Must be spring

Thursday, our first day here, was glorious and sunny, balmy almost, and we reveled in the beauty of spring in our little Céou valley. We made a thorough inspection of our garden and found tulips in perfect form, the flowering quince (cognassier du Japon) fading, and the lilac buds forming. Weeds of all sorts are rampant, of course -- so we spent most of the day pulling, mowing and trimming. I love love love this time of year, until the ugly dark side of spring shows itself...which it did beginning Friday morning and continuing through the weekend. Gray skies, showers and chilly temps chased us inside to do the important work of housecleaning.
We took time on Easter Sunday to take a quick drive around the area, checking out the Easter crowds whose enthusiasm seemed undampened by the cold, wet weather.

We drove up the hill to Domme and searched for a parking spot on a side street, finding all the public lots full up. Families and couples, mostly French, wandered about the charming cobbled streets, chatting, browsing through postcard racks, eating ice cream (brrrr!) and seeming to find pleasure on a wintry afternoon holiday. These two large white tourists from the Pyrenees were well-dressed for the weather!

Our first guests arrive on Wednesday afternoon, so no more excursions for the next few days as we put the finishing touches on guest rooms and put on our happy host faces.