A trip out with the camera earlier in the week took me to a village I have not visited for a few years. I confess I had quite forgotten what was there and after a quick look around the church – yet another fine example from the 12th century – we followed the path towards the river and rounding a corner came upon the most perfect small château, all golden stone and glittering windows and encircled by a perfect miniature moat. As if this were not delightful enough, standing in the moat performing an elaborate grooming ceremony was a beautiful fairytale swan.
The recent dry weather had left the water very low where the swan stood and he seemed to be using the still surface of the water as a mirror, regularly checking his appearance as he tidied his feathers. He was quite unconcerned by my presence so I snapped away for quite a few minutes trying to capture the perfect portrait………
ALL PHOTOS © JANE MORLEY
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View from a French Hillside 
What a beautiful swan. It gave you an excellent show. The Château looks like a wonderful place to visit.
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It did Timothy and it is a lovely little château, owned by the village and used as the ‘mairie’ since the 1950’s.
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What a lovely little place, Jane!
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It is Sue, the archetypal French château for everyday use !
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And it is in use?
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Yes, unfortunately it’s not a princess that lives there though, it was bought by the village in the 1950’s and now houses the ‘mairie’!
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Well, good that it hasn’t fallen I told disrepair’
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Yes indeed, far too many lovely old buildings go to wrack and ruin over here, not the same as UK on that score.
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Yes, but in the UK, we knock ’em down and build ugly, soulless new unless they are lucky enough to come under the wing of the National Trust!
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You’re right Sue but you should see what they manage to do here in the name of progress – CarbunclesRUs !!!
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😀😀
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That swan is lovely.
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He certainly was a beauty Alex! I suspect he must spend a lot of time each day on his personal grooming!
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He deserves his own modelling deal 🙂
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😀 😀
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LOL! The Swan is a ham for the camera! It sure looked he was posing for you. All his best angles.
The Chateau looks lovely.
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He did too Circadian! Quite the performance it was! He was extremely beautiful though to match the château.
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Beautiful pictures-a fairy tale.
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Thankyou Karen, yes both the swan and the château seemed to have stepped out of a storybook!
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Wow Jane!
Watching your photos is like “pictures at an exhibiton” (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1971), something timeless.
Thank you.
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What a lovely comment Levysoro Thank you!
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I have to treat kindly my Muses…
No jokes, I’m telling the truth. I hope Craig don’t mind but the main difference between our photos and yours are the “sense of delicate” your photos have/give.
I say it again, seriously (again): I will find a lot of inspiration, and maybe some good advices too, in this blog.
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Thank you 🙂 (PS I do like cars and motorbikes too, not quite so delicate 😀 )
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Exquisite photographs, Jane.
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Many thanks Sarah 🙂
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gorgeous look!
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Thank you Herbert!
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Oh, Jane, your photos continue to enchant me! xx
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I really do appreciate that Grace, Thank You!
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Beautiful, just beautiful Jane. The reflections of the swan in the water are superb and the château is utterly enchanting – just love your work 🙂 🙂
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Thank you so much Ellie, I really do appreciate your lovely comments!
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Beautiful!
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Many thanks, so pleased you like it!
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stunning photos..in particular the one with the wing raised…makes me want to work on a swan piece. great work..as always
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Thank you frenchapple! I would love to see one of your lovely pieces with a swan in the starring role I’m sure it would be wonderful!
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Ohhh how lovely, thanks for taking me to this wonderful village, even the swan is typically french and looks perfectly groomed! Great chateau 🙂
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Thankyou Kaz! It does have an essential Frenchness to it doesn’t it! 🙂
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Absolument 🙂
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You do live in a fairytale kingdom, Jane, complete with all the cast members and backdrops needed. I had no idea what kind of a daredevil you were, though, as my past experiences with swans (funny enough, all of them in France) have taught me well enough to make a wide berth of the birds. The ones I’ve encountered have not been the warm and fuzzy kind, but rather the ‘I’ll peck your head into a nub’ type.
But perhaps you have a pocket full of pixie dust?
Would not surprise me. 😉
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So pleased you like my fairytale castle Shelley 🙂 I think the swan must be very used to gawping admirers as he did not flutter a single ruffled feather in response to my presence ! 🙂
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Hi Jane,what a poise n beautiful creature that swan. Thank you for capturing for us,you did it great.
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Thank you idlehomemaker – he really was a beauty!
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