Dry

The temperature today reached 19° C. That is about 66° F in the states. The “vague de froid” (cold wave) has ended and everyone is talking about spring. The French don’t have Punxsutawney Phil to predict the end of winter on Groundhog Day. The French prefer to make crêpes on that day. They call it “Chandeleur.” Good fortune comes to those who can toss a crêpe into the air and catch it in the same pan (using the hand with which one doesn't write). Even though the focus is different; the French have similar proverbs and predictions for the day. I found these online at about.com.

À la Chandeleur, l'hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur
On Candlemas, winter ends or strengthens

À la Chandeleur, le jour croît de deux heures
On Candlemas, the day grows by two hours

Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte
Candlemas covered (in snow), forty days lost

Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure
Dew on Candlemas, winter at its final hour

The cold and the crêpes aside, the dry weather has become a much more popular topic. Since our arrival in France in mid-December, it has rained only three times including a dusting of snow. The Ouveze River that flows through town now looks like a creek. Mt. Ventoux, usually snow-covered until April, is mostly bald with only small patches of snow on the north side. The leaves on the olive trees are curled up and looking a whole lot more silver than green.

I have not heard anyone speaking of a drought but this year is so different from our past three winters here. An n of three is not the basis for long-term predictions but winter rain gets absorbed into the clay and is what the grape vines and fruit trees live on during the long, dry summers here.

I am not complaining. The skies have been a deep blue with few clouds. The air is clear and regularly re-cleaned by the Mistral winds. I would like to imagine that the sky and air are as they were when the Impressionists started painting Provence scapes in the amazing colors that they used.

Guests

Tomorrow, Michael and Mary Ann arrive to spend a week with us. Hosting visitors is always fun because it gives me another chance to show someone why I love being here.

I should have the hosting responsibilities down pat but I find that there are too many attractions to fit into the times our visitors are here. Do we forfeit a trip to “Les Baux” – the 13th century castle-fort built into the rocks at the top of the mountain to go wine tasting? Will we have time to see the Alps (from Mt. Ventoux) if we want to have our visitors meet some of our French friends?

Guests/visitors bring their own perspectives. Paul and Denise had so many questions about Roman and French history for which I had few answers, I had to get busy and learn more about my environs. MB (EmBay) saw colors on shutters and buildings that I had walked past without a (recent) thought. She enjoyed meeting our French and English friends and marveled at the architecture and the landscape. Michael – who also owns an apartment in the medieval city – talked about wine tasting at vineyards that I want to add to my list. Betsy and Howard were so passionate about the area; all I could do was nod in agreement.

Michael and Mary Ann will get to see the Mediterranean Sea, the Rhone Valley, the Dentelles and the Alps and the two-thousand plus years of history of the Vaucluse – and then a few day trips that we think they may enjoy… Clearly, every visitor brings an extra bag of expectations. Hopefully, they will leave having exchanged expectations for expectations filled and experiences they will long remember. And, if we don’t fill their extra bag with the sights and tastes and sounds of Provence, in this instance, we will get a second chance when we go to Paris with them – “for Paris is a moveable feast.” (credit to Ernest Hemingway.)

"Mt. Windy"

There is snow on Mt. Ventoux!


There has been frost on the roof across the street several mornings this week. This morning – when it was clear enough to see the top of the mountain – I saw snow at the top of “Mt. Windy.”

Snow on the mountain should not surprise anyone who has walked around in the chilly temperatures that we have had. If you are not standing directly in the sun, it’s cold! With the wind and the cloudy afternoon we had, we turned on one of the little space heaters. (It doesn’t take much heat to warm up this little space.)