Washing Oysters

 

After spending the night in Pontorson, we went to Cancale to find a boulangerie to get some breakfast. Cancale is a small fishing port about fifteen kilometers east of Saint-Malo. It has a reputation of being the "oyster capital" of Bretagne (Brittany). We first went to the cliffs from where we could have seen the oyster farms at low tide if there hadn't been any fog. However, it was foggy and we only saw this:

Arriving at the center square, we were drawn to the fountain in front of the church Saint-Méen, dedicated to a Breton monk who is said to have founded Cancale in the 6th century. Les Laveuses d'Huitres (the oyster washers) is a bronze statue by the sculptor Jean Fréour which pays tribute to the women of Cancale who washed oysters at the beginning of the 20 th century before mechanization.

It must have been a hard job.

It was October when we were in Cancale and the two women are wearing pink in support of Pink October to symbolize breast cancer awareness.

The faces of the women are for Nicole's Friday Face Off. Please note the spider web.

On a completely different note - this mountain will always be Denali for me.

Photo taken at midnight from Wonder Lake campground in July 2005.

The Island of Stairs

 

We're back in France, in Normandie. After we had visited Honfleur, we had a bit of a longer drive until we reached that day's destination: Mont Saint-Michel. I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of it or seen pictures of it. It's one of the most visited cultural sites in France and since 1979 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

It was the spring of 1976 that I first visited it. At that time, Mont Saint-Michel was only accessible during low tide. There was a causeway leading to the island, and if you forgot about the time, you could be stuck on the island if the water had covered the causeway. Because of environmental reasons the causeway now has been removed and replaced by a long bridge that you can either cross by shuttle or on foot.

A huge parking lot has been built about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) away from the island. From here you have a first view of the Mont.

There were a lot of people waiting for the shuttle, therefore we opted to walk the 2.5 km. I'm glad that we did. It takes about 35-40 minutes to walk from the parking lot and it's nice to see the Mont getting closer and closer.

The big walls below...

... and the abbey on top.

We were greeted by a very vocal gull.

Let's go in, shall we?

After getting through the first two gates, you find yourself in the narrow alley, and you're certainly not alone.

We climbed up to the wall and got a first impression of the Mont. Little towers with intersting roofs, beautiful windows...

... and a foretaste of what was to come - stairs. Lots of them.

It's also an island of old doors, and since I love doors I took way too many pictures of them.

So let's climb those stairs, but take it slow.

No matter how many stairs you climb, the abbey is always looming over you. Does it every get closer?

The gulls have it a lot easier to get up.

But at least there are always little nooks to discover. It certainly isn't boring here, and since you have to stop and catch your breath, you have ample time to take in the sights.

More stairs, up to the abbey now - or so we thought. The is the Grand Degré staircase with the church on the right and the abbey's living quarters on the left.

Still not there! But close.

Finally we found ourselves at the West Terrace in front of the entrance to the abbey. I stopped to look around and really enjoyed what the shadow of the abbey looked like on the flats.

Then we entered the abbey church. Work on the church began in 1023, built on the rock (that is the Mont) and rests partially on four crypts built into the slope. There was a mass going on when we stepped in, and the beautiful singing gave the room a very special atmosphere.

I liked the "plainness" of the church.

The part I usually like best about abbeys is the cloister. This one was no exception. Yes, that is Kaefer on the other side.

From the cloister you get into the refectory where the Benedictine monks ate their meals in silence while one of them read from the pulpit. Here I especially like the beautiful windows. Aren't they gorgeous?

And we're still not done with the stairs!

Now we're in the Salle des Hôtes which was used for hosting kings and noblemen. The shadows that the windows created fascinated me (the left one is in the Salle des Hôtes, the right one in the abbey church).

Another part of churches I like is the crypt. As mentioned above, Mont Saint-Michel Abbey has four crypts and I certainly loved the Crypte des gros piliers (Crypt of the Great pillars) including the creative way of getting light and air inside.

These windows are not particularly spectacular, but I loved the old vaults.

More stairs...

The Scriptorium was probably my favorite room (this is not the entire room).

And still more stairs... I think I reached my annual stair-climbing quota.

Then it was time to leave. This time we took the shuttle because we were all a bit exhausted. Au revoir, le mont!

We stayed the night in nearby Pontorson where we had found an entire vacation home. In the evening we went to the small Crêperie du Couesnon - it only has about six tables. Thankfully we were early, because not even 30 minutes after we had arrived, the sign "complet" (full) was put in the door. The food was wonderful - crêpes are the sweet ones and galletes are the savory one, usually made with buckwheat. I first had a galette with ham, mushrooms, egg and cheese followed by a crêpe flambée. Both were so delicious - the Geek and Kaefer were very happy with their choices as well. You can also see our glasses of water in the picture, they are my ticket to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday.

Hopefully after reading this long post you are not quite as exhausted as I was after climbing all those stairs!

A Few Hours of Pure Bliss

 

After having purchased fresh vegetables at the farmers market yesterday morning, I decided to stop at the lake on my way back and go for a quick walk. Since this was a spontaneous decision I didn't have my big camera with me, neither my binoculars. I would miss both...

I had planned a really quick walk around the lake, but of course (and I should know this by now) I never made it around it. I stopped every few meters because I saw or heard something exciting and instead of walking around the lake, I went to my favorite places in its vicinity.

The lake never disappoints.

First I visited my favorite tree.

Look who was standing right next to the trail! I just waited and watched, but soon some dogwalkers came by and the Great Egret (Ardea alba) took off. 

I always like the lichen on the tree branches, either on the trees themselves or on twigs and branches lying on the ground. This is oak moss (Evernia prunastri).

The following, however, is not Spanish moss as it is widely believed, but Lace lichen (Ramalina menziessi). It is a combination of fungi and algae - and it is the state lichen of California (the first state to adopt a lichen as a state symbol).

Then there is lichen on rocks - Entodon seductrix (left) and Xanthoparmelia (right), at least that is what I found out.

I find them all fascinating. Here you have oak moss and lace lichen on the beautiful bark of a manzanita.

The manzanitas are already flowering.

So are the Milkmaids (Cardamine californica), one of the first wildflowers to flower, usually in January. Right on time.

Leftover thistle from last year - isn't it stunning?

There were also leftover grasses from last year while the California bay (Umbellularia californica) already showed the first tiny flowers.

While standing above the lake (top photo) I had already noticed a rather large bird on top of a tree, but since I didn't have my binoculars with me, I couldn't identify it at first. I tried to get a bit closer with mixed results because it took off before I could confirm that it was an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). But then I saw it again in a tree and it was dining on a fish it had just caught. The pictures are very poor, but I had to include them.

I was so excited - can you see that?

This is for Nicole's Friday Face Off.

There were so many birds, the loudest of them being Acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). They are a noisy bunch! They're also beautiful (like all birds, really) and incredibly entertaining. I could hear and see them everywhere in the lake area, but they especially loved this part.

They love to hang out in the old and dead trees. You have to look hard to see one of them at the top of the tree.

There are a lot of dead trees in this part and I'm glad that they don't get rid of all of them. The woodpeckers use them as their pantry.

There are fungi growing on those dead trees - I think this might be tiny Turkey tails (Trametes versicolor). I'm still a complete newbie when it comes to fungi, lichen and moss.

The trees are so majestic even when they're not quite "fresh" anymore.

Now I was turning onto one of my very favorite trails, in the company of more crooked trees.

It goes up a slope and on top of the slope is a wide "room" with old trees, manzanitas, rocks and low growing native plants.

This is my favorite area near the lake where I often sit on one of the rocks, watching or journaling or sometimes even meditating. Often I see deer up here. This is almost sacred to me, without wanting to romanticize it. I can't really put into words what I'm feeling about this place. The only time I'm not here is during the summer months (May-October) because it's too hot and I respect the rattlesnakes who like to hang out on the rocks. This is not a beautiful place in the conventional sense - it is rough and barren, and exactly what I love.

Look at this dead tree that is standing up here.

I love this tree - and I'm not the only one. Look closer - it has been the home for birds (I suspect woodpeckers). I love how dead trees are still hospitable to those who need a place to raise their young.

This was such a beautiful morning! I'm so glad that I decided to come here and spend a few hours of pure bliss. Nature is so wonderful.

On the way back to the parking lot I noticed that the fence was covered with lichen as well. Don't you just love it?