Saturday Sunshine Walk

Spring is finally here.  Piper and I decided to
walk the Orchid Trail in the countryside
of Chatel St. Germain, a small village next
to Lessy.  The wild orchids pop up in April
but I thought I would check out the trail
beforehand to see if there were any early birds.


Only the occasional chirping of birds broke the silence of vast
farm lands ready to be sowed.

Les Coqs (roosters) atop the entry posts

After living with Jeff and Alec, my two history
buffs, I unfortunately no longer walk aimlessly
through the woods here.  I now see that the
undulating forest floor is patterned with trenches
from WWII.

Piper Exploring a Trench

Emerging from the woods we entered
a pasture and were greeted by a
memorial to some who died
during Franco-Prussian war.
of 1870-1871.

    

Continuing along the country road we
 entered  another wooded area  and 
walked along Fort Jean d'Arc,
another military  defense area.
Again, a seemingly
innocent area of young trees,
bushes and a leaf covered forest
floor;  until I discovered this narrow,
stone stairway leading to the underground
fort.

The path wound its way around this
ancient beech tree, called Le Hêtre
des Batailles;  Beech Battles, named
by Peter Kieffer, (1926-2006) botanist
and naturalist.


















We finally emerged from the woods
to be greeted by these oh so peaceful donkeys.
      

   Mutual admiration.

After 8 km, (5 miles) we finally made
our way  back to the top of the ridge
and wound our way down into
Chatel St. Germain;  at the bottom,
a picnic lunch for me and a cold,
clear brook for Piper.


What was I thinking when I thought I may find some early bird orchids?

Tragedy in Toulouse

Tragedy has a face.

Gabriel and Arieh Sandler died alongside their
father Rabbi Jonathon Sandler

   

Sargent Imad Ibn-Ziaten, 30 

Private Mohamed Legourd, 26

Corporal Abel Chennouf, 24

 

Suffering has a face.

the mother of Miriam Monsonego

Abel Chennouf

 

"And shock breeds silence. This is actually one of the reasons
that in the Jewish tradition the first meal for a mourner consists
of a hard-boiled egg, for a mourner has no mouth.
This is also one of the reasons that when coming to comfort the mourner,
it is only when the mourner chooses to speak and begins the
conversation that it is proper to talk. If mourners prefer silence, silent it remains."  http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1806589/jewish/The-Tragedy-in-Toulouse.htm 

Eva Sandler,woman who through a brutal murder lost
her husband and two young sons,
wrote to the Jewish community asking,
"Please bring more light into the world by kindling
the Sabbath Candles...
as a way to add holiness to the world."

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1808989/jewish/Massacre-in-Toulouse.htm 

When little children are afraid of the dark parents often
leave a light on. This light pierces the darkness
with a soft, warm glow of security.


Let us light candles with the hope of piercing
the darkness of racism
that breeds in the darkness of fear.
Let us not remain silent.


May their names be a blessing and a memory
for each of us.

When You Are Not Going Anywhere Remember Where You've Been.

I hope for spring but the skies are often grey these days.
Clicking through some photos I remembered blue skies
and sunshine and an afternoon with friends.

 

During our last school break, Tonya, David and
Christopher picked us up in Lessy
and we went to visit "The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
a constitutional monarchy and an independent sovereign state,
tucked between Belgium, France and Germany."
Fourty-five minutes after hopping into the car we
 were in another country....and sunshine!

After parking and exiting the garage, the city
greeted us with her contrasting architecture, from ancient
walls of fortification meandering through the city to the

numerous high rise buildings where banking and financial services predominate.

looking down from the wall of the old village

We discovered a stone stairway along one of the ancient walls;

 down we walked, hugging the rock facade toward the bottom 

where a small river of water flowed through a stone trough.

It has been months since we have seen the sun so the 

boys threw off their coats and floated sticks down

the "river Luxembourg." 

We crossed the "river" and walked up the other 

side of the rock face to nouvelle Luxembourg where

numerous banking institutions line the streets.  

Crossing back we discovered the Old Luxembourg, where

the  Grand Ducal Palace stands on the site of the first maison

communale built in 1244 and of the Hotel de Ville.

"That is the smallest grand palais I have ever seen" said

Alec.  Perhaps this is because Luxembourg is one of the

smallest countries.  "Oh, I wish we could go inside," he

added.

not the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, eh? 

After a little research I discovered that the
Luxembourg Army is under civilian control!
 The country has no navy or airforce.
 The army is an all-volunteer force.
 I wonder what their budget is compared
to the US of A?

Directly opposite the Place of the Duke is The House Of Chocolate, a true find.
It was inside this place that I first heard Luxembourgish spoken, one of the official
languages; the other two are French and English.

  

Once inside this Chocolate House you can choose a

"spoon of chocolate" (about 50+ varieties).

this looks pretty good mom

After you choose your chocolate spoon, you mount an old, stone, spiral staircase

and enter a small gathering space.  A server then brings you a steaming hot cup of

milk into which you dunk your spoon of chocolate;  et apès....heaven!
       

After consuming our decadently rich hot chocolate I thought

a visit to a cathedral was in order.  

Christopher

Alec spent so much

time in the confessional that the priest left!  

We will definitely return to this city of parks and ancient fortifications and 

history, and of course, the Mudam, a cutting edge modern art museum

Lady Rosa of Luxembourg by Croatian artist
Sandra Ivekovik, a public art installation
in 1970 which addressed the often
overlooked role of women during wartime.

Mothering and Dog Training

Living with a soon to be 14 year old son
who is a growing "heat engine" has
its challenges.  Upon arriving home
from school, Alec immediately
kicks off his shoes and removes
his socks, dropping both shoes and
socks wherever he happens to be.
As his mother, and the only other person
sharing this abode, I have a couple of choices;
constantly nag him to pick up his socks
or train Piper, our dog.

"Laundry!" is the command.  

Piper races for a sock.  "No, not me Piper, the basket!"

  Oh, but it tastes so good Jude!

"Laundry, Piper!" I repeat.
 Okay, okay, how about this?
Is this close enough?

Oh, inside the basket, I get it.


And now for my reward???

"good laundry, Piper!  Here's
a treat."

What, another sock?  They come in pairs?!

Mothering and dog training are quite
similar;  you need to keep them guessing,
both kids and dogs, alert to what it
 is you want.   Call them treats, call them bribes,
whatever word you choose, the results
are the same---- a job well done.

Kinder chocolates are Alec's passion here in
France.  Now when Alec voluntarily closes
a door or picks up his dropped clothes or
brings his dishes across the hall and into our wee
kitchen, he may be met with a surprise kinder.

"Good, Alec!"  Who knows, maybe he and Piper
will be competing to put away his socks;  one can
always hope.