Woodland Walks

Elisabeth and I have gone walking in nearby woods just to enjoy the warm days and fall color. There is Brancion in the distance, the medieval site where Mimi and Marie-Annick climbed around in the old chateau.

The road we walked is mostly used by those who are working in the forest. We also took a short drive…and paused at one of my favorite intersections.

Elisabeth passed this house and then backed up the car for me. People who had been chatting moved out of the way when they realized I was photographing the roses.

We also stopped at Francoise’ home to see if she had returned from her trip with her daughters to Spain. She had had a fall prior to their trip, but walked all over the place with her daughters without saying a word about her hip hurting. The trip was to celebrate getting through her breast cancer operation and Francoise wasn’t about to let a sore hip slow her down. A few days after returning home her doctor discovered she had been walking on a broken hip! 

That's Elisabeth on the right, Francoise on the left, and me in the car with the zoom lens.

Another day Elisabeth and I took a different path.

It was interesting to see how the colors changed depending on their relationship to the sun.

We found some fascinating mushrooms.

these remind me of pansies

On our way back to Blanot we passed the home of Alan Mantle, former forester turned sculptor, and decided to ask if we could visit his studio one day. That will be another post.

when the core is removed, this becomes a humongous salad bowl

This plant has green leaves all winter. Elisabeth cuts it to use as Christmas decoration. Look closely to find all 3 red berries.

To get the next picture while driving to Cluny, I pulled over at the top of the side road with the sign that says ROUTE BARREE, in other words "road closed." Mimi had been curious and would have liked to have tried it, but I was remembering stories I had heard and thought the road would disappear at the edge of a gully, though it doesn't look bad from here. Oh those "shackles of the mind."  

One morning Anne went shopping with me. On our return I took a side road that I thought Elisabeth had shown me. Anne was surprised, but she’s a trooper. I got surprised because I’d picked the wrong road, not the one Elisabeth had used, and we found ourselves at the bottom of the BARREE road! 

The picture above is not the ROUTE BARREE...not sure which road it is, but I liked the tree color. 

To continue the story, I was ready to turn around, but Anne said to give it a try so I forged ahead cautiously. It soon became pot-hole-plaza! I crept, snaking my way from one side to the other. Then I met the pot-hole mother! I had to drive off the road to get around it, but after that the road calmed down and the main road was in sight.

Sorry, Mimi. Put it on the list for next time. 

The picture above is my kitchen window. Elisabeth brought me the woodland bouquet. I use the round pot behind the bouquet for compost items.