grapes for signs of rot caused by the dampness. Hail, which often accompanies the storms is a disaster too. We were largely spared yesterday, but our friends at Domaine de Mourchon had 10 cm of rain and hail.
These photos were actually taken in June when we had the wildest storm I have ever seen, but they give you an idea of what the wine makers are up against. Normal service has been resumed today however and it's back to a very pleasant 30 degrees with the same forecast for next week.
The guys on the wheels are winding up the ropes to create tension while the 'animateur' loads the rocks.
And here's a close up of the mobile hedge that they pull - the branches are so long that they touch the telephone wires that criss cross the street - health and safety doesn't seem to be that much of an issue....and I like it that way.
The Vine Tours site was pretty out of date, so I had to take it down to avoid confusion. I've mounted this temporary site, which looks just as the new one will look, to provide basic details and links to more specific information.
Just round the corner from that, we discovered a quarry still in use. They're mining the stone (prized for its whiteness and purity) for its own sake nowadays, the seams of aluminium ore being long since mined out.
So this set the scene for the Cathedrale d'Image - a 'son et lumiére' show inside the old bauxite mines - truly a cathedral sized space.
The show uses not only his most famous paintings, but also photographs from the era and his sketches and drawings. Note the scale of the space, ably demonstrated by the couple standing in the foreground.
So quarries and van Gogh turned out to be the theme for the day. Later on, we were in St-Rémy and walked out to St-Paul-de-Mausole - van Gogh's asylum. Just behind the asylum is the Mas de la Pyramide, where, at the centre of an olive grove, stands the last remnant of an ancient quarry. Why that bit was left, I have no idea.
Debbie, forever the botanist, was in raptures about the Judas trees flowering all around (deep pink blossom in the background). She was also pleased to hear that for once it wasn't going to be John and Ruth that were out with me as I took blog shots and insisted that I include a picture of her. Here she is...
