there is almost no drive on almost any road right now that doesnt’t include the sight of a buse variable raptor sitting still and alert on a fence post or vine stake, surveying the country for lunch, or dinner, or a snack. i don’t know how there can be enough little critters to support so many predators, but all the raptors look calm and well fed. this fellow was an exception, found on the side of a rural highway, the victim of the only predator above him on the chain. the only question is whether the predator species was a renault, a peugeot, or a citroëen.

wing and feather of a buse variable

roujan, france

the grapes are all fermented and pressed and the wine is resting in vats, but the olive presses around here are hard at work. we visited one today, and tasted freshly pressed olive oil flowing from a centrifuge less than 24 hours after we had watched those same olives get harvested the afternoon before. one thing i’ll miss back in shoreview is being surrounded by small scale agriculture, and living so close to the source of much of what we eat and drink.

black and green olives

oliverie pradines les bas, béziers, france

i shot these formerly bright orange poppy blossoms for STILL about two weeks ago, and posted them here. then i left them on my kitchen counter, and forgot about them. are their breathtaking colors, with the orange appearing actually to be leaking out of the petals, a reward for the virtue of patience, or a reward for the vice of sloth? in either case, i feel completely validated in whatever it was i had in mind.

dried california poppy blossoms

auignac, france

joe’s recent deep dive into science, combined with our family’s weak spot for animals of all kinds, means that we currently have 14 pet snails which are fed wild thyme and lettuce daily. and we have had two successive pet prying mantises, which are fed live crickets and grasshoppers every 4 days. the first mantis was named april. the second was named may. this was may’s last meal. she liked every part of the grasshopper except the wings and drumsticks. joe is deciding whether or not to go out in the vines and look for june.

grasshopper leftovers

autignac, france

it’s such a great season, if strangers aren’t trying to sell you something. planning to stay as unplugged, and as authentically connected, as possible for the next 20 days.

laurier d’alexandrie (danae racemosa)

autignac, france