The joys of Spring

The sun was shining so unusually brightly in the sky this morning, that I slung what seemed like the whole winter’s washing in the machine and let technology rub-a-dub-dub, while I spent the best part of the day working on the computer and emerging at intervals from the dark with small squinty eyes to hang stuff on the line, since technology’s long arm does not extend to an efficient clothes drier.

But the road to clean dry sweet smelling washing is rather pot-holed, as you know already:

There is the boys’ smelly pissoir in the hedge by the line;

AND how could I forget, since it is a regular occurrence on the first sunny days of spring in France, it is lisier time.

In case you have the great good fortune to not know what lisier is, I will explain. It is super concentrated liquid manure which is sprayed onto fields to encourage growth (but not of anything I would fancy eating.)

Satisfied with a good day’s effort at work, mid afternoon, I set off for my walk with Porridge and something tickled my olfactory lobe from afar, something familiar, but something vague. Something that Porridge seemed to find attractive, since she took some persuading in the direction of the woods. An hour later we re-emerged from the woods to the sound of agricultural technology roaring and unfortunately also spraying and splashing. A light breeze had sprung up to help the farmer on his way up the valley to complete the circuit of the fields around our house, and distribute the aerosol more evenly over my underwear.

There is another strange and disagreeable phenomenon seemingly provoked by a sunny spring day. And that is policemen in shirt sleeves at roundabouts, sunbathing while they stop motorists and hold up all the traffic. (In France, unlike England, the police do not have to have a reason to stop a car, they can do it just because they feel like it.)
I have to go and pick up Darling d on one of my taxi missions in a moment, so I will be able to test my theory.

I hope they will be there.

I am in just the right mood for them...