The first day of Spring,

Vernal Equinox,

is March 20, 2013.

Dogwoods are harbingers of Spring in the United States.

Pear trees are also welcome signs of Spring that dot both

gardens and wooded areas.  All along the highways bright white blooms

appear on pear trees while surrounding trees are still bare.

Flowering trees brightening the landscape are not the only signs of Spring.

Farmers welcome the greening of agricultural fields.

This defunct silo sits on an old farmstead that no longer has a 

farmhouse, barn, or other out buildings.

Seen from the south along a state highway, 

the silo is a lonely sentinel to days gone by.

Surprise!  

A closer view from a small farm road north of the silo 

reveals a smaller companion silo.

This early in Spring, the vines covering the silos and

the fence have yet to sprout.

But not to worry, soon the lonely silo duo will be clothed in 

vines the same shade as the bright green of the agricultural fields.

The duo won't be so lonely looking then.

Spring brings hope to everything!

Château de Beynac

The French feudal castle of 

Beynac,

built during the 12th and 13th centuries,

is surrounded by the medieval village of Beynac.

Beautiful blue shutters and stone-carved lintels line the stone-paved walkways
leading to the castle's moat and entrance.

Privately owned since 1962, the castle was restored and opened to the public.

Its fairy-tale architecture is captivating!  

So much so, the castle was the setting for the

movie Ever After, 

and the surrounding village was the setting for the movie Chocolat.

Ah, France....

In reality, the castle and surrounding village played pivotal roles in the

Hundred Years' War

between France and England.

High above the Dordorgne River, the castle was a French stronghold.

Even during wars and harsh times, French builders created beautiful

exterior doors, stone-carved dormers, tile roofs, and 

scalloped tile moldings along the roofline.

See this picture anywhere and one knows this is

French architecture!

Inside the castle, curved stone ceilings and arched windows...

Stone spiral staircases...

In late afternoon sun, light streams through the 

clear and blue leaded-glass windows

onto the spiral staircase.

Perhaps the most intriguing stairs are the ones worn down

by eight hundred years of people walking on them.

What lay outside the door obscured by the light at the top?

What did these climbers see?

Who else made the climb over the years?

Soldiers rushing to defend their castle,

servants trudging to work gardens on the terrace,

royalty walking to escape the darkness within the walls,

young lovers tripping up the stairs to enjoy a star-lit night,

elderly residents struggling upstairs to feel warm sunshine

on their faces one more time,

and

tourists panting to reach the top to see the glorious surrounding

countryside and winding river below.

Did any of the climbers ponder about those before them

or about those that followed them?

Dogwoods

Dogwoods

herald Spring.

Growing up in and around Huntsville, Alabama,

dogwoods were always part of Spring for me.

Downtown Huntsville has many streets of 

antebellum houses built using cotton plantation money,

and the houses are surrounded by lush gardens.

As a young girl, I would beg my parents and grandparents to drive 

on those streets every time I went to town with them. 

As the first-born child of my grandparent's first-born child,

they indulged me.  

Up one street and down the next, up the next street, and down the next,

until we had zig-zagged a path traveling

every street with the mansions. 

I would press my face to the car window, 

turning my head from one side of the street to the other 

trying not to miss a single blossom on any tree.  I would twist my

head around to stare out the back window as we turned off

the last street of antebellum houses.

Then we traveled by Maple Hill Cemetery, begun in 1822, and

burial site of many Alabama dignitaries including governors, senators,

confederate leaders, and the founder of Studebaker cars.

The houses grow smaller the further one travels from town center, 

but those streets are also filled with dogwoods.

My heart longs to see these trees every Spring,

even though I moved from there almost forty-five years ago.

Each time I visited my family during dogwood blooming time,

I asked my Texas-born husband to drive us up and down

the streets of Huntsville just as my parents did so many years before.

He always smiled and took the turns I told him

so we could see every street.  

My window rolled down, 

with a slight breeze blowing across my face,

I too smiled, and held my hand out the window

to catch the wind beneath the white and pink trees.

And many times, he would stop, and let me walk the petal-strewn sidewalks.

Château de Chenonceau - 500 Years

Château de Chenonceau

my favorite château (castle) in France...
is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year...

1513 - 2013

Love at first sight!

On my first visit in the 1980s, our tour guide regaled us with
stories of lavish, sensual royal parties
 complete with servant girls dressed as mermaids
frolicking in the shallow water ditches on both sides
of the broad graveled drive leading to the château.

Breathtakingly beautiful flower gardens,
a free-standing conical tower guarding the moat and castle,
and the ballroom wing spanning the River Cher
all reflect the influence of the women responsible
for building, adding onto, living in, and protecting Chenonceau.

Known as the Château des Dames,
its history is replete with

betrayal (burned as punishment
for sedition on the part of its first owner),

 romance (a gift to the king's mistress),

revenge (seized by the king's widow from the mistress),

intrigue (saved from destruction at the hands of
French Revolutionists),

altruism (used as a hospital in WWI), and

heroism (way of escape from Nazi France
across the gallery bridge to free France on the
opposite shore of the river.)

I will always remember seeing the grand floral
arrangements in the rooms for the first time.  The entry hall had
mounds of beautiful blue hydrangeas in a
stunning container.  While the other tour members were
gazing at the magnificent artwork, I was captivated with the
magnificence of the hydrangeas.
Such abundance, such grandeur, such perfection...
Oh, to be royal!

With its history and beauty,
 Château de Chenonceau embodies the
allure and romance of France.
How can one not love Chenonceau!

A few visits later, I bought a print of Chenonceau
from the gift shop housed in the guard tower.
It reminds me of the lovely days I've spent in France and
of the lives of the many influential French women over the centuries.
My life will never have the impact of those French women,
but I am encouraged to live a life that makes a
difference.  And living a life that makes a difference
can include beauty...

Whenever I end my visit to the castle,
I like to walk along a path in the woods that parallels
the main entry road filled with visitors.
Just a few feet away from other excited travelers,
but in my own private wooded sanctuary filled with
sounds of birds instead of conversations,
I enjoy yet more of Chenonceau.
One can travel within sight of the crowd,
but not be so overcome by the crowd as to
miss the meaning of the journey.

The official Château de Chenonceau website
http://www.chenonceau.com/en

Printemps in Alabama

Printemps

(Spring)

in Alabama arrives while the air is

chilled and still damp with rain.

An old homestead near my mother's house

is one of the first sites to which

 signs of Spring arrive.

The old house was torn down more 

than twenty years ago, but the

trees and flowers continue to bloom.

Daffodils and hyacinths bloom year after year

at the base of an old pecan tree.

The family that lived in the torn-down house had

two daughters and a son.  One of the daughters died a 

few years back.  The other daughter, in her 70s, lives

in North Carolina near her son.  

The son of the original family, also in his 70s, lives in a 

newer 1950s ranch-style house and is the

caretaker of the adjacent old homesite.

Several people have tried to buy the vacant lot,

but it is not for sale.

Each winter the daughter who lives in

North Carolina spends November - February

with her brother.

The old pecan trees bear bushels of pecans

and the daughter can be seen walking

through the lot picking up pecans.

One of the biggest Saucer Magnolia trees I've ever seen

grows on the homesite.

Here it is on February 14, 2013, 

ready to burst into bloom.

Within a week, the tree will be in glorious full bloom ...

about a week earlier than these views taken

February 28, 2011....

Don't you wonder when the family planted

this tree and flowers?

What made them choose a Saucer Magnolia?

Had they seen one as beautiful as theirs was in 2011?

Spring in this small Alabama town is 

truly beautiful.