Village Life

I've now spent several days on my own here in Abeilhan and am beginning to feel the rhythm of life here. Generally its pretty slow and peaceful. It starts getting light at about 5:45 am. At that time there is no sound outside - no traffiy, no people noises, maybe a rooster crowing far off. By 6:30 am there are a few cars passing by my house which is on the main road through town.

I usually am up by 6:30 am to walk the dogs. It is much more pleasant then as its nice and cool compared to 8:00 am when the sun has already started to heat things up. Walking the dogs when it is hot is really too much for them. If I try to walk them when it is hot it more of a "drag" than a walk really.

Here are my observations from this morning at 6:30 am - 7:30 am. A few cars are passing by. The "pesticide man" is making his rounds. He has a can of pesticide strapped on his back and he sprays in the gutters in front of the houses and along stairways. I've noticed that this is done pretty much everyday. Not sure what the pests are that are the intended victims of this practice but it must work as I haven't seen any. A few people are going in and out of the Boulangerie to get their baguettes or croissants. (The baguettes are my favorite they are so fresh and warm just out of the oven. They cost .85 euros.) A few workmen and having coffee at the only restaurant (I use the term lightly). The restaurant's specialty is pizza which is really pretty bad. If you want to eat "out" head out of this town.

At this early hour the birds are just waking up. There are lots and lots of a little swallow-type bird and they are very busy flying about and catching insects which they also must be very good at since I see very few flying insects and I keep the windows open. The birds make a high-pitched whistle sound. The other sounds that I hear at this time are the people waking up kind of thing. Coughing, sneezing, doors closing, etc.

By 8 am there are quite a few car sounds. At 8:30 am on Thursdays there are two unique sounds - 1) the traveling fishmonger arrives and is open for business for just a few minutes, and 2) Veronique, the cleaning person) arrives with a cheery "Bonjour".(more about her later).

As the day goes on and gets hotter I am not aware of so many sounds. The sun becomes intensely bright, and although there is usually a nice breeze, it is hot (like 92 - 95). For this reason I usually go someplace else mid-day (a drive in the air conditioned car, hang out in the shade in Pezenas, or go to the beach).

By 6 pm people are returning home so there is traffic again. It stays light until 10 pm and the evenings are really lovely. I usually walk the dogs around 6 pm and again at 10 pm. Lots of people are dining outside on their porches and they are obviously enjoying their food, wine, and each other. The cicadas (sp?) a very noisy beetle in the trees are making their characteristic chirping as it begins to get dark. By 11 pm all is quiet.

As it is Thursday Veronique is here doing what she does every week apparently. The first thing she does is have a cup of coffee with me and I get my informal french lesson as she doesn't speak English. Today we had to discuss the time and other arrangements related to her taking care of Molly while I am gone to Paris from this coming Saturday till the following Thursday. She is a very nice person - I like her a lot.

I haven't decided exactly what I am going to do today. I went to the beach yesterday so in order to keep my dermatologist happy I probably shouldn't go back till tomorrow. I'll probably take a drive and check out more of the environs. My "TomTom" is pretty wonderful but once in awhile (probably due to all the new construction here) it gets confused and sends me the wrong direction. One kind of "what a small world" example caused by the TomTom was: My friends Bill and Marie Cerino were in France several months ago. I knew they had been in the Southwest but not sure where. Marie e-mailed me after reading my blog and said that the places I talked about sounded very familiar and she recommended "Asparagus" restaurant in a town I wasn't familiar with. On Tuesday after the TomTom sent me the wrong direction on a mini-freeway outside of Pezenas which I exited as soon as I could there on my right was "Asparagus". I plan to go there soon it is very close to Abeilhan.