Weekend Contrasts

We woke to snow on Saturday.

But the sun was shining in the vineyards.

And the village across the river

looked pretty.

After our walk with the hounds,

I had a quick walk around our village on my own

hoping for some interesting photos.

But by then the sun had gone in.

So for a bit of colour,

I took the photo above of a butcher,

and a pig.

I wonder what the butcher is doing!

Life size papier mache figures can be seen all around the village.

I've shown one of a clown before.

I'm told the artist lives in the village.

The photo below is also colourful.

It looks like an Easter egg tree!

In Sweden they used to tie coloured feathers to bushes at Eastertime. 

After a dull day on Saturday,

the sun came out on Sunday.

But it was cold,

and a bit windy,

which made it very cold.

It didn't stop us going for a walk

above the village though.

We walked across the plateau

where we can see for miles.

Mike is just a dot in the distance.

Sometimes he waits while I take photos,

sometimes he walks ahead,

and sometimes he offers to take the two hounds that I have with me

making it easier to take photos.

Eventually I caught up with him.

He'd been looking at the work that this bulldozer had been doing.

A road is being built.

Not any old road,

but a road that will connect with a high level bridge across the river,

with a great big roundabout of roads on the plateau,

which will spoil one of our favourite walks!

It is becoming apparent just what the impact will be.

Brothers, Arthur and Rufus.

Notice how Arthurs ears are standing up.

They are usually in this position when he is out for a walk.

We are down in the valley now

and it is Sunday afternoon.

You can see the river in the left of the photo,

and the line of dried grass that the river has left

when it flooded over the path.

The river has been flooded a lot over the last few months.

A nice sign of spring,

catkins.

Not so nice are the chopped trees.

perhaps they became unsafe in the gales we had. 

Mike is standing with Jewel and Paddy

at the waters edge,

where they launch canoes in the warmer months.

Paddy is a bit frisky.

But notice how flat his ears are.

Unlike Arthur's in the photo earlier.

He looks as though he has no ears here!

Of course they can flatten their ears making them more aerodynamic.

After all they are built for speed.

He started jumping around

making it difficult to get him in shot.

He would like nothing better than to have a good run,

except,

he would just carry on running.

He's done it before.

So unfortunately he has to stay on the lead.

They all have to.

They cannot be trusted to have a run and come back.

Such wayward hounds!

This last photo was taken this morning.

I like to watch the barges on the river.

(Mike says he'll get me an anorak.)

On the far side of the river you can see that the banks are whitish in places,

it isn't snow,

it's where they've been spraying or spreading something in the vineyards.

There's been quite a few workers in the vineyards of late.

I suppose it is a busy time.

As the weather is supposed to stay sunny this week,

I suppose I should get out into our garden too!