5 January 2012

VERY PECULIAR WEATHER

We were in Le Grand-Pressigny for a week after Christmas and the weather was most peculiar.

peculiar weather9Sunrise over Le Grand-Pressigny on a misty morning.

When we set off from home in the UK at 4.30 am on Boxing Day it was incredibly mild: 13½°C.  This is in stark contrast to last year when we had temperatures below freezing in the UK and barely getting above freezing for most of the week.

This time we had fine weather and mild temperatures all the way to the Loire.  When we arrived chez nous, Nicole had put the heaters on low and had laid the fire for us but the house did not have that dense chill that we normally get when we have been away for a few weeks at this time of year.  Boxing Day had been a gloriously mild and sunny day in the village, apparently.

The next morning it was still mild but it was very misty.  Then it warmed up and we had a lovely fine day.

peculiar weather4jpg The early morning mist gave way to a beautiful fine and sunny day.

peculiar weather6The château looked beautiful and was open for business as usual in the early part of the week.

peculiar weather8

As the week went by the weather changed a lot.  We had a couple of frosty mornings, then it warmed up again and gave way to grey drizzle for most of the time we were there.

peculiar weather2Drizzly weather and wet rooftops in the middle of the week.

This was disappointing.  We really look forward to the blue skies, frosty nights and log fires that we normally get on our winter break.

peculiar weather1 Christmas decorations and geraniums in flower in a Loches window.

Everywhere we went there was evidence of a mild autumn and winter (so far anyway).  We saw geraniums in flower everywhere, including our own.  We also spotted a red camellia and pink hollyhocks in full bloom.

peculiar weather9c Our own geraniums were still holding on pretty well.

But we had a nice time and on our last day, as we were packing up to come home, sadly, the sun came out and we had our lunch on the terrace before we set off back North.

peculiar weather3jpg Blue skies and fluffy clouds on our last day.

However, due to the mild temperatures we didn’t make much of a dent in our log pile, which is still there for another visit, and the electricity bill will be better than usual.  Every cloud and all that…….

9 comments:

  1. Sorry you had the rain as well as the mild weather. We have had more rain in Nov and Dec than we have had for the rest of the year, but the temperatures have been very mild. We had a good frost on Christmas day and two mild frosts since. I am amazed at what is still surviving in the garden! I just wonder when winter is really going to arrive but I hope it is short!! Diane

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  2. So envious! We are thinking of Christmas in France at our place next time round.

    Nice to have you back.

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  3. In addition to the silver lining (or maybe adding to the silver lining), every cloud made for beautiful photos.

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  4. yeap..I wish I was there right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    have you seen the weather here in old blighty?

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  5. Isn't it great to see those geraniums and all that promises summer. I am so fed up with this endless wind...

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  6. That fog was something, wasn't it? Then the wind came...

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  7. WV is "inglychl"... just what we need. A nice wintery 'ingly ch'l... preferably with the sun out.
    4.7C at the moment... sun out... no wind.
    Yesterday was a day for porridge and, later, soup. Grey, wet and windy and a gust of 45 kph recorded which would have momentarily doubled the 2CVs' normal speed.
    Great to see you.
    May the next few weeks pass quickly.

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  8. Gorgeous photos, as always, Jean. Your weather sounds very similar to what we had this year in Yorkshire and the Cotswolds - a mixture of bright, sunny days and cloudy, damp ones. The leftover summer flowers were much in evidence, with roses, in bud and in flower, still in the garden. Most peculiar.

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  9. Our grass is growing again...thr garden is very confused.

    14 degrees yesterday.

    SP

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