Vendanges

I went out for my walk at precisely the wrong time this afternoon. I got a kilometre from home and thunder started rumbling around the sky, so I did a swift about turn. I didn't get too wet, as it only started raining properly when I was almost home. The gossipmongers were sitting resolutely under the shelter of our wisteria, but even they eventually retreated after the rain started hammering down.

Luckily S had been out running earlier, so he donated his photo for my blip. It's pretty unusual to come across people picking grapes by hand now -- most of them are done by machine. And this was quite a big crew, with three bearers. These are old vines, planted in a way that's unsuitable for machine harvest.

As the rain continued to pour, S noted with astonishment that the fountain, which has been bone dry for months, was now gushing from both pipes (see extra -- my photo). Even heavy rain doesn't normally have this instantaneous effect. Another Manon des Sources moment, but we won't be drinking it just yet. The thunder is still rumbling, but the sky has cleared a bit. And ... it's pizza night!