Angry Buds

Call me crazy if you want, but I'm one of those gardeners who can't help seeing faces in my flowers - this one looks very angry to me!

This is the same guy from a different angle.  Just look at him shaking his fist at ... me?

                         Here are a rather shy pair.                

And this one's giving us a group hug!

Beware the Heron

Well, something always has to happen while you're away...

Behold the Black-crowned Night-Heron skulking in the tree.

I wouldn't have seen him coming if I was a fish either.

Especially one of our fish.

They are a rather naive, pampered lot, well-fed and cared for (about forty fish in all).  The biggest one WAS about eight inches long with several others not far behind in size...

Until the heron came to visit.

And here is the new and improved Fort Knox of fish ponds.

Rather sad, really.

The first netting (designed by my ingenious, engineer husband) was to keep out the raccoons who pillaged the pond the first year we set it up.

See the open space between the two sections?

Well, it appears that was just wide enough for a heron to perch and pick off five of our largest fish.

Boooo!

My husband has attached additional netting and now even we have trouble getting to our fish!

It has taken three weeks for the fish to dare to come up to the surface.

Château de Versailles

I will end my blogposts from France with the Queen of chateaus:

Château de Versailles

There is no one photo you can possibly take that will capture the enormity of this chateau.
This is my shot of the front entrance.

Tourists arrive by the busload all day, so it is very hard to take photos without any people in them.

Below is the backside of the chateau.

And this is the view from there of the gardens, pools and grounds.
You can't help but gasp when you see the extent of this property.

There are statues and sculpted urns at every turn.

From here you descend the steps and begin to find your way through various manicured gardens.

I managed to catch one of the gardeners hard at work among the roses.

 

Each garden has one or more fountained pools.

The picture of perfection was complete with the appearance of a swan that posed so beautifully for me on the twinkling water.

This is a forested section with long laneways of towering trees providing some shade on this warm, sunny day.

It is easy to visualize a royal carriage being pulled by horses along  this corridor to the palace.



And this is the end of my blogposts from my trip to France.  I hope you have enjoyed them.
And now it is time to return to my own palace:
My home, gardens and ponds...
I am indeed lucky :)

Château de Sully-sur-Loire

Although this chateau did not have a garden like many of the chateaus I have already posted, its charm cannot be denied.

I have to admit to being a bit of a tower nut.

There is something about their circular shape that catches my imagination.

I love the long narrow windows and twisty twirling staircases.

My second favourite aspect of castles and chateaus would be the old wood doors, their elaborate metal knockers and rusty keyholes.

Now for the interior, which was beautifully preserved and maintained.

Everything about this chateau is immense.

Note the size of the door in relation to the size of the fireplace in the photo above.

This is the upmost floor where you get a chance to see the rib-cage of the chateau.  Imagine the size and number of trees it took to build this!

I've added a picture of my husband (he stands 6-feet tall) to show you the scale of the room.  He is also known as my Knight in Shining Armor :)

I couldn't resist this one souvenir:

A heart-purse made out of stiffened, dark-brown leather.