Au Naturel in France

No, I didn’t mean it THAT way (au naturel can mean nude). I meant, let’s wallow in the prettiness of the French countryside on a walk around the neighborhood.

This was taken at the same time and place as the top photo of the snow-capped Pyrénées, just aiming at a different direction.

We had a big storm a few days ago. Rain came down as if from a firehose. The river rose enough that I couldn’t cross it on the little blocks. In fact, the blocks caught branches knocked down by the storm.

This is called a passage à gué. Walk or drive through at your own risk.

Check out the size of that stump!

The rapids really roar. You can hear them blocks away.

The wind howled for a couple of days. That’s when it’s nice to have shutters.

The table we keep out for winter dining (it often is nice enough to eat outside, especially at lunch) was overturned, but the potted cactus landed right-side-up.

The rain may have poured, but the village fountain has been shut off for winter.

It seems as if autumn has only just settled in, and now we’re getting ready for Christmas.

Snow appeared about a week ago on the Pyrénées. It’s nice that it’s near enough to visit but we don’t have to deal with the mess of slush and ice.

Same mountains, different shoot. The view from the local dump/recycling center. Seriously.