One dove, Betty (pictured beside Mama), remained in our care until Sunday…when she successfully took flight. Read on for an update on her brother, Rusty, and his trick on local tourists 🙂 Your edits to this post are helpful, appreciated, and incorporated as soon as possible. Merci. TODAY'S FRENCH WORD: "s'envoler" : to take flight, to fly away, to fly off SOUND FILE: Click … Continue reading A Happy Ending + “To Fly Away” in French
These baby doves were discovered in our garden one week ago. Don't miss the story, below. See any mistakes in today's post? Your edits are helpful and appreciated. Merci d'avance. TODAY’S FRENCH WORD: un oisillon : baby bird, chick SOUND FILE: Click the link to hear Jean-Marc pronounce the French words in today's post. Then scroll down to the vocabulary section to check your French … Continue reading Les oisillons: baby birds fall into our yard + caring for injured and baby chicks
Un gabian strutting across the table on our front porch. Read to the end for all the useful French words and expressions. Today's Word: s'envoler : to fly away, to take flight; to take off, to be blown away Hear Jean-Marc read the following in French and in English.Si tu te sers de la liberté en échange d'autre chose, comme l'oiseau, elle s'envolera. If … Continue reading From huppes to rapaces–birds in our French garden, les oiseaux dans le sud de la France
Alice Cooper crashed at our place over the weekend. Read on… heurter (euhr tay) verb : to bang into, to knock against, to run into heurter à la porte = to knock on the doorun heurtoir = a door-knocker Audio File: listen to our daughter, Jackie, pronounce these French words: Download MP3 or Wav file Le petit oiseau a heurté la fenêtre. The little bird crashed into the … Continue reading heurter
Along the steep zigzagging path to the sea in Sicily, we stopped to peer in to this tiny chapel. The doors were locked but we stole glances all the same.. colombe (ko lohmb) noun, feminine : dove A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse (Continued from the previous story: "Switch-back") On New Year's Day I was walking along a steep and slippery … Continue reading colombe
Meet Madame Alberte. It's cold out, but inside Madame's nest there's enough warmth for new friends: feathered, furry, and foreign, like me. Come along and see… mamie (mah-me) noun, feminine : granny A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse I was hoping she would talk to me. Chances were, she would, for as I advanced along one of the many ruelles that make … Continue reading mamie
lavoir (laah-vwar)noun, masculine wash house, washing place Audio File & Example SentenceListen to my daughter's dear friend, Sonia, pronounce these French words:Download MP3 sound fileOn lave son linge sale au lavoir.We wash our clothes at the (community) wash basin. Improve your French pronunciation with the Exercises in French phonetics book. Click here. . A Day in a French Life…by Kristin Espinasse At the old stone lavoir* … Continue reading lavoir
"Zig" and "Zag" a couple of gypsy chicks (…or "pintades") that live up the street. I mentioned them in Saturday's Cinéma Vérité, and showed a few other "characters" from my neighborhood including one Don Juan of a swan. bougeotte (boo-zhowt) noun, feminine wanderlust; itchy feet avoir la bougeotte = to have ants in one's pants, to be always on the move French definition : … Continue reading bougeotte
How much is that doggy oie in the window? Photo © Kristin Espinasse taken in or near Buisson (Vaucluse)… Which do you find more charming in the photo above: those curvy curtainettes, those bucolic beads, the patched up window pane, or that oisive oie–or gazing goose–in the window upstairs? Or maybe it's the whimsical frieze above the door? Or simply, shutters? Share your thoughts in the … Continue reading oie
Stumbling over the vines… a swarm of soûlards or drunks. Read on… étourneau (ay-toor-no) noun, masculine : starling, star (bird) : scatterbrain, featherbrain, birdbrain (you get the picture) Les aigles … volent seul… ce sont les corbeaux, les choucas et les étourneaux qui vont en groupe. Eagles … fly alone…they are crows, daws, and starlings that flock together. –John Webster … Continue reading étourneau
