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Tag Archives: spring
Getting the Garden Back in Trim
What a lovely time of year this is when the weather is fine! At last, after months of gloom and damp, the past few days have been not just spring like, but summery. It’s forecast to continue for the … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Nature
Tagged garden tools, gardening, gardening in France, geraniums, spring, spring flowers, weeds
20 Comments
Can Spring be far Behind?
The literary-minded will notice that the title is a quotation from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Ode to the West Wind’, written in 1819 while the poet was staying in Florence. The poem can be interpreted in various ways, the most simplistic … Continue reading
Posted in Weather
Tagged frost, rainfall, Shelley Ode to the West Wind, signs of spring, spring, SW France, Weather, winter weather
7 Comments
The First Cuckoo?
Happy Easter, Joyeuses Pâques à tout le monde. Easter this year has coincided with the clocks going forward for summertime and, I think, the first cuckoo. When I hung out of the window this morning listening to the birdsong, I … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Nature
Tagged birds' eggs, birdsong, brood parasites, cuckoo, first cuckoo, migratory birds, spring, summertime, SW France
14 Comments
Cuckoos, Birdsong and SW France Weather March 2015
Bonnes Pâques à tout le monde. I had hoped to report the cuckoo’s arrival, but it’s dragging its heels (or whatever cuckoos have) this year. A friend 10 km to the south said it had arrived over a week … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, Weather
Tagged cuckoo, first cuckoo, frost, hoopoe, rainfall, spring, SW France, Weather, Weather in SW France March 2015
11 Comments
Seasonal Treats: Asparagus and Strawberries
When we first moved here, it was frustrating not to find strawberries or asparagus in the French shops in the winter. I completely changed my mind a long time ago. There is a lot to be said for enjoying produce … Continue reading
Posted in Food/drink/recipes
Tagged asparagus, food, Gariguettes, seasonal produce, seasonal treats, spring, strawberries, SW France
14 Comments
Signs of Spring and Southwest France Weather February 2015
The SF (Statistics Freak to the uninitiated) tells me that winter runs from November to February. Personally, I feel it’s longer than that, but it’s better not to argue with the expert. Even so, by the end of February, I … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Weather
Tagged climate, frost, rainfall, signs of spring, spring, SW France, Weather, weather in southwest France, winter, winter weather
6 Comments
Spring in Southwest France
Well, this year it’s easy to tell it’s arrived. The weather has generally been lovely in April – with the occasional off-day. More often, April is cold and windy. The fine weather has brought everything out early and many … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Nature
Tagged asparagus, cuckoo, garriguettes, hoopoe, nightingale, respounchous, spring, SW France
19 Comments
First Cuckoo and Weather in Southwest France March 2014
Today we heard a cuckoo for the first time this year. It’s late: normally we hear one on 29th March +/- three days. And it’s a full week after some friends who live 15 km south of us told us … Continue reading
Posted in Weather
Tagged climate, first cuckoo, frost, rainfall, spring, SW France, SW France weather, Weather
10 Comments
Monthly Météo: SW France Weather May 2013
What can I say about the weather down here in May that is repeatable in polite company? Judging by the number of people who landed on my blog asking, “Why is the weather so bad in SW France?”, many others … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Weather
Tagged rainfall, spring, SW France, Weather, Weather in SW France
8 Comments
Geraniums
Wrought iron balconies decked with glowing geraniums are evocative of France for me – and for many others, I suspect. So after such a grey and damp winter, it was nice to introduce a touch of summer by making our … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Nature
Tagged gardening, geraniums, hummingbird hawk moth, pelargoniums, spring, SW France, white grubs
28 Comments
Seven Signs of Spring in SW France
Spring has taken a long time to arrive this year. Everything is coming out very late and the weather – up till this weekend – has generally been cooler than normal. However, we saw incontrovertible signs that spring is here … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Gardening, Nature
Tagged Choeur de Parisot, cuckoo, hoopoe, migratory birds, nightingale, spring, spring flowers, SW France, swimming pool
11 Comments
Monthly Météo: Weather in SW France May 2012
Contrary to popular opinion, this May was one of the best we’ve had in 14 years. However, temperatures were very variable. This, in my opinion, contributed to “the cold”, which has been around most of our acquaintances and landed up … Continue reading
Monthly Météo: Weather in Southwest France April 2012
We wanted rain. We got rain. This April has almost beaten our record for rainfall and it has certainly been the worst month weather-wise since we started recording our statistics 14 years ago. Everyone is thoroughly fed up. A number … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Weather
Tagged frost, rainfall, spring, SW France, Weather, Weather statistics
14 Comments
Nature Comes Back to Life
I am constantly amazed at nature’s ability for regeneration. Following the longest and most rigorous cold snap in 25 years, everything outside looked dead. I gazed out glumly on the brown, seared leaves of my shrubs and anticipated having to … Continue reading
Weather in southwest France: March 2011 update
Every month I post an update on how the weather has been, based on the statistics we have kept since 1998. Only this month I’m late with it and the Statistics Freak (aka my husband), whose baby all this is … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Weather
Tagged France, frost, living in France, rainfall, rural life, spring, SW France, Weather
6 Comments
The First Cuckoo
One of the harbingers of spring has arrived. The cuckoo has already been heard – if not seen – in this corner of southwest France. This year it has arrived early.
Posted in French life, Nature, Weather
Tagged cuckoo, first cuckoo, France, spring, spring flowers, SW France
7 Comments
Signs of spring
The signs of spring are tentatively appearing, despite the cold and gloomy winter and today’s near-gale force winds and driving rain. Late though they are this year, cowslips now carpet the fields and there are vibrant patches of violets in … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Nature, Weather
Tagged blogs about France, countryside, France, migratory birds, nature, rural life, spring
4 Comments
