April was an absolutely lovely month. The wild flowers in the hedgerows were a riot of yellows and, later on, blues. Many communes don't cut the verges until May, so that everyone gets the full benefit of the wildflowers. In this area, there has been a profusion of wild pansies too, with yellows and purples being the most common colour.
It's all over now, of course. As soon as May arrived the verges were cut and the lush greenery is taking over. My grass seems to be growing at least an inch a day and my field looks almost as if it's ready for its first lot of hay to be cut. In fact, some fields have already yielded their first crop and large round bales of hay are already making an appearance.
The sunny days have shown up the full impact of the extra hour of daylight that we gain in the evening in France. By the end of the month is was still light at ten o'clock, but without being dark in the morning (at least, by half-past six. I don't know about earlier!).
