The team at Radio Free Daglan has been taking a well-deserved break (from blogging) after a well-deserved period of fun (hosting guests). But it is time to stop all the relaxation and get back to some serious blogging. Here are a few tidbits, to provide you with some sense of what’s been going on.
The cruellest month? Was T.S. Eliot thinking of the Greater Daglan Area when he wrote that “April is the cruellest month … stirring dull roots with spring rain…”? Probably not. But you can certainly forget my earlier predictions that we were heading straight into summer from a wintery February. April in particular has been a bit of a soggy mess, alternating drizzle, heavy rain, clouds and mist, and the occasional patch of sunny blue skies. The water is much needed, but the rainy weather is starting to be a bit much. Here’s a peek into the Céou River this morning, taken from the Pont Neuf as you enter our village:
Rage on, Mighty River!
Bring on the flowers! One good effect of the rain is that we’re seeing a lot of flowers blooming all through the countryside. Here’s one example, next to the restaurant in Gourdon where we ate lunch on Friday the 13th:
Crabapple? Cherry? I confess I didn't check closely.
Asparagus tips. Spring is asparagus season, of course, and white asparagus is highly prized in the GDA and easily available in our markets. My wife Jan has cooked white asparagus several times already, sometimes serving it with a sabayon sauce made with extra virgin olive oil. It’s delicious. And for something completely over the top, here’s an asparagus entrée I had recently at the Michelin-starred Le Grand Bleu, where we had a wonderful lunch with my visiting sister Karen and her husband Mark:
A beautiful use of asparagus at Le Grand Bleu.
Among the ingredients: white asparagus, green asparagus, asparagus ice cream, and a poached egg. Beautiful, and scrumptious.
A peaceful field. Finally, to encourage your personal sense of tranquillity, here’s a photograph of a peaceful field in the GDA, populated by some very peaceful (and fairly curious) sheep:
Field of dreams? Imagine counting them as they jump over fences...
And that will do for now. I think I’ll get back to relaxing.
And is that asparagus hummus at 10:00?
Suzanne — Good eye! But I believe it was asparagus foam.
After last nights wind and heavy rain the blossom is now all over the (long) grass. Looking forward to returning home after the daily dog walk with a dry dog.
Lesley, it’s hard to plan, isn’t it? Today the weather seems to be alternating every 15 to 30 minutes between clear skies and heavy rain!
Good to see you back on air.
Thanks John! It’s good to be back — now I just have to keep on writing!
Loren
Loren J. Chudy Working Words | Editorial & Creative Services
Place de la Fontaine, 24250 Daglan, France