Wednesday 16 September 2009

Dry / Sec

Usually, after a dry summer, we have rain here at the beginning of September. This year we’re still waiting. The garden needs it. / Normalement, après un été sec, il pleut au début de septembre. Cette année on l’attend toujours. Le jardin en a besoin.

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Will it rain soon? Maybe not. Clouds come over from time to time, but no rain falls. / Pleuvra-t-il bientôt? Peut-être non. Les nuages passent au-dessus de nous de temps en temps, mais la pluie ne tombe pas.

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The plane trees / Les platanes

Day after day we’ve heard the chainsaws and seen the lorries taking away the felled, healthy trees. There is an emptiness where they’ve been cut down which I can’t bear to photograph yet. Everyone we talk to is upset about it.

Jour après jour on a entendu les tronçonneuses et on a vu les camions en emportant les arbres sains abattus. Il y a un vide à coté de la route qui je ne peux pas photographier encore. Tout le monde dit que ça les fait mal.

We think the chainsaws disturbed a hive of bees, as a swarm passed frighteningly close over us in the garden the other day. It‘s not the usual time of year for swarming. / Nous pensons que les tronçonneuses ont troublé une ruche d’abeilles, parce que un essaim sont passé très proche au-dessus de nous au jardin. Ce n’est pas la saison pour essaimer.

We’ve found that shield beetles are attacking our tomatoes. There doesn’t seem to be an effective organic way to get rid of them. We are starting to pick some good tomatoes again, though, and luckily the flowers in the garden are a more cheerful sight. / Nous avons trouvé que les punaises attaquent les tomates et il semble qu’il n y a pas une façon biologique de les tuer. On commence à ramasser encore des bonnes tomates, et heureusement, les fleurs au jardin sont plus joyeux à voir.

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Two morning glories which seem to glow with their own light, and a pelargonium.

5 comments:

Jan said...

You may get some rain tomorrow as the forecast is for heavy rain over the whole of Catalunya and the Pyrenees, although I'm not sure how far it will extend to the right. But fingers crossed!

Michelle said...

You're having some typical California September weather, we usually do not expect rain now. It was a nice surprise to get a little tiny bit of rain a couple of nights ago. I hope a good rain comes your way soon. The morning glories are beautiful.

Stefaneener said...

I was just thinking the same thing as Michelle -- rain is a late October/November kind of thing here. Yes, focus on the beauty. And breathe. (Isn't that a California thing to say!)

gintoino said...

I know what you mean. I'm also waiting for the rain. It has been a very dry summer and the garden sure felt it. I was counting on September rains to improve things around here.

Weeping Sore said...

I know anecdotal evidence of strange weather doesn't prove climate change, but I do think as gardeners, we're more attuned to strange seasonal behavior.

This is the time of year when I actually dream about rain. I live in a house with open beam ceilings, meaning my ceiling IS the roof. The best thing ever is to awaken at night to the sound of rain on the roof. I'm still waiting.

Your garden and flowers look like they're beneficiaries of your careful tending.