A bunch of mimosa and a flight of grues

Signs of spring in SW France

Mar 05, 2024

This week I am celebrating the arrival of spring with one of my favourite short pieces: Le papillion et la fleur (the butterfly and the flower) by Fauré. This delightful song, which John and I have arranged for flute and piano, just sparkles with sunshine. You can hear it in the video below and download the free PDF and accompaniment track at the end of this email. I hope even if it’s still a bit dark and drizzly in your part of the world it will conjure up the joy of blossom and birdsong to come.

Recently I’ve been in England running a couple of Flutes Inspired courses and it’s been a joy to work with so many generous, enthusiastic, and talented flute players. After 10 days of grey skies and muddy paths, though, I’m looking forward to getting home to France tomorrow, especially as the first signs of spring were already in the air before we left.

In southwest France those signs are unmistakable: first comes the mimosa, and then come the grues. Markets are bright with bunches of little yellow pompoms, and every bar and boulangerie greets the new season with a vase of mimosa on the counter.

As for the grues, before I moved to France, I didn’t even know what they were or how very happy I’d one day be to see one.

The grue cendrée (literally “ashy crane”) is a member of the crane family. Their diagonal flight path from southwest to northeast France is a much heralded sight, just like the first cuckoo of spring in England. Newspapers and public broadcasters report on it and excited word of their sighting is quickly passed around the villages. I was fascinated to find this map showing their flight path as they travel from their over-wintering in North Africa to the summer breeding grounds in Northern Europe

Although they are large birds—around 1.5m in length, or about 4 ft, with a wing span of up to 2.4m (8 ft)—they’re not easy to photograph in flight but I did manage to snap these as they passed overhead. Their V-shaped formations are a thrilling sight as they wheel across the sky.

So the grues have flown over and the market stalls are decked with mimosa. Soon there will be plum blossom, green shoots on the grape vines, and evenings with a glass of wine in the lengthening sun. It can only mean that spring is on its way.

I hope Le papillion et la fleur which you can download below brings a little sunshine to your world, too.