Scents of summer

When I walked the trails at Pleasant Grove back in Virginia, the woods in the summertime had a particular smell, especially on hot days following rain. The air was heavy (because it was summer in Virginia) and it reminded me of the smell of a stale humidor, thick odor clinging to the earth like the smell of smoke emanating from damp wood. 

Recently I have been noticing a particular smell in the woods at the Citadelle and even elsewhere around town that I couldn't place. It's sort of a mild perfume smell, not unpleasant but it could be if it was much stronger. I've been looking as I walk, trying to figure out the source. There's some shrubs and roses flowing now, but they aren't particularly fragrant nor sufficiently abundant to account for the widespread scent. The place I notice it most is a wide stretch of treed green space called the esplanade that runs along the side of the Citadelle next to the old part of Lille. The tall trees are mostly one species and they've been trimming them lately leaving piles of limbs on the ground which gave me the chance to identify the trees from the foliage. They are Lindens, called Lime trees in Europe or Basswood in the United States. There are many species of the genus "tilia." 

I also discovered from the downed limbs that they are currently in bloom and those flowers are the source of the scent I've been experiencing. I thought that most trees were finished blooming by now but Lindens are just getting started. I had planted a Linden tree in our yard back in Virginia. It had been damaged in a storm but was recovering well by the time we left. I hope it still is. They are rather remarkable trees and a good source of pollen for bees. 

Lately we've been having a heat wave with temperatures in the 90s. That's not unusual for summer in the states, but it's warmer than normal for the north of France and it's particularly oppressive without air conditioning. I walk Bailey early in the morning and then we lay low for the day, emerging only for the evening walk after the sun has gone down. I'm getting less mileage in but I'm okay with that for this weather. 

Bailey on an evening walk on a rainy day.

Trees planted in giant pots are a common decoration for public spaces around town. That red is also the city's color.

Hanging out in the bedroom on a hot day.

These are beautiful, they don't even look real.

They look like they must be related to thistles.

Bailey wearing her lighted collar on a late walk.

The foliage of the Linden/Lime/Basswood tree. They are tall trees but they also produce a lot of secondary growth from the base, which makes each tree look like it's growing out of the center of a bush. The one I planted in Palmyra did this as well.

The heavily scented flowers.

Summer Solstice

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice. The sun went down at 10:04 p.m. I didn't even take Bailey out for her second walk until 10 p.m. because yesterday was also the Fete de la Musique in Lille and all over France. More on that below.

We went to the last concert of the season at the opera last week. It was two guys playing various instruments.

One played stringed instruments and the other played wind instruments. Most were unknown to me.

Sweet William purchased at a market last weekend.

Wildflowers (intentionally planted and maintained) on one of our walks.

This was on an evening walk a few days ago. It doesn't show in the picture but there was one planet visible just above the moon, Venus, I assume.

On late evening walks I put Bailey's lighted collar on her. It makes it easier for me to keep track of her if she's running through the woods after dark.

Harry the heron at the lock on the canal. 

The Fete de la Musique is a nation-wide event with a wide variety of musical performances all over the country. Some are indoors like this recital of guitar players from the music conservatory in Lille. It was held in St. Catherine's church which is nice because it's a large, stone building and we are currently in the midst of a heatwave. It was very pleasant inside and the performances were good. I had forgotten the range of music that can be produced by an ordinary acoustic guitar. 

This was a guitar/flute duo and the sound of that solitary flute in that cavernous church was just amazing.

Most readers know that I don't care one whit for religion in general or catholicism in particular, but old churches are beautiful spaces. There's lots of old art work in this one.

We went over to the conservatory itself for the next event.

This space is also beautiful but it was hot and the music wasn't as good so we didn't make it all the way through it.

Much of the music was in the streets, like this fanfare (a brass band of university students), playing outside our favorite beer bar. There was a lot of street music, much of it electronic, very loud, and accompanied by much drinking, partying, and general merriment that went on well into the night. Bailey didn't care for it and we might send her off to her boarding camp for this event next year. 

More adventures in Lille

We had a pretty busy social calendar last week, but of course everything revolves around Bailey's twice daily walking schedule.

Thursday evening at the opera was another dance performance. It was modern and quite weird. Can't say that I really enjoyed much of it but it was an experience and I don't regret going. We did have great seats. We had a beer on the way home and all was made right.

Friday night we went to a performance of Sheherazade by a local symphony orchestra. It was very good musically, and it took place in the Eglise Sainte Catherine, a local church that we hadn't yet visited. The church was quite beautiful, with a vaulted wooden ceiling that looked like it had been constructed by ship builders. There was also a good amount of 16th century Flemish art hanging on the walls. The church doesn't seem to be open much (none of them have much of a local congregation any more), but it was in much better condition than two of the other nearby churches that we've visited. Interesting fact about churches in France, virtually all of them, including Notre Dame, are actually owned (since 1905) by the French government. 

Saturday night we went to performance put on by what I guess is a circus training school. The students included jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists. It seemed to be a performance put on by the school to give its students stage experience in front of a live audience. I'm guessing the audience included a lot of friends and family; it was a friendly and supportive crowd. I'm also pretty sure we were the only Americans in attendance. I'm not sure we'd do it again, but it was fun and they sold beer and popcorn. (We left at intermission.)

Sunday I had my usual long morning walk with Bailey and then went on a bike ride in the afternoon, leaving her at home to nap. This time I hopped on the subway and went to a new part of town. I picked up one of the city rental bikes at the metro stop and rode into some new (to me) green space. I'm not sure what the area is called but it's a series of small lakes with trails running along it. It seems to include a historic farm as well. There is also an archeological museum, the museum of modern art, and a museum of windmills in the area. The trails were great for bike riding. The really nice surprise for me was the wildlife. The lakes are in a protected area so they must be perfect for waterfowl nesting. I have never seen so many swans, including several broods with multiple cygnets swimming with their parents. There were so many swans on the largest of the lakes that they looked like seagulls. I'm getting somewhat accustomed to seeing swans on bodies of water here in France, but I still get a thrill from each sighting. 

The swans were great but I got an extra wildlife sighting today. I was riding past an open grassy field and spotted what, at first glance I first took to be a dog, but then realized it was a fox ("renard" in French). He was just standing in the middle of a field, a good distance from the trails. A couple of other people along with trail noticed him as well and stopped to watch and take his picture. 

It was a great ride. I got slightly lost on the far side of the lake, but found my way back. I made gazpacho after getting back home and cooked a pizza for dinner. My legs were tired but we still did Bailey's evening walk. Sunset is now after 10:00 p.m. so there was still plenty of time.

This little group of buildings was home to a pony club. I did some little ponies nearby but I don't know what that's all about. I stopped and played "Pink Pony Club" through my headphones.

Swans stick their heads under water to feed, which looks a little weird.

These are coots, a very common water bird around here.

The cygnets aren't as big or as white as the adults.

All those white spots, and many more, are swans.

Le renard

The museum of windmills includes an old mill. I'll go back to see it properly some day.