LIFE AT LA VUDELE - quiet winter days

Provence in winter: gorgeous, quiet

Winter is very quiet in the countryside, and in Provence it is no expection. Our days are marked by the rising sun in the East and the sun setting, usually with a glorious sunset, in the West, in the general direction the famous Mont Ventoux in the Vaucluse.
The temperatures this year have been very moderate and sometimes even very warm so that flowers which usually do not appear until later on in spring are already out, and there are already plenty of almond trees which normally blossom the middle of March are in full bloom!
 
Winter is also the time to reflect, to take time out from the busy summer and its heat. Following is a poem created for the village of Quinson describing the summer, with its heat, the sound of the cigalles chirping, the streets empty and dry, only the thought of "dinner" on one's mind - ah, the easy life:

Chez nous quand midi carillonne,
Les rues sont vides. L’heure sonne
Sur un monde d’indifférence :
C’est souvent ainsi en Provence,

Surtout dans ce village clos
Tapi au pied de son coteau
Et ne pensant plus qu’à « dîner ».
La vie s’est soudain enfermée

A l’intérieur des maisons fraîches ;
Et les rues ne sont plus que sèches
Venelles sans vie et sans heurts ;
Le déjeuner gomme deux heures

Du temps rétréci pour un temps.
Les rues sont vides comme antan,
Aux jours des anciennes chansons
Des troubadours du vieux Quinson*.

*Poème offert au village de Quinson

To a lovely 2016 and a long summer
 with many positive experiences!