29°C, and it's going to last for at least a few days, temps will go down a bit at the weekend, then up again to 30. And no rain forecast for at least two weeks. I went to a "cool" place, some shade under the big trees. "Arboretum des Grandes Bruyères". They have an "asian garden" section with some maples, a big Zelkova, Pinus pentaphylla, Ulmus parvifolia, etc. Here are some photos of a few of the maples. These were just labelled "Acer palmatum" : This one too was labelled "palmatum", but I think it is not. Japonicum ? Shirasawanum : A detail of one of the cappadocicum : There were others like Acer triflorum, several Acer buergerianum, a small Acer ukurunduense in a poor condition, Acer negundo, a big variegated species of Acer campestre, Acer triflorum, etc. I'll have to go back to take more pictures. ;0)
Silly temperatures for May, I see that parts of France are now having water shortages. What is July and August going to bring!! Looks a lovely cool place to visit Alain.
You're welcome any time : the bugs won't bite, there are so many spiders in the house that I can't remember their names. The "red" "département" in the center is like the bull's eye. That's where I live :
76 was the year when I went to Dundee to spend a school year as a "French assistant". I thought the photos of the hills (the "laws") were "painted", today, we would say photoshoped, but they weren't. The hills were really purple. I remember I smiled at the advice on the radio "prefer a shower to a bath", to save water. In the flat we shared with other students, there was only a bath tub, so we bought an adaptator, one rubber pipe on the cold water tap, another one on the hot tap. It was at that time a "cultural" difference, very few flats were equipped with showers. I'm talking about the mid-seventies, where French homes had toilets in the back of the garden, as "the Americans" believed <LOL> In the heat of this '76 summer, there was still a place in Scotland where there was still some snow, and a road sign that had been used as a "slide". Wonder who was fool enough to slip down the snow ? Admire the long hair in the wind, and the slender silhouette of the laddie, huh huh huh... Sorry, no photos of the crash at the bottom of the slope.
Yesterday, I visited the "Arboretum des Prés de Culans", 20 km from where I live. It's also a National Conservatory of Ilex, they have about 500 varieties, but they're not as easy to spot as other trees, and most of the time less spectacular. The first time I went there was years ago, at the end of summer, and I noticed they had some nice maples, but not at their best. This time, I was really impressed. This time, all the trees were at their best. The fact that is is located in a kind of marsh-like area, with channels of small rivers called "Les Mauves" probably helps. The tallest trees (Taxodium, various conifers, etc.) help keep them in the shade, and "les Mauves" keep a humid atmosphere that most maples love. Don't panic ! I won't post the 50+ pics I took, but if ever you happen to take a trip along the river Loire, make sure Meung-su-Loire is a place to make a stop (It's also a place with a medieval castle where François Villon, an iconic French poet of the 15th century is said to have spend some time in the vaults). There is one of the tallest, most beautiful Acer palmatum I've seen in my region , it must be at least 12 metres tall. From different sides :
(continued) There were smaller ones, a couple of 'Buttrefly' in a so-si condition, one that was labelled 'Lutescens', a Shirasawanum vitifolium, another shirasawanum, and quite a few "dissecum atropurpureum" that were not labelled. There was also a 'Seiryu' about 3 metres tall, but I couldn't take a good picture of the whole tree.
