Pretty as all the pictures

We’ve been back from France a few days now and in that time, the spring has sprung, the waters have subsided and March is set to be as dry as February was wet. In the space of the week we were in the Haute-Marne, huge lakes reverted to fields and the water of the Marne ceased their torrential rage and dropped a good 60 cm. It was glorious to see the sun shining again, so Koos and I enjoyed seeing the villages come alive again. People started working on their gardens, sweeping away the debris left by the rain and storms and generally tidying up their world. I also noticed lots of activity with wood chopping, sawing and stacking. It seems our village folk are already preparing for next winter. Maybe we should take note!

The photos below are just snaps of some of the lovely days we had in the area. These blue skies did much for everyone’s spirits.

In my last post, I showed you a couple of photos of our local laverie at the beginning of the week. It was completely submerged in water then, and the river was lapping through the door. By Sunday, we could go into it and the water had dropped below the second step, which was incredible to see. It’s awe inspiring how fast these changes can occur.

The river was around the roots of these bushes the previous week. By the time we left, it was almost back to normal winter levels.

And the tree lodged against the bridge here was almost completely submerged when we first came to look at the waters. It’s  ow exposed and will have to be cleared away, or it will become a dam which could cause flooding too.

And now we are back in our other lovely place where horizons and watery vistas take on their own special significance. This ethereal scene was at the creek a few hundred metres from our Crumbly Cottage early one morning before the sun had burnt through the low lying mist.

And here is a scene from my walk with Zoe this morning. Our village runs along a dyke so we can be out in the fields in no time. Here, I’m looking back to an old brewery, one of at least four that used to operate in this community. No wonder the Belgians like it! 😆 In fact, there are no breweries and no tramlines along the dyke these days, but the village really is very popular with our neighbours across the border. The population has a high percentage of Flemish folk and it’s nice to feel part of their culture too.

 Have a great weekend, allemaal. We will be busy with boats, I think, so watch this space for news on cleaning and degreening!