Bridge. Clouds. Any questions?

 

the drought of 2022

 

As with the entire world, we too are suffering from the results of climate change.  We are having one of the hottest and driest Augusts ever.  This photo is underneath the bridge over the Loire river.  Normally, there would be water flowing through this section closest to the shore.  Other sections still have a trickle of water but you'd be hard pressed to pass through in a small boat or even a canoe. Businesses and private residences are under water use restrictions.  Agriculture, including the wine making industry, is taking a huge hit.  Fortunately, our region has not yet been hit with fires as have other regions in France. 

the bridge over the pond

foggy morning

twilight on the Loire

the bridge of gold to the Island of Gold

The early morning light gave the bridge Leclerc a nice golden glow.  Appropriate, as it leads to the Island of Gold (l'ile d'Or).

a little bit of Giverny in Amboise

This charming bridge and pond can be found on the grounds of Clos Lucé.

skywriting

Or skypainting, above the bridge Leclerc.

light under the bridge

I caught the Leclerc bridge last week as the early morning sun found its way underneath.

the bridge to nowhere

I recently discovered a new walking route that takes me down to a bridge over the Loire east of Amboise.  I liked the look of it from underneath and decided that maybe I should double my pleasure (if you are now singing in your head "...double your fun...", then you are clearly of my generation).

the source

I have a collection of photos taken from this same spot.  To me, it's a source of ever-changing abstracts according to the season, the weather, and the river level.  If you haven't figured it out yet, it's one of the piers supporting the bridge Général Leclerc, photographed from the bridge above (two weeks ago).  It's quite different from this shot taken almost three years ago.

the "other" bridge

The Général Leclerc bridge consists of two segments that connect the left and right banks of the Loire via the Isle d'Or.  Most of the photos I have posted are the left bank segment in front of the château.  However, recent cleaning out of an overgrown area underneath the right bank bridge has allowed me to get this new perspective on that segment.  As you can see, the water level is still pretty low as those "footers' (the flat concrete areas under the piers) are underwater in wetter times.  It would be theoretically possible to walk across the Loire here, but it would be way too dangerous to try as the currents are quite strong.

By the way, "left" and "right" banks of a river are relative to travelling downstream.  And they're not just in Paris!

the long view

We've had some perfect weather here recently.  I took the opportunity yesterday to ride the bike across the bridge to this downstream vantage point.  With more rain than we've had in awhile, this little puddle in the foreground would be more recognizable as part of the grand Loire river.

the timeless view

If you read yesterday's post, you know I've been rummaging around my old photos since I haven't had the time lately to replenish my current stock (I've been mostly on the road for two months).  I realized that this shot taken on our first trip to Amboise, and one of my very favorites, has not been published.  I've used this image as my screen-saver and as a background for "business" cards (if I called them retirement cards, no one would understand what I mean).  It was on this same trip we found our house in Amboise... I guess this golden sunset on the bridge and château was the clincher.  We signed the contract two weeks later.

all cleaned up

I was pleased to see that all the untamed growth around the piers of bridge Leclerc has been removed.   Although I always hate to see trees taken down, once again you can see these beautiful arches unobstructed.  Here is how it looked a year ago (recently the trees where taller than the top of the bridge):

gone fishin'

Today is the last day of the school year for French public school students.  So I imagine some of them will close their books and pull out their fishing gear.

meanwhile back at the foot of the bridge

If you don't recognize this, or if it looks vaguely familiar, you might want to look at my first post from this angle here.

Pont Leclerc - at night

Here is the bridge that spans the Loire between the château and the Ile d'Or (Island of gold) on a cold, misty January night.

the old boat

This old boat is always tied up in the same place along the Loire.  I don't know if the water in it is from a leak or from rain water.  And I don't know if the owner ever plans to use it.  Anyway it makes for a nice foreground for the bridge Leclerc so I hope he leaves it.

le pied du pont revisité - the foot of the bridge revisited

Here is the same subject and viewpoint as the post of February 24, but a different season and water level... and definitely a different feel.