Taking a break

I've decided to stop posting to this blog for now,
but I'll leave the 100 or so pictures
that are here right where they are.

I will continue posting to my main blog,
Living the Life in Saint-Aignan.

You'll find more photos and text there. Thanks.

Out of town — absent

I'll be in the U.S. for the month of October, so I won't be posting
any more Loire Valley images before mid-November.

Je m'absente pour un voyage d'un mois aux USA et ne publierai plus
de photos sur ce site avant la mi-novembre.

Vineyards in autumn

Domaine de la Renaudie, 05 November 2005

Grazing at La Renaudière

A deer in the back yard, 21 September 2003

Il va pleuvoir

Storm clouds moving in from the west, 21 September 2006

Au revoir les tournesols

The end of the sunflower season near
Nouans-les-Fontaines, 05 September 2006

Plums

Picked near the village of Orbigny, 05 Sept. 2006.
Weighing nearly 10 lbs., they will likely become preserves.

Pink clouds at sunset

Amazing skies over La Renaudière, 19 August 2006

Pont-l'évêque cheese

Dinner at La Renaudière, 30 août 2006

Church in Reuilly

At Reuilly, a wine village near Bourges, 23 August 2006

Clouds at sunset

A la Renaudière, 19 August 2006

Stormy sunset

At La Renaudière, 17 August 2006

Eggplant, tomato, mozzarella gratin

Bake eggplant slices on a cookie sheet until they are fairly soft. Slice tomatoes.

Make layers of eggplant slices, tomato slices, and mozzarella.
Season with minced garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Bake until bubbly and browned. Eat. Enjoy.

At La Renaudière, 16 August 2006.

The tomatoes won't quit

The harvest at Les Bouleaux, 15 August 2006

North window, rainy afternoon

Chez nous, 12 août 2006

Staircase

Au château de Bellegarde, 15 juillet 2006

Tomates entières, tomates coupées

Avant...

... et après.

Garden-fresh tomatoes ready to go on a pizza, 09 August 2006

Kayaks

Canoes and kayaks at the campground on the banks
of the Cher in Mareuil, 29 July 2006

Une nouvelle rose

La Renaudière, 05 August 2006

Summer squash

Slice them in half, cook them in the oven,
and then scoop out the flesh, 03 August 2006

A trip to the déchetterie in the Peugeot

Nos vacances à la Renaudière, 03 août 2006

River rock gravel

Gravel on driveway and patio at Les Bouleaux,
02 August 2006

La rue de la Renaudière

Looking down the hill from La Renaudière,
29 October 2005

Abeille

A Cour-sur-Loire, 27 mai 2006

Rooftop

Le Baptistère St-Jean à Poitiers, 26 juillet 2006

Sunflowers

Near the château du Bois-Dousset, 26 July 2006

Coq

A la Corroirie, près de Loches, 22 juillet 2006

Richelieu

On the grounds where the château used to be,
09 September 2003

Pâtisserie in Loches

Gâteaux dans une vitrine, Loches, 20 avril 2006

Allée

Au château viticole de Quinçay, 18 mars 2006

Défense de doubler

Don't even think about it! Near Meusnes, 25 June 2006

Sunset

Sunset over the Renaudie vineyards, 30 July 2005

Visage

Au château de Montrésor, 17 juillet 2005

Numéro 46

Dans les rues de Salbris, 08 juillet 2005

Sainte Madeleine

En l'église de Fougères-sur-Bièvre
02 juillet 2006

Hay

Bales of hay near the village of Oisly, 02 July 2006

Orléans

Orléans : la cathédrale, 27 juin 2006

Church window

Dans l'église de Selles-sur-Cher, 25 juin 2006

C'est moi

Moi-même taking pictures at Chenonceau, mai 2006
Thanks to Sue for the picture.

Un vélo rouge

Contre un gros arbre à Bourré,
aux bords du Cher, 22 juin 2006

Picnic

Roadside picnic, 19 June 2006

Ghost sign

Colorful traces of old advertising for Dubonnet
painted on a wall in Saint-Aignan, 16 June 2006

Anneau

Metal ring used for mooring boats on the riverfront
at Saint-Aignan, 16 June 2006

Champ de blé

A field of wheat on the banks of the Cher
at Saint-Aignan, 16 June 2006

Une Deux Chevaux

2CV in Saint-Aignan, 16 June 2006

Clafoutis

Cherry season in Saint-Aignan, 16 June 2006

Here's a recipe.
Powdered sugar and the two extra egg yolks are optional.
One cup of whole milk — no cream added — is just as good.

Millstone

A Villentrois, 14 juin 2006

Winery near Chenonceaux

A Civray-de-Touraine, 10 juin 2006