So here we are and it's nearly the summer solstice, a wonderful time of year in any country but particularly here in France where it is also La Fete de la Musique -- June 21 has been now for many years a day in which villages, towns and cities all over the country celebrate music in its many forms... in the streets as well as in concert halls. In Anduze tomorrow there will be music from the afternoon onward, and I am looking forward to seeing some of my friends from the djembe drumming class I have attended over the last many months. It'll be a great day, no question.

Nice to find time for music as a diversion from the gardening chores this time of year. My fruit trees have been bearing nicely -- and I'll post a shot of a basket of cherries as well as a bowl of apricots (now turned into jam). My little potager -- veggie garden -- is doing well after some serious weeding and final mulching with straw, and now I can pick cherry tomatoes, zucchini and lettuce every evening for supper. This all takes work, of course, but it is pleasant work with the sound of the river nearby and the constant chatter of birds. Le Mas Blanc really is an idyllic place to live.

Speaking of birds, at this time of year there's a daily visitor in the stream, usually in the early morning. I think it's always the same heron, although it could be his brother or his wife, they all tend to look rather the same... And I am always trying to snap a photo without scaring the heron off. Last week I got lucky, and here's the result of that attempt, a beautiful bird in fishing mode. I'll add on a poem written a few years ago, not about this particular heron but certainly one from the same family...