For the purposes of this edition (there's always the need for an illustrative photo) Smokey pretends to be a weed. But we're not buyin' it, are we? sarcler (sar-clay) verb : to weed A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse (Note: this story was written one year ago.) Our neighbor stopped by the other day to drop off a forklift—something we … Continue reading Sarcler: To Weed in French
A breakthrough in the garden in today's story column. creuser (kreuh-zay) verb : to dig; to hollow out, to make a hole in; to sink, bore, cut, plow, drill. Audio file: listen to Jean-Marc conjugated the verb creuser: Download Wave . Download MP3 je creuse, tu creuses, il creuse, nous creusons, vous creusez, ils creusent (pp: creusé) creuser sa propre tombe = to dig … Continue reading creuser
I love this red door, which decorates the side of a mas in the town of Serignan. The owners must think I am a garden stalker… Each time I take this side road, I slow my car to a creepy crawl… in time to enjoy this lovely corner with its bricks, chipped paint and crumbly wall. A few temptations before we begin this edition:1. Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language … Continue reading jardinage
In the town of Violès (Vaucluse) rencontre (rahn kontr) noun, feminine : encounter, meeting (of persons); duel, skirmish.A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse (Note: The following post was written in 2009) Jules made it from Mexico to Marseilles yesterday! On the way out … Continue reading rencontre
First radish harvest. The leaves are a bitten, the vase (an old roof tile) is chipped, but the flowers are thriving. Note: If this page is loading incorrectly, or freezing up, and you are using Internet Explorer… then you might want to view this post in another browser, such as Firefox. You can download this last version instantly and for free here. interdire (eh-tehr-deer) or … Continue reading interdire
With the seeds in today's story… this eventually grew! Read on… graine (grehn) noun, feminine : seed Audio File: Listen to my daughter, Jackie, pronounce the French word "graine" and read today's quote: Le plus grand arbre est né d'une graine menue.The tallest tree is born of one small seed. –Lao-TseuDownload graine.mp3. Download graine.wav It began in the flower-seed aisle at Carrefour, after tossing an … Continue reading graine
The author reflects on a day spent with her eccentric mother, who has a penchant for “swiping” plants. As they explore the town of Orange, the mother’s quirky behavior evokes both amusement and sadness in the author, especially with her upcoming departure for Mexico. Continue reading Little scissors in her pocket, Mom goes shopping for plantes in the municipal pots!
Something useful to do during the dry season… Sécheresse (sesh-ress) noun, feminine drought If you were to sneak over to our backyard fence, part its curtain of faded jasmine, and look past a ditch full of wild fennel grown as tall as our older child, you'd spy our next-door voisin showering beneath the fiery heavens at daybreak, scrub-a-dub-dubbing right in the middle of his potager! … Continue reading Secheresse: Why My Neighbor Showers in The Backyard With The Tomatoes
