newfoundland, coincidence, celandine

Seal, the Newfoundland who lives in the house on the corner of the Grove.

Two French words, which I always used to confuse are éblouir, to dazzle, and épanouir, to bloom. How pleasing then to day to find in A la recherche du temps perdu, a sentence which contains both words, and which should therefore, I hope, banish my problem for good. Marcel is left by his friend, Saint-Loup's in a suburban road, while Saint-Loup collects his girlfriend from her apartment. Marcel is struck, as he is wont to be by such sights, by the cherry and pear blossoms towering above him in some front gardens and the way the gardens ..." éblouissaient par l'épanouissment de leurs cerisiers et de leurs poiriers en fleur...", were dazzled with cherry and pear blossom.

There is a triangular piece of land mostly planted with shrubs and bulbs, which is known locally as the "village green". Sad to say, an over enthusiastic gardener last year grubbed out the lesser celandine that brighten the ground under the shrubs in the spring, with their yellow star-shaped flowers. It seemed as though lights had been extinguished. But, now, a little later than usual, I note that the flowers are back, pushing up a bit late, but bright as ever through the dead leaves.