"Oldtimer"

Roanne, France
"Oldtimer," originally a working barge in The Netherlands transporting grain, was built in 1927 and converted to a live aboard barge in the 1990's. The barge is 16 meters and the style of barge is called a Steilsteven. We are the second owners and have owned the ship since October 2005. We are Americans from Colorado who with our Tibetan Terrier "Tulah" now live in France and "Oldtimer" is our home.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The skies of France

Sometimes the photos I take simply drive the BLOG. There is no real story with this BLOG - just an obsession with the sky and clouds of France. Partially this is due to the openess of the geography so that we see the sunsets from the barge. The light in Europe is different - soft and often with a slight haze so that it is diffused. This of course leads to my poor attitude during the winter when this haziness becomes an overall grey because the sun is so weak. The latitude is very far north so the summer days are long - till 10:00pm and conversely the winters are really really short with the days ending at 5:00pm.

So enjoy the photos. You can click on this address
http://jalbum.net/a/822455/ or you can click on the Jalbum widget on the right side of the page.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Sancerre Vendage

On the right side of the BLOG is a place labeled "Jalbums". Just click on the space and it will take you to a wonderful site that does justice to the photos. I am still working with it and will have more photos of the vendange. As you click through be sure to see all the photos by clicking on the arrow on the right of the photos at the top.
The vendange is the French word for grape picking and the beginning of the process of making wine. It is a special time. When we arrived in Sancerre this fall it was about a week before the beginning of the vendange. The grape vines were resting and doing the best they could to be the best grapes ever. There were no workers, no trucks/vans - nothing was happening . There was stillness, a serenity in the vineyard that was just magical.
The second week we were there the vendange started on a monday and the energy level changed dramatically. People were working in the fields both by hand and machine. The smell of the crushed grapes perfumed the air in the village. Life was good!
Some of the photos I took were early in the morning before the sun came up. At the base of the village of Sancerre is the Loire Lateral Canal and the River Loire. In the fall the cool nights produce heavy fog over the areas of water. As the sun rises this becomes an unusual sight. Tulah and I were running through the vineyards and as we turned around at the top we were able to see this fabulous vision.
It is our favorite place to be in the fall. So very special.