Tangled up in blue

The church in Anglars, Aveyron, January 23, 2011

Blue is without a doubt my favorite color, and since putting up my nifty header with those nice blue shutters, I have felt like posting as many photos as possible that highlight this hue.

It's helped that we have had some of the greatest blue sky lately. It may have been -12° centigrade this morning where I live -- just over 10° Fahrenheit -- but it was also fabulously sunny.

After shopping a bit in my village and then the nearby village of Bertholène, the sun inspired me to take a drive off the Nationale 88 and onto some back roads. I ended up in a tiny place called Anglars, which happens to have a lovely little church.

I set off to photograph the church, but the star of the show turned out to be the sky.

This is what I did today...

...and this is where I did it.

I am not much of a shopper, but my foray into the French winter sales was quite pleasant.

More on the subject to come!

Dusky blue sky over Rodez

This photo really didn't turn out the way I had hoped; I am aware it is not that clear, and Notre Dame de Rodez hardly looks as stunning as she actually did when I took the shot.

But it is a nice example of the gorgeous, dusky blue skies I have been noticing this week.

The weather has been cold and clear, and blue skies help remind me that the days are, finally, getting longer.

Fresh photos: Views of my village

The door to the primary school my daughters went to

I have never really blogged much about the small town where I live.

Somehow the term "village" doesn't quite seem to apply, although some do use it. In fact, I just did.

Others call it a village dortoir, or bedroom community, which to me describes the place more aptly.

A road to somewhere that I take sometimes

The place is not without its charms, but it doesn't have an old town center as such, so it's difficult to capture its feel.

It's a great place for sporty mountain bikers, or hikers who spend hours marvelling about the wonders of the scrubby causse. But of course I'm not one of those.

Sheep safely grazing between old farms and housing developments

These photos were taken on my weekly trip to the recyling bins -- not a lot of village charm in that, is there?