When at the Goat Farm, I took a walk.

The other day I took time to walk around the goat farm. I discovered a dirt road leading toward Arles -- to explore further with my bike on my next visit. I visited the horse, who was in with the goats nibbling away, hiding beneath the trees when the heat became too strong. When Filou ran up to her barking louding, she simply charged him and put him in his place. But, as she didn't really want to come close to me, nor is she truly dangerous, she stopped after a step or two.

Isabelle was sleeping, her new quilt upon her knees. The others were busy in each his own way, and my particular skills -- cooking and cleaning -- weren't really in need at that moment. So, I wandered, I looked, I took in the evolving spring. The fluff along the ground dropped form the polinating trees. The butterflies posing gently upon a bright magenta flower, the rosemary in blossom.

Each spring I see anew. I revel in this beauty, the last spring for Isabelle. As with many who are in the midst of this path towards death, it seems she has stayed with us till this moment. Now that the flowers are opening. Now that the warmth has returned, now that her little grandson can explore this marvelous outdoor world on two feet, she is ready to depart. A last spring lived, sensed, seen, felt.

In the beauty of her sphere. Aware of this magical moment of grace, I am.

Acacia Beignets

What a glorious world this is that provides such lovely possibilities for my kitchen and my table!

The blossoms are coming in on many a tree, and yes, they are edible. A special treat at this time of year is Acacia flower beignet. The Acacia flowers grow like grapes and Wysteria, in hanging clumps. They are comestible and delicious. So, I sent the kids out to gather a few and prepared a simple beignet batter with:

2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup milk
1/3-1/2 cup water

I whisked this all together till it was of a light cream texture. Then I heated up some frying oil (cold-pressed, organic sunflower), dipped my flowers into the batter and began frying. It took no time at all to have a tray full.

I sprinkled them with powdered sugar and brought them out to my hungry crowd.

Oh what a pleasure!

Alongside the Acacia was my elder tree coming into bloom. I gathered the elderflowers, along with a few of the acacia and made syrup as I do every spring. Do see my post from last year on the many possibilities of syrups for the kids from my garden:

Elderflower syrup

The Signs of the Season

My favorite wild rose bush is covered in buds and just beginning to flower. The promise of a wall filled with its deep magenta is there... next week?

The cherry tree is nearly all leaf, its last blossoms hanging on for another couple of days.

The tiny thornless roses behind the pool are bursting into bloom, and stretching across the fence, filling the back garden with their light yellow tufts.

The neighbor's wysteria (glicine) is fully in blossom, a wall of magical purple cascades that I do so wish I could transplant to my facade...


The vegetable patch is coming up, happy potato plants amidst a few weeds, delicate peas.


And a forest of strawberries fit for a storybook tale of fairies and shrinking children playing hide and seek.

The nose sniffles as the fluffy things fall from the trees, filling the ground with their wafting cotton.

And the mosquitoes are happily birthing their babies and sending them to feast upon our blood as we contemplate sleep. A few head slaps before the mind finally shuts down is my new routine. Mosquito screens before the 1st of May? That's what a moist winter and early spring bring. Happily, I hear the frogs croaking away in the evening. Gorge yourselves I pray to them, consume the babes before they reach my window and my ever tender neck.

In the morning, the birds sing me awake as the sky turns slowly gray. Yes, I'm still not sleeping over much past 5AM, but I feel the slump passing, and the beauty surrounding me nourishing me and pushing me forward.

Le monde s'épanouit autour de moi.

Just Spring Flowers

For me, all these books I'm reading and podcasts I'm listening to that underline the importance of living in the present and being grateful resonate with smelling the flowers, feeling the sunshine, and appreciating the beauty all around me.

Spring? By Hook or by Crook

No matter the cold winds. The freak snow storms, the distressing drop in temperature, the lowering wood pile. Spring is making its appearance with beauty and grace.

Spring in Photos - What's up at the Winery

Unless otherwise noted, all materials on this site are (c) 2009 by Madeleine Vedel.

Spring is most definitely here, and the first flowers of spring are bursting out at every turn. The almond trees have already passed to leaf, but the large orchards of apricots and plums cover the landscape in various shades of pink.




At the winery, JP has a wonderful mimosa tree just by the balcony, a joy to behold as we take our post-lunch coffee and chocolate on the terrace. In the vineyards, the tiny four petaled flowers in yellow and white make a gorgeous bed beneath the vines.

However, with all this growing greenery and plant life, the next stage of the winery calendar is in full swing. It is time to pull out the tractor, with its special hoe that uproots the weeds around, between and amongst the "souches" (roots/individual vines/feet of the vine). JP is a master of this art. And truly, an art it is. For anyone contemplating switching from regular or "reasonable" agricultural practices to organic, he/she must first of all cease using Round-Up and other noccive plant killers, and begin working the land physically/manually. And in the place of a couple visits of chemistry sprayed from a vehicle, there is a minimum of six passages through the vineyards to uproot the weeds.




The art lies in the timing - tied closely to an intimate understanding of the plant life growing in your vineyards--, and the manipulation of a sensitive machine that must be adapted precisely to the spacing of the plants, and, which cannot work without the guidance of a person walking behind it. For many, this is a lost art, and even contemplating the physical labor necessary is a deterant to working organically.

To this end, JP will be offering hands-on classes at the Mas to his ever more numerous colleagues who would like to attempt working organically (and who are being encouraged to do so with special financial incentives from the European Union). With more than 25 years of experience under his belt, and a deep and abiding love of nature and the rich bio-diversity that is present in his vineyards, he has much to share.



You have to look closely now to tell the difference between organic and reasonable agricultural vineyards. In general, the latter are identifiable by the lack of weeds at the feet of the plants. However, it has become general practice to leave greenery (that they mow) between the vineyards rows. This is definitely better than killing all the weeds, but it also tricks the eyes. The organic vineyards are those that probably still have some weeds at the foot of their vines, and that also have the clear presence of actively turned dirt. So, salute your organic neighbors when you see them, and nudge the others, or suggest they come to Provence for a lesson or two, hm?