sweet pea on the levee

 

a good year for cyclamen

 

quiz answer: wildflowers

 

clouds in the sky, clouds on the ground

 

the stone sky

Or maybe it's just the stone path at the base of the levee as seen from its top.  Every winter the vegetation dries up and seems to disappear from the levee's sides.  And by summer the wildflowers are back in control.

down by the tunnel

la rive droite

I'm sure you've heard of the rive gauche in Paris, the left bank.  This is the rive droite in Amboise, the right bank.  The direction is relative to going downstream BTW.  Anyway, these homes have a typical architecture for this region.  Plus these have the additional benefit of having the best view of the château in town.

tunnel vision

This tunnel provides an overflow relief valve from the small river the Amasse to go directly to the much larger Loire river.  This has prevented for over a hundred years the flooding of Amboise by the Amasse.  I would say these wild flowers appropriately celebrate that.

August snowflake

Spotted on the levee in Amboise.  If only it would cool things off.

at last

For a wide variety of reasons, I made my first real bike of the year ride yesterday.  I was struck by the huge number and variety of wildflowers along my route.  Perhaps all the rain we've had this spring has contributed to all this beauty.

wild dreadlocks

This is the fourth in the series of shots taken at Château Gaillard.  There are wildflowers, woods, and open spaces to enjoy here as you course the many pathways around the grounds.

thistle make your day

There seem to be lots of bees around Amboise now... thank goodness.

la rive gauche

Paris is not the only town with a left bank.  Every town on a river has one and Amboise has its own on the Loire.  Here it is in June being overrun with wildflowers (Paris is jealous).  The way they are growing at these angles, they do look to me like they're in a hurry.

wildflowers on the levee

Just to the west of Amboise, the levee follows the Loire to this wonderful nature reserve.

the golden field

These little wildflowers make for a nice golden carpet in front of these cedars.  And here is a closer look at them:

ready for takeoff

All that is needed is a gust of wind.

le raisin d'amérique

I have seen this plant often along the bike trails around Amboise.  As the name implies, it is not native to Europe but arrived here from North America (the French word raisin is a grape, while raisin sec is the English raisin).  Alas, in France, the plant is considered invasive.  When consumed in significant amounts, it can be fatal to many animals.  In any case, I think the bright red stems and purple-black berries make for interesting photos.

In the South of the US, this plant is called Polk Salad, or Poke Sallet, and is eaten after having been boiled multiple times to remove (most of) the toxins.  It became known to the rest of the States after being popularized by the hit tune Polk Salad Annie in 1969 (see it performed here).  There are Poke Sallet festivals held to this day in many southern states.

Bon weekend !

not so wild flowers

On an earlier bike ride from Orléans to Amboise, I passed by a number of stretches like these where the wild flowers had been spread in a rather dense manner.  I'm showing just a fraction of this huge field of colorful beauties.  I hope this will be a new trend.

a study in purple and green

I found this interesting plant by the side of a country road in early August.  Others that were nearby were fully opened up and the general structure resembled the queen Anne's lace I've seen so often.  These were quite a bit larger however.  I'll bet someone out there knows.

Queen Anne's lace dethroned

This is how the magnificent wildflower looks after it has gone to see.  Beforehand this is how it looks opened up.