no autographs

Oh well.  At least I got his picture.

chat + eau = château

down by the river

ready for summer

they're back

It's great to see these guys scampering around again.  But ya gotta be quick to catch them "on film".

la grasse matinée

I'm not sure this little guy was pleased that I interrupted his Saturday morning sleep in.  In France, this is called la grasse matinée, literally the fat morning (this expression reminds me of mardi gras... fat Tuesday).

drying in the sun

We're having quite the drought around here this summer (not to mention the accompanying heat wave).  This desert-like shot looks the way it feels to me.

For those of you who've gotta know, the background is a somewhat rusty corrugated piece of sheet metal.

the workhorse

After the prolonged holiday season, I'm guessing everyone is feeling a bit like a tired workhorse.

bullish on Monday ?

I suppose most will find that to be a challenge after last week's market results.  At least this guy doesn't look too worried.

Billy ?

The title suggests a very old play on words in the States. The word "kid" can mean either a young goat or a young person.  And the most famous outlaw of the old American West was known as "Billy the kid".  In any case, this Billy does not appear too threatening.

Le titre suggère un jeu très ancien sur les mots dans les États. Le mot «kid» peut signifier soit une jeune chèvre ou une jeune personne. Et le plus célèbre bandit du Far West américain était connu comme "Billy the Kid".  Savoir plus sur ce bandit ici,  En tout cas, ce Billy ne semble pas trop menaçant.

City Daily Photo theme day - "movement"

And they're off !

The first of every month is theme day for the bloggers of City Daily Photo and today the theme is "movement".  Click here to see how the others interpreted it.

slugfest

OK, given the title you may have been expecting a boxing match, but I was thinking more of a slug "festival" that I happened upon during a recent bike ride.  There were several of these guys (limace rouge or arion rufus) crossing the bike path that traverses the forest of Amboise.  This one was was about 4 inches / 10 cm in length.

meet the beetle

Judging by the reaction to this photo by my wife, I predict this will not be voted the most popular photo on ADP.  But this is yet just another slice of life in Amboise and France that I think is worth sharing. I recently encountered this stag horn beetle just calmly walking down the street with his smaller friend (a female?).  This one was about 3 inches / 7 cm in length.  Although he may look a little vicious, these beetles are actually not threatening.  Those pincers are mainly for show and would not really hurt you.  In fact, these guys are the ones more threatened and are a protected species in France.



Anyone get the title reference ?  (Hint: 1964)

can I go too ?

The guy didn't seem to be unhappy in his pasture but at the same time he did give me a look as if he wouldn't mind joining me on my bike ride through the local farmlands.

the ram

If looks could kill, as the expression goes.  Although he does not look happy about posing for a portrait he didn't bother to get up and move away either.  I do like the double curl of his horns.

what are you lookin' at !?

For a change, I had my telephoto lens with me when I came upon this guy hanging out on the levee.  The lens is why he looks so big when he was probably only about 4 inches / 10 cm long.  The other good thing about the telephoto is that I didn't scare him (immediately) away by getting right up into his face (not to mention the nice depth of field effects).  Anyway, I try to remind myself of these luckily timed shots when I just miss one.

Daily disclaimer: I'm currently on a road trip and while I can queue up my daily posts, I can't queue up my responses to your (most appreciated) comments nor to my CDP blogger friends' blogs.  I'll try to respond when possible of course.

lizards on the levee

This is an update to my original title and description.  One savvy reader caught and commented that these are not salamanders but in fact lizards.  How I went wrong is described in my response to her (so take a look). I'm blaming this all on François I (a local favorite king from the 16th century) !

I spied this little salamander along the levee in Amboise.  Well there was a double surprise.  First, he didn't seem to mind that I was taking his portrait.  Usually, these guys are so skittish that they run away at the first sign of a photographer closing in.  The second surprise: he wasn't the only one.  See the little panorama below.  I wasn't sure if they were trying to spell out a message to me.  In any case, what a treat.  Of course you can click on either image to a larger view (then maximize your browser).

the butterfly

It's two-fer Tuesday.  Here in profile is a butterfly I encountered in the gardens at château Chaumont.  And below is the same guy from above.  What a disguise.

the horse farm

A bike trail near Amboise crosses this horse farm that reminds me of the state where I was born (Tennessee).

the frog pond

This guy is one of a gazillion that inhabit local ponds and the banks of the Loire.  Their distinctive sounds can be heard from quite a distance especially when they all get together to give a concert.  In reality, of course, this noise is all about mating, and this is mating season.  The other distinctive feature of these frogs are the large air "bubbles" in their "cheeks" they create in order to produce the mating sounds.  This is all too complicated to explain, so here is a video I took that shows them in action in a little pond alongside one of my favorite bike routes near Amboise.