The garden changes shape / le changement de forme du jardin

At this time of the year the garden seems to change shape. It has lost the structures, the uprights, the tall tomato plants, peppers and aubergines, the spreading courgette plants of summer. There's a lot of flat space - looking uninteresting perhaps, but waiting for spring and a new cycle of crops.

À cette saison le jardin change sa forme, il me semble. Il a perdu ses structures, ses hauteurs, les plantes grandes de l'été, les tomates, les piments, les aubergines, et les courgettes qui grimpaient le long de la terre. Il y a beaucoup de l'espace plate - sans intérêt peut-être, mais la terre attend le printemps et un nouveau cycle de culture.

A few months ago these plots were full of tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and courgettes. Now the ground has been cleared and the tomato plants have gone on the bonfire:

A good, still day for a bonfire, with a few feathery clouds.

I love the colours of red cabbage leaves / j'aime les couleurs des feuilles de choux rouges.

Red cabbage and pancetta / Choux rouge et pancetta

I picked 4 or 5 of the outer leaves of the red cabbage to cook with pancetta. I cut the pancetta into small pieces and fried them in a heavy cast iron pan with a little olive oil, then I added the sliced red cabbage, a chopped clove of garlic and a little water and steamed them for about 10 minutes, until the water had evaporated. Serve with crusty bread. This simple dish is delicious when made with green cabbage too, a recipe first suggested to us by our son.