Nous avons eu le plus beau temps récemment.
Il fait beau mais pas trop chaud. C'etait parfait! (Pas comme celle de la canicule)
🌞📚📖 🌳🌲📚📚🔎🤽♀️🌴🌳
J'ai été dans mon jardin presque tous les jours, toujours lire ! assise sur mon banc en bois, dans mon refuge, à l'ombre des bois, ou me prélasser dans ma pataugeoire, ou à table sur la terrasse sous l'auvent, ou passer un peu du temps sur le banc de la balançoire en plein soleil et maintenant J'ai un bronzage!! 🤩
J'ai hâte de commencer ma dernière année, français niveau 3 L332. J'ai parlé à mon amie qui commencer a apprend le français. Je l'aide à parler français, donc nous avons lu un français très facile. C'était aussi un bon rappel pour moi, au cas où j'aurais oublié des mots français !
J'ai un autre livre pour elle, qui est beaucoup plus difficile et contient des exercices pratiques à faire.
Elle progresse bien et a écrit sa première dissertation en français!
Pendant les vacances, j'ai lu des livres en français, dont des fables, des romans policiers, des romans romantiques et un recueil de nouvelles.
J'essaie de comprendre ce que je lis et j'utilise mon dictionnaire français. Je comprends mieux le français que je ne le parle !
J'attends avec une grande excitation pour le mercredi 7 septembre, quand ce sera Le jour de l'induction. Une partie du module sera ensuite dévoilée, ainsi que plus d'informations, y compris un forum et une vidéo d'introduction sur le module et ce qui sera attendu. Je ne peux pas attendre !!
Bonne chance à tous, et bonnes études !
La cigale ayant chanté
Tout l’été,
Se trouva fort dépourvue
Quand la bise fut venue :
Pas un seul petit morceau
De mouche ou de vermisseau.
Elle alla crier famine
Chez la fourmi sa voisine,
La priant de lui prêter
Quelque grain pour subsister
Jusqu’à la saison nouvelle.
« Je vous paierai, lui dit-elle,
Avant l’août, foi d’animal,
Intérêt et principal. »
La fourmi n’est pas prêteuse :
C’est là son moindre défaut.
« Que faisiez-vous au temps chaud ?
Dit-elle à cette emprunteuse.
— Nuit et jour à tout venant
Je chantais, ne vous déplaise.
— Vous chantiez ? J’en suis fort aise :
Eh bien ! Dansez maintenant. »
By Jean de la Fontaine(1621-1694)
Je suis encore en train de lire 'Nouvelles' de JD Salinger. C'est un recueil de nouvelles en français. Il fait beau aujourd'hui et je lis dans le jardin sous les arbres.
🌞🏡🌳🌲
J'envoie un texto à mon amie en français. On s'envoie des textos mais on essaie de faire simple. C'est un bon moyen d'apprendre la langue française. 🙂
Why do the Trees think it's autumn already ? 🌳🍂
I have noticed a lot of leaves falling from the trees already, is this normal in the beginning and middle of August?
I read something about this on the news yesterday.
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"From the crunch of the leaves underfoot and the fiery foliage adorning the trees, you might be thinking that autumn has come early.
But experts say this hint of a change in seasons isn't genuine. Instead it is the tell- tale sign of a "false autumn"
They warn the heatwave and drought has pushed the trees into survival mode, with leaves dropping off or changing colour as a result of stress. And some (trees) may end up dying as a result! "
Source:By Helen Briggs
Environment correspondent BBC News
20/8/22
Yesterday, we arrived at a deserted beach, but by the footprints that appeared in the sand, this beach, was not so deserted as it first appeared!
They were a few people at a good distance away, paddling in the sea. It was a lovely spot, far away from the crowds, the candy floss, the icecreams and all the noisy fun fair rides!
Then nearby, there is a nature reserve, with a small wood and a stretch of cool blue water. We saw some Canadian geese and some black ducks in the pond. The wood was enchanting and I saw a squirrel run out in front of me and he raced across the car park!
I quickly snapped it with my mobile phone, but I am not a very good photographer, so sorry if it is not very clear. It was so lovely sitting in the wood, in peace and tranquility, but I can't tell you where this place is because it is a secret!
To protect the wildlife!
Translation
Hier, nous sommes arrivés sur une plage déserte, mais d'après les empreintes de pas qui apparaissaient dans le sable, cette plage n'était pas aussi déserte qu'elle le paraissait !
Il y avait quelques personnes à bonne distance, pagayant dans la mer. C'était un endroit charmant, loin de la foule, de la barbe à papa, des glaces et de tous les manèges bruyants de la fête foraine !
Puis à proximité, il y avait la réserve naturelle, avec un petit bois et une étendue d'eau bleue fraîche. Nous avons vu des oies canadiennes et des canards noirs dans l'étang. Le bois était enchanteur et j'ai vu un écureuil courir devant moi et il a couru rapidement à travers le bois !
Je l'ai rapidement pris avec mon téléphone portable, mais je ne suis pas une très bonne photographe, donc désolé si ce n'est pas très clair. C'était tellement agréable d'être assise dans le bois, dans la paix et la tranquillité, mais je ne peux pas vous dire où se trouve cet endroit car c'est un secret !
Pour protéger la faune !
I found an old photograph of me, when we moved to this place. We had visited a farm nearby where we first lived, and the farmer said that I could help to feed one of the little lambs, and to give him a bottle. They were very young and wobbling on their legs. It was a very special moment for me, cradling this tiny little lamb.
Translation
J'ai trouvé une vieille photo de moi, quand nous avons déménagé à cet endroit. Nous avions visité une ferme à proximité où nous vivions, et le fermier a dit que je pouvais aider à nourrir l'un des petits agneaux et lui donner un biberon.
Les agneaux étaient très jeunes et vacillaient sur leurs pattes. Ce fut un moment très spécial pour moi de bercer ce tout petit agneau.
Wikipedia
On our walk today, we saw a beautiful little grey rabbit hiding in the shade. He came out briefly from his burrow, to look around him. He was disturbed by something, perhaps it was this noisy wood pigeon!
Translation
Lors de notre promenade aujourd'hui, nous avons vu un beau petit lapin gris se cacher à l'ombre. Il sortit brièvement de son terrier, pour regarder autour de lui. Il a été dérangé par quelque chose, C'était peut-être ce pigeon ramier grand et bruyant !
Wikipedia
The tree is pretty among the flowers
They will compete to be the most beautiful
All spreading their colours
Even the ugliest has zeal !
The bouquet springs from the rock
The air kisses the light leaves
June laughs to see them in their Sunday best
The little people of the ferns.
We make the hay, soon the wheat.
The reaper sleeps under the young trees;
And all their breaths are mixed
With the scent of fresh cut grass.
Who sings there? The Nightingale
The chrysalides are gone
The earthworm has taken flight
And threw off his garments into the nettles
The spider on the water makes circles;
O blue sky! the shade is under the vine arbor,
the day trembles, and the gnats
come and whisper in your ear.
By Victor Hugo
The poem is entitled 'Laetitia Rerum' meaning joyfulness of things (in Latin).
(I have translated this poem from french into english)
Today I have done the shopping and cleaned all the downstairs rooms. Tomorrow I will clean upstairs.
I read my book of french poems, some are lovely, childish, but some are very deep. It is all about nature, which I love, some are about life in general. As always I needed my dictionary.
Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait toutes les tâches quotidiennes, comme les courses et le nettoyage de toutes les pièces du rez-de-chaussée. Demain, je nettoierai les chambres du haut.
J'ai aussi lu mon livre de poèmes français, certains sont beaux, enfantins, mais certains sont très profonds. Ils parlent de la nature, que j'aime, certaines concernent la vie en général. Comme toujours j'avais besoin de mon dictionnaire français.
Je dois sortir aujourd'hui car il fait trop chaud chez moi !
je ne peut pas aller trop loin jusqu'au parc et contourner le sentier. Ce sera juste ok pour aujourd'hui.
Watching Swans and cygnets gives you a sense of peace and contentment. The parent swans cooperating together, in caring for their youngsters and the bond of kindness between the Swans.
Regarder les cygnes et les cygnets donne un sentiment de paix et de contentement. Les cynes parents coopèrent ensemble, en prenant soin de leurs enfants et le lien de bienveillance entre eux tous. nous pouvons apprendre quelque chose des cygnes.
Today we took a picnic with us and sat by the reservoir. It was quite fresh and breezy here but warm too. There were no ducks or swans on the water today, like there is sometimes, but they may be some ducks on the island or the far shore hiding near the bank.
We had to walk through one wheat field to get here, the wheat has just been gathered in now this week, there is also a wood quite nearby. I don't think we will go any further today, because it is too hot and it is so lovely just sitting here resting, paddling our feet in the water.
However, I wouldn't put myself right into the water for a swim, because it is too deep and freezing cold in the middle, so you will quickly have a heart attack! Dangerous undercurrents too! That's why many young people have died this year.
It is pretty to just look around and see some wild life, like the birds, butterflies, bees and the flowers. I brought my binoculars and camera just in case the swans turn up! If the weather stays fine, we might come back again tomorrow.
A song thrush Wikipedia
While standing in a wood, field or forest, you can sometimes hear the most beautiful song of the song thush.
The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry.
Wikipedia
How rare is a song thrush?
The song thrush used to be a very common bird in the UK. In fact, in the early 20th century it was more abundant than the blackbird. However, since the 1940s, blackbirds have flourished, making them a more familiar bird these days. Between 1970 and 2010, the UK song thrush population declined by 54 per cent.30 Jul 2014
Skylark with Caterpillar Wikipedia
When out walking in the countryside, one can sometimes hear one of the most beautiful song birds ever, If you are lucky, as they are fast disappearing.
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The skylark It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 ft). The sexes are alike. It is streaked greyish-brown above and on the breast and has a buff-white belly. Wikipedia
It has a long uninterrupted song while hovering in one spot which is beautiful to listen to.
Magpie Wikipedia
This morning I was taking my usual walk in the park, when I spotted one of these enormous black and white birds with a very long black tail.
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Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one of the few non-mammal species able to recognize itself in a mirror test. Wikipedia
A Magpie in my garden
📚📖
I am reading another book in french entitled 'une livre de chanson française' by Bernard Minssen.
It is a collection of poems by various French authors including Victor Hugo, Verlaine, Maupassant, Béranger, Rimbaud amongst others. There is a short explanation of some of the vocabulary, at the back of the book in English, so this is helpful, although I still have to look up some unfamiliar words in the dictionary.
Translation
📚📖
Je suis en train de lire un autre livre en français intitulé
'Un livre de chanson française' par Bernard Minssen.
C'est un recueil de poèmes de divers auteurs français
dont Victor Hugo, Verlaine, Maupassant, Béranger, Rimbaud entre autres. Il y a une courte explication d'une partie du vocabulaire, à la fin du livre en anglais, donc c'est utile,
mais je dois encore chercher des mots inconnus dans le dictionnaire.
Un Merle chante fort dans le cimetière.Je me demande s'il va bientôt pleuvoir ?
Source-Wikipedia
Sparrows
À Paris, les trois quarts des moineaux ont disparu en 15 ans. Le constat alarme écologistes et scientifiques. Londres, Amsterdam ou Hambourg connaissent le même scénario. Aujourd’hui, le mystère est entier, malgré les recherches des spécialistes.
(France24)
3/4 of Sparrow population in Paris have disappeared over 15years and scientists are trying to solve this unexplained mystery.
Ici, Ou j'habite, il y a beaucoup de moineux. Il font leur nids dans les haies.
Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus Motacilla in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus Dendronanthus which is closely related to Motacilla and sometimes included therein. The common name and genus names are derived from their characteristic tail pumping behaviour. Together with the pipits and longclaws they form the family Motacillidae.
Wagtails
White-browed wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)Scientific classification
Kingdom:AnimaliaPhylum:ChordataClass:AvesOrder:PasseriformesFamily:MotacillidaeGenus:Motacilla
Linnaeus, 1758Type speciesMotacilla alba
Source- Wikipedia
This morning as I took my walk around my usual route, up to the park. I spotted a wagtail, I love these lovely little birds with their little wagging tails, black and white bodies and bright eyes. Unfortunately they always manage to fly off, but this time I caught a snapshot of one, waiting to cross the road!
Following the footpath. The footpath has now been cleared and is nice and tidy!
This morning It was much cooler today than it was yesterday. I finished my french book Destins by Francois Mauriac. It was a very good book and I am glad I read it. I will start another book again tomorrow, from my little collection of French books from the city charity shop.
This afternoon after reading, I went walking up to the park again, I did 2 laps around the park, only a few people (a family) was sitting in the middle of the playing field.
I began walking at quite a brisk walking pace! starting at the pavilion I usually go walking right around the perimeter, then finish up back at the picnic area, beneath the trees. From here I left the park and I walked the footpath, towards Cemetery lane and past the Cemetery. I followed the path along past a farm that has some noisy clucking chickens, that were running around freely!
I turned here and followed the footpath just a short one, through a wood, then carried straight on, walking through what is usually a lovely meadow of wild flowers. However, they didn't look very good today, but looked rather dry and wilted, as we have not had any significant rainfall here this year, only the odd shower, lasting only a few minutes. The weather has been dry and hot. I truly believe that this has been one of the hottest summers I have ever experienced in this country!
After crossing the meadow, I came to a footpath through the field, this leads to the reservoir or the lake as we (romantically) like to call it!! On the lake is a family of ducks and some moor hens. I walked the whole length of the lake. The water level had receded a bit, but there was still sufficient water in there. The crops are growing well and so far they haven't used the sprinklers on the field yet- but they may change later? I walked one time around the lake.
I like it here at this time of the year, when there are plenty of dragonflies and damsel flies to be seen flying around, also lots of birds in the hedgerows. They are eating the bramble berries and other fruits that have fallen down, like the little plums and crab apples. I saw a lark just hovering high overhead in the air, over the wheat field, it was lovely to hear her singing loud and clearly.
I continued walking back towards the barn, and to the footpath that leads back to the other side of park, on the abandoned footpath. The footpath has actually been cleared now and it was lovely and tidy to walk along.
This footpath leads around the park and back onto a a leafy lane of beautifuul fragrant Lime trees, they hang down very low over the path, so that you feel protected from the heat of the sun, there were plenty of bees on their flowers. A rabbit quickly scampered past, and hopped under a hedge, Oops, I think I might have disturbed him! I then took the path past the nursing home and the short cut leading to the footpath at back of my house. I needed a nice cup of tea after that walk!
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