Spring

What a beautiful day it has been. Spring has really arrived as you will see from the pictures of the pansies and the blossom which is everywhere. All the fruit trees are covered in white blossom and it reminds me of Robert Bridges' poem Spring Goeth All In White.

Spring goeth all in white,

Crowned with milk-white may:

In fleecy flocks of light

O'er heaven the white clouds stray:

White butterflies in the air;

White daisies prank the ground:

The cherry and hoary pear

Scatter their snow around.

I like to think that when we are next here the blossom will have transformed into cherries plums and apricots with pears and apples to follow. In the meantime it looks wonderful.

We have been making the most of warm weather and had a trip out to Cordes today. This is an incredibly beautiful hill top town a few kilometres from us. It is like a mini Carcassonne and is often very busy with tourists but at this time of year it is still rather quiet and very pretty. The hike up the hill is a bit heavy going but worth it for the view. It was market day and the beauty of the aubergines and peppers made me feel inspired to make ratatouille. This evening it is carnavale in Verfeil so I expect the music will go on into the night. At present there is a steady trickle of visitors arriving and an expectant air especially amongst the children who are in fancy dress. As I was writing this the samba band arrived and it was all very jolly and colourful, especially the lady in the flowery hat! Spike is adding to the general excitement by chasing flies and crunching them and trying to break into the new box of cat biscuits. He has also contributed to the white theme by opening and destroying a whole packet of cotton wool! Enjoy the pictures and the video.