sky high

This shot creates the illusion of an elaborate stone fence atop the levee in Amboise.  In fact, I took it at the base of the levee, so you're seeing just the top of a building on the street behind.  Fortunately, the clouds added a certain dynamic to the scene.  On another day, I'll show you the entire building which has an interesting Amboisian history.

the last stop

After an apparent long life, this big tree ended it with a cruise downstream on the Loire.  It somehow made it past the bridge Leclerc and is now likely permanently beached on a little island.  It's bark has been worn smooth by the high waters of the Loire.  I was only able to get to it because of the low water level now.

oh come down from your ivy tower

...and get to work in the garden.  This wonderful ivy-covered tower is next to the gardens at Château de la Bourdaisière (remember it from a few days ago?).  The gardens are just stunning and meticulously manicured.  I'm wondering how I can get up that thing and get some shots.

how dry is it?

If only Johnny were here to answer that question.  But these two shots taken from the same location (the bottom one in June and the top one a few days ago) give you an idea of the two weather extremes we've experienced in the same year.  Spring was exceptionally wet while this summer has been exceptionally dry.  Everyone has their fingers crossed for the upcoming grape harvest.  Some other crops have not fared well.

Château de la Bourdaisière

This is the location of the annual Festival de la tomate that I described yesterday.  The château has an interesting history that includes stories of a several French kings and their mistresses; it even has some American ties (read about the chäteau's history here).  The château and its enormous grounds and gardens are a popular destination for tourists to the area.  One can book rooms in the château itself which is fabulously decorated in a classic regional style.  Oh, one day...

2016 Festival de la tomate

This is the first year we've attended the annual tomato festival at nearby Château de la Bourdaisière.  This incredible château is worth the trip itself, but this past weekend it is further embellished by the festival that includes locally produced foodstuffs, crafts, wine, and of course fabulous tomatoes. To boot, the day was a beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies and white clouds.  Just for me.

an unusual view of the church of Notre-Dame

The view is unusual because the water level of the Loire is low enough that I could take if from a pier of the bridge Leclerc... without getting my feet wet.  Usually, the river flows between this pier and the river bank so that you'd have to wade or swim to get to this spot (unless it's underwater as it was in the spring). The green growth and the little yellow flowers belie the fact that it has been extremely dry here this summer.

Loire art

After months of exceptional dryness, the Loire is as low as I have seen it (in 5 years).  I took a walk on the new "beach" created by the low water level and found these remnants.  Washed over by probably many years by the river, they have gotten this white patina.  I'm guessing that is due to the large amount of limestone (tuffeau) in the Loire valley.

Oh, Eddie

Water flowing under the bridge Leclerc made these interesting eddies yesterday in the Loire.

step up to the light

Stairs on the levee on the right bank.  You do remember why it's called the "right" bank, of course.  You can see how dry it's been here lately.

tour Féalain and friends

These trees are in planters along a pedestrian plaza in front of tour Féalain.  It looks to me that they are the cousins of the trees I know in the southeast US as crepe myrtles. According to Wiki, the crepe myrtle was introduced to Charleston SC by a French botanist in 1790.  That would make for a nice symmetry.

"T" is for Tuesday

OK folks, it's Rorchach time again. In this totally un-retouched photo, do you see a mosquito, a hummingbird, a cordless drill, or what?  By the way, I have no idea how this cloud was formed, but it wasn't me.

in a galaxy far, far away

Or just down the street under a bright streetlight.  So bright that not only the prey but even the silk filaments seem to glow in the dark.

a tree with a view

I'm not sure how I've managed not to see this magnificent tree before.  My excuse is that it is a bit tucked away behind a fence and mostly hidden between two houses.  But there it is.  And I think it and its owners must really enjoy the view of the château that you can just see in the background.

awash in sunsets

I think a good sunset is like a good medicine.  And this late summer has been very good for them here.  So here's this Saturday's dose for you.

the chorus line

Caught in the footlights of the setting sun, these plane trees are ready for their show.

CDP Theme Day - library

The first of every month is Theme Day for the bloggers of City Daily Photo, and today the theme is "library".  My subject library was recently installed on the street leading up to Clos Lucé (Leonardo da Vinci's final home).  While it's not the Amboise public library, it is still a genuine lending library nonetheless.  The hand-written description says "My little library. I share my books.  Thanks"  To see how the other worldwide bloggers interpreted today's theme click here.

(By the way, the French word librairie is a bookstore, while bibliothèque is what Anglophones call a library.)

piles of tiles

There are many, many tile roofs in Amboise and this one is quite large and quite impressive.

cloud of yellow

Spotted next to the bridge Leclerc.

the garden with a view of the château

The space between the levee and the Loire cannot be built upon of course, but it makes for a great space for gardening.  This one across from the château has a nice gate that gave me this photo-op.

Sunday picnic and sunset

August has been a good month for sunsets here. And when you add in a nice picnic on the banks of the Loire, what could be better?

Live from ADP, it's Saturday night

And what would ADP be without its Saturday sunset?

concert guinguette

Historically, a guinguette is an open air performance complimented with eating and drinking.  These venues were wildly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries but had mostly disappeared by the end of the 20th.  The 21st century is seeing a bit of a comeback of the idea.  On a recent evening on the Place Debré, there was a little revival of the guinguette with a troop of accordion players entertaining the outdoor diners and onlookers.  It was a lively show and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

busy as

A bee on duty at a planter on the levee.

a balmy day in Amboise

We've had some wonderful weather here lately (although that's about to change).  High temperatures have been in the 20's C / 70-80's F and nice breezes. Still, since most homes do not have air conditioning, it's a good practice to close the shutters to the afternoon sun.

les martinets - the martins

These martins often make their mud nests in the protected niche above windows.  In this case, this window belongs to the Amboise city hall (hôtel de ville).  They generally do not make too much of a mess below the nests and so their nesting should not be a problem to home owners.  And the great benefit of having lots of martins in the area is that they consume huge amounts of flying insects.

In this photo there are five martins. If you maximize the photo you may find them (click on the photo and maximize your browser window). The two in the upper left corner are easy to find clinging to their nest.  A third and its shadow can be seen in flight on the lower right.  A fourth is difficult to see in the upper left but look for the little patch of white above and to the right of its shadow.  It's coming in for a landing.  The last one is just a tail sticking out of the entrance to a nest, it's in between the first two and the fourth.

ducks on the diagonal

It's Monday.  Time to get your ducks in a row.

peace on the levee

A rare moment on the levee without the crowds of tourists and one can look out over the Loire in peace.  Have a peaceful Sunday everyone.

August sunset

Time for another Saturday sunset.  This fiery one that set the Loire on fire as well is from two weeks ago.

so many directions

With a golden low setting sun, the shadow of the directional road signs caught my eye.  And while waiting for all those usual tourists who like to photo-bomb my shots to get out of the way, I noticed that, hey, their shadows are just as interesting.  So then I started waiting for them.  Here are some more: