A Marignac loop

More lavender hunting this morning... I have a number of spots I head for when the lavender might be out, and given the forest fire near Die and the strong north-westerly forecast today, Marignac fitted the bill for lavender and clear air. Fortunately I was spot on, even if it's sad to see the fire from a distance. There are now 600 firefighters on the case, but with aerial support stretched beyond the limit nationally in France, their aim will at best be to avoid any human injury, and to protect property as much as possible. It'll be up to nature to repair itself in the longer term, and for governments to adapt planning for the 'new normal'.

Anyway, some pretty pictures in the meantime...

More lavender

 I shan't be going far this week, given the canicule and my continuing quest to balance heart rehab exercise and rest. So this morning I went just as far as Ponet for a 15-mile mostly flat e-bike ride. (I didn't quite realise at the time just how much use it would get: I'm glad I chose something pleasurable to ride!)

You'll see the haze from the forest fire south of Die in some photos: hopefully the lack of overnight wind will give the firefighters a bit of a chance to contain the fire today, but it did mean that visibility and my internet connection (via mobile data) were somewhat impacted. Obviously, getting the fire under control is the more important matter, and given the heat, one needs little encouragement to stay indoors.

Lavender hunting...

This is only the second time I've been here at the start of July, and the big bonus and draw is seeing much more lavender before it's harvested. It's passed its blue stage and with the dryness and heat this year, it's getting very close to harvest, even in the Diois (where it's normally a couple of weeks behind Provence).

Anyway, I needed to go down to Die to do some shopping, so I put the Moustache onto high power, and headed over the Col de Romeyer to Chamaloc, before heading back down to Die.

An early summer escape!

I've just got home to Romeyer after a wonderfully intense five days with the Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra at the Vienne Jazz Festival – I'm only here until Saturday, but I just can't resist the lure of a few days at lavender time: it'll mostly be gone by the time I return at the end of July, especially if this 'canicule' continues to roast France.

On the plus side, the heat will encourage me to rest: I had a heart valve repair at the beginning of April, so it's going to take a long time for the heart muscle to rehabilitate (and which is why I've not been here since the New Year). All's going well, but patience is the key, along with regular exercise (and rest) to gradually aid the rehabilitation.

On the minus side, the heat and dryness have provoked a lot of forest fires, and at the moment there's one just south of Die: with no prospect of rain, and the fire services stretched to their limit (particularly the fleet of firefighting aeroplanes), containing the fire is severely challenging. All we can really do is keep fingers crossed.

Anyway, on happier things, I've had my first Romeyer morning walk, and the butterflies are just loving the local lavender, even more than I am!

Return to Blogger?

I might make a return to Blogger here this year, given that I've run out of storage on my Wordpress blog, extra storage space there is very expensive, and one can't link from Google Photos.

Anyway, in the meantime, while I look at options, here's a photo from the Christmas & New Year stay in Romeyer!

Over to WordPress...

Well, I've taken the plunge and have moved activity over to WordPress. It still needs tweaking, as the exporting process has not eliminated some of the annoying inherited glitches from Blogger, but I'm reasonably happy with how it's looking after a few hours' tinkering. It's at https://unanglaisendiois.wordpress.com/, so do pop over there and have a look.

Time to leave

My last day here for now, and time for one last ride before house tidying and cleaning. It's been a vintage summer for getting up to Vercors - unlike last summer, this year Vercors has rarely been wearing its cap of cloud, and indeed, in the high temperatures of this summer has been a pleasant refuge on the hottest days.

So, today, a repeat of a favourite 50-mile loop up to La-Chapelle-en-Vercors before lunch. And then time to say "au revoir". Certainly a most enjoyable and memorable stay. Apart from concerts, a trip to Serbia, welcoming friends and evenings out with French friends, I've cycled 2000 miles, achieved my ambition of cycling 100 solo miles at 20mph, and put up my toilet roll holder that's been sitting on the shelf for two years. See, I do more than just ride a bike.