15.9.08

An ordinary Saturday afternoon

Last Saturday was an ordinary Saturday. In the afternoon I took a walk to the two parks which are both in about one or two minutes distance from my flat. One – Square des Batignolles - is old and is there since some 150 years, the other one – Parc Clichy-Batignolles - was opened only last year and is not yet quite finished*.

What did I see?

I noticed that the Bar-headed (high-flying) Goose had been luckier than last year (see several posts); she walked proudly around with her kids.

I also noted that some birds take their siesta standing on one leg. (I understand that they sleep shortly and don’t lose their muscle tone during the sleep... they can even sleep while swimming and possibly also during long flights!) In “my” parks, as elsewhere in Paris, I noticed that more space has been given to wild flowers; a good idea in my mind. I could also notice that the bees are still busy. In the new park, a pond has just been opened and I could see that water lilies of four different colours have been planted. In the new park they have also installed what seem to be quite nice toilets. I was impressed to see that the instructions (“Maximum time of use: 15 minutes”) are written in four languages, including in “Braille” for the blind. (It seems that the basis for the system was created for Napoleon who wanted a means of silent communication during the night, without light. The idea was later, in 1821, developed by Louis Braille.)

You can find some old rails in the new park; it used to be a rail yard. In the new park, there was a competition in skateboarding between young kids. Some older kids excelled in roller skates. In the palm house (containing one lemon tree) in the old park, people were preparing a photo exhibition. The local clown (he’s everywhere and all the time) had decided to inaugurate an old (empty) pedestal to honour a regretted French humorist, Pierre Desproges. Maybe one day there will also be a statue on the pedestal. Some young did some authorised graffiti. Others (older generation) played petanques, others (younger generation) played basket ball. ... an ordinary Saturday afternoon.

*/ I have made a number of posts on these parks already. You can find them under different labels:
1, 2, 3.

Normally, I should today have made a post on a mid-month subway theme that I share with some other bloggers. Sorry, but I had nothing of interest to show. Hope to be back next month. Here are the links to the other participants:

35 comments:

Azer Mantessa said...

hi

very nice pics and i have saved some :-)

Anonymous said...

What nice activities at the parks. The water lilies are so beautiful, and so are your photos of them.

Vagabondage said...

Bonjour Peter,

Réellement superbes ces images, les nénuphars, les reflets dans l'eau,

Puis ces vols planés dans le ciel....

Bonne journée à toi.

SusuPetal said...

Oh, you seem to have seen a lot on a Saturday -one often does with a camera.
Wild flowers taking place from planted sounds good.
Have a nice week, Peter.

Anonymous said...

That first photograph is quite beautiful Peter (haven't got round to the rest of the post yet!)

Olivier said...

même pas une photo du pape ;o)).
Ta première photo est très zen, très jardin japonais, et c'est une tres bonne idée cet hommage à Pierre Desproges, comme beaucoup de gens je suis fan.
"Il faut manger pour vivre et non pas vivre pour manger. De même qu'il faut boire pour vivre et non pas vivre sans boire, sinon c'est dégueulasse."

hpy said...

Tu fais concurrence à un célèbre peintre impressionniste avec la première de tes photos. Et ce n'était qu'une journée ordinaire. Fais-nous donc une journée extra-ordinaire la prochaine fois.

claude said...

La première partie de ce post est un vrai régal pour les yeux.
Je vois quand dans les parcs de Paris, la vie est belle ! Tiens ! D'un seul coup j'ai un coup de cafard, car pour tout te dire, j'aime la vie des rues de Paris, aussi !

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Peter,
That activities are all possible in Paris on the streets and in the parks, I can see it happening through your Cam-Eyes, I wish I was there (in Paris)more often.

In rection on you comments on my blog:
Good that you knew/know the names of Ajax footballplayers.. I am impressed:0) Are you a footballfan?

Greetings from JoAnn's D Eyes

marie6 said...

You say it's an ordinary afternoon, it sounded busy and full of interesting activities to me. Nice to be able to spend relaxing time like that.
Thanks for visiting my blog, and it's true that we are enjoying a slight breeze whilst others are in danger. Our thoughts are with them!

Anonymous said...

Greetings - yes, I have to say - very autumnal Finland!
The sky have been mostly gray, but leaves of birches are getting more sunny yellow every day . . .night frosts are here too and so on.

You have like summer in your park over there.
Thank you for your photos and their lovely feelings !

Anonymous said...

We wrote in same time our comments :)
Dogs from Picasa - hm, perhaps you can find nice dogs of lovely Parisienne in the streets for photographing, I remember, that I saw a few there :)

( I am crushing lingonberries, do you still remember those berries ? )

alice said...

Tant pis pour le métro! Tu as eu raison de nous faire profiter de "tes" parcs. Ici aussi, le week end fut beau et doux, beaucoup de monde sur les plages et dans l'eau.

Thérèse said...

So rich in colors, stories, history. I have a hard time keeping up with the viewing/reading. I keep some for later...

Shammickite said...

There was nothing "ordinary" about your Saturday afternoon, in fact I think it was "extraordinary" and so are your photos, especially the ones of the waterlilies! I love the clown deciding to dedicate the empty pedestal... I think there should be a bronze statue of YOU there, Peter!!

Alain said...

Il y en a pour tous les goûts, ce que je préfère c'est les caanrds.
Très réussis les nénuphars.

krystyna said...

I enjoyed my time with your
"an ordinary Saturday afternoon".
Thank you Peter, you really know how to spend your afternoon
and how to make your visitors feel good.
BEAUTIFUL!

Kate said...

What a wonderful place for a leisurely stroll. I'm impressed by the variety of activities and the interest of so many different age groups. The water lilies, of course, are special.

Ash said...

Definitely NOT an ordinary Saturday afternoon. This one's colorful and magical :-)

Lovely images, all of them!

Mona said...

Peter! this is exquisite!!!!

Can I save the pictures of water lilies ?? Do tell me!


I LOVE those pictures!!!

Thank you for posting these!

HZDP said...

Peter, we always refer water lilies to lotus, and Im a big big fan of lotus shots, I even went out on a 38 Celsius degree day a month agao just for some lotus photos, kinda crazy, and yours are beautiful, indeed.
(but why I cant click in to enlarge your photos? Anyway, they look good! thx for sharing and in my place lotus has obviously gone with the summer..)

Anonymous said...

What a lovely saturday afternoon you had. You should have included a picture of you taking pictures....So ther report would have been complete.

Neva said...

15 minutes? Whose timing you? that is pretty funny! Love the shots of the park....and the photo display...very nice and ordinary afternoon for you!

Virginia said...

What wonderful parks Peter. The water lilies are still so pretty. Where is Monet when you need him! Must run. That gorgeous photo of Notre Dame (below) is calling me away!

Anonymous said...

That top picture just knocks my socks off, Peter. I would think that is the best of the lot. Nice work.

I published a post about squirrels and other animals and some of the problems they have. I hope you can take the time to read it. That animals suffer and we do not seem to notice seems so sad. Look at my Dances on Sunshine

PeterParis said...

azer:
Thanks... and yes, no problem, you can "steal" all pictures you want - no copyright requested!! :-)

ruth:
Thanks, on behalf of the lilies - and myself!

mathilde:
Des fois on a de la chance avec les photos!

PeterParis said...

susupetal:
I'm also happy to see more and more of wild flowers in our parks!

richard:
Thanks!! ... and welcome back, when and if you have the time!

olivier:
J'ai étais au Collège des Bernardins avant le Pape!!
Nous sommes nombreus à aimer Pierre D. Il mérite une statue (encore que je pense qu'il s'en fout)!

PeterParis said...

hpy:
Jamais contente? :-)

claude:
Un peu de nostalgie? (Paris n'est pas loin.)

joann:
I'm a moderate fan, but there are some names you never forget!

PeterParis said...

marie6:
Yes moderate and reasonable winds are the best!

leena:
Sunday we had still summer, since yesterday, the sky is OK, but it's getting a bit fresh!

Lingonberries, yes of course I remember (IKEA sells them)!

alice:
J'espère que New York et Stockholm n'étaient pas fachés!

PeterParis said...

therese:
Welcome back, whenever you wish and can!

shammickite:
Normally statues come when you are not there any more! :-)

PeterParis said...

oswald:
Thanks for your visit here!

I will check your blog and possibly the money making possibilities. I will revert!

alain:
Tu aimes les canards! Certains ont disparus! :-)

krystyna:
Thanks for your always kind words! (... and no botox, massage is better!)

PeterParis said...

kate:
I have given up the roller skating and feel not yet ready for regular pétanque playing ... so in the meantime I just watch!

ash:
... well, at least ALMOST ordinary! :-)

mona:
Feel free to "steal" any picture you like! I just appreciate if you like some of tem! :-)

PeterParis said...

hzdp:
The ones which are in a collage cannot be enlargened, the single ones normally can. I used to put some of the collage photos on my "photo-blog", but had rather few visitors, so for the moment I have stopped doing so. If one day, you would like one of these photos, just tell me and I can forward them by email!

catherine:
You must come here and take my photo then!

neva:
I also wonder what happens after the 15 minutes? Should I try 16?

PeterParis said...

virginia:
I'm afraid the water lilies will not be there when you come here in November. Normally Notre Dame will be!

abraham:
How was your day wit bare feet?

I will check your squirrels tomorow - it's now 2.30 a.m. here and I should maybe think about going to bed. :-)

elsa said...

I guess there once was a statue on the pedestrial but it may have been melded by the Germans during the War.