Oscar arrives

Things are relatively quiet around here. We went to another quiz at noontime and did somewhat better than last time. These quizzes are becoming very Brit-centric and often inaccurate. Each time, when we do the research after, we find questions where incorrect answers were "right." Until the old quizmasters returns, we'll pass on this place, but we'll try another location before long.

Last weekend we went on an 8-kilometer walk at quite a brisk pace around an arm of a nearby lake. The wind was chilly, but otherwise it was nice. This walk was a surprise to us, because we went as one group, something less than 100 people strung out in a line. (At other walks we've attended, they've given us maps, so each party goes off on its own.) Occasionally we'd stop and gather and the leader would talk about something in the area.

Another surprise: afterwards we adjourned to the local salle des fêtes where we were served, at no cost, crêpes and cider (cider here is always what in the US is called hard cider). Platters of crêpes arrived, and the tables were laden with jars of homemade jam (walking club members emptying their cupboards no doubt). We tried melon jam (runny and so-so), quince jam, fig jam (yum!). As we left we spied a jar of dandelion jam, when we were sorry not to have seen earlier. Something to try this summer, no doubt.

Our big news is that we have a new family member. Meet Oscar ...

Oscar was a stray adopted by people moving to France a couple of years ago. Whoever owned him (he'd been neutered and was very sweet, so clearly belonged to someone), didn't come forward. But he terrorized their original cat, who retreated to a single room in the house. Oscar is a favorite at our favorite cat spa, so they advertised for a new home for him. Because we were worried how he and Sophie would get along, they volunteered to put them both up for a week, where they shared a cage. They didn't get to be great friends (we hope that's coming), but they got along well enough, and it's clear that Sophie is the dominant one, even though she's much smaller than Oscar, so she won't retreat. (We knew she was a pushy lady!) Now he's in his new home and we're all working out our routines. Pogo is a bit concerned, frequently putting himself between us and the Great White Menace. Luckily Oscar doesn't run, so Pogo doesn't need to chase. They've had they're little spats and it seems to be calming down now. Pogo's trying to get used to another of these funny dogs that don't behave very doggily.

We had a spell of summer weather last week, with temps pushing 30C. Now we're back to more seasonal temps, with thunderstorms forecast all day today—luckily no sign of them yet. Fishing season has started and they're already lamenting the low water levels. Even with all the snow, there was not enough precipitation in January and February to restore river levels.