Departure day

Just a quick and very short there-and-back ride up past les Planeaux this morning, before tidying, packing and catching trains to Lille at lunchtime. Fortunately the rain last night has done a good job of largely extinguishing the Die forest fire, though there will undoubtedly be hotspots, and lots of surveillance will be required over the next couple of weeks. There's the possibility of more thundery rain tonight, so everyone is keeping fingers crossed.

Anyway, the air was delightful this morning, as you'll see!

A quiet day

I spent the day at home today, not least as it was very hot out again, and with little wind, the smoke from the forest fire at Die was hanging in the valleys. There was a small heavy dose of rain later in the afternoon, which might help the firefighters keep things under control (it was looking a bit more positive today), and it allowed me to go out before my evening meal.

Anyway, it wasn't a prolific stroll for photographs: just two butterflies on the lavender by Romeyer temple (the Protestant church)

Keeping it local

I had planned to ride over to the Quint Valley this morning to see a friend, but seeing how the smoke was lurking in the valleys, and the forecast temperatures, I changed my mind at the Col de Romeyer, and headed for the coolth and clean air of my house. A good call, as it got up to 38C later, and the smoke hung around until about 5pm. 

Having been in the house all day, I couldn't resist the shortest of walks at 6pm in the clean air, even if it was still very warm. Thankfully the nights have (eventually) been cooling down enough to cool the house down a few degrees overnight.

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!