December 12, 2005
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J ' aime les grands espaces
I like the vast spaces
English version below the picture .
Cette photo a été prise le 7 décembre dernier . Elle montre le commencement de l ' estuaire d 'une rivière picarde , l ' Authie . Sur la photo le rivière vient de la gauche et commence à se frayer un passage dans les dépôts de boue laissés par les hautes marées pour s ' épanouir plus loin dans la mer.
Je frissonnais en contemplant ce paysage sans limites , fait d ' eau , de lumière , de boue et de végétation capable de résister au sel . Cependant je connais très bien cet estuaire puisque j ' ai fait en 1964 la carte de la végétation qu 'il contient , formant des zonations selon le gradient de sel des amas de boue . Cela me prit deux mois à marcher de long en large à l 'intérieur de l ' estuaire pour étudier la végétation et ses variations .
Mais je ne me lasse jamais de regarder cet espace infini dans lequel on se sent re - créé . Je vois là un paysage des origines avec cependant quelques traces humaines ( les petites barques collées à la boue ) , un paysage qui incite à la méditation et à la prière .
Le commencement de l ' estuaire de l ' Authie , rivière de Picardie .
The beginning of the estuary of the river Authie in Picardy ( Northern France ) Photo Michel Fauquet 7 Décembre 2005
This photo has been taken on the last 7 th of December . It shows the beginning of the estuary of a river in Picardy ( Northern France ) called Authie . On the picture , the river comes from the left and starts to clear a path among the amounts of salted mud left by the high tides to bloom farther in the sea .
I was shivering in gazing at this unlimited landscape made of light , water , mud and vegetation able to resist to the salt . However I know very well this estuary since I made in 1964 the map of the vegetation inside , forming zonings according to the percentage of salt in the amounts of mud . I needed two months to walk back and forth into the estuary to study the vegetation and its variations .
But I am never tired to gaze at this infinite space in wich we feel ourself re- created . I saw there a landscape from the origins with , however , some human traces ( the small boats stuck on the mud ) , a landscape inciting to the meditation and the prayer .
Comments (130)
That's a very pretty picture, I understand how you feel when you look at it. Have a wonderful Day, Michel.
,
Amy
2nd!
Wow! You make me want to visit France.
I agree that it would be good to release my photos one at a time and then write about them, but I like to release them in clumps. It's like a story. I feel like you get to have a full experience of my trip just from the photos. And, if I comment on them too much people don't get to see the images and feel their own feelings about the images. Either way is a good way.
God's blessings are all around us...we just need to stop and enjoy them. You have the eye for the beauty of our world and the reverance to appreciate them.
Thank you for the lovely card
love to you and Janine!
So calm, so powerful...
Hehehehe!
Wonderful winter of the river! My maternal grandparents have the surname Picardo. I wonder if there was such a stranger going to the Philippines from the area near Picardy.
always such beautiful photos!
Exquisite photo!
paris, chartre/loire valley, versailles
The only thing that would make that photo better is seeing you in it.
Votre photo est magnifique! Notre monde est rempli de beauté et mystique. J'aimerais tellement le tout voir.
wow...unbelievably calm and serene picture....
Take care now Michel and God bless you and Janine(HUGS) hope your eyesight is getting better...you are in my prayers!
you take very beautiful pictures! It looks very peaceful out there
beautiful, michel. merry christmas.
~janny
That picture is simply breath-taking!
simply breathtakingly beautiful!! merry christmas, my friend!
you dont always need to see snow to feel the chill, great pic. lovely words. happy holidays.
ryn: Je travaille pour le gouvernement de Canada - je risque TOUJOURS perdre mon emploi:) haha
Au moment, ils veulent déménager mon département du gouvernement fédéral au gourvernement provinciale, et en faisant ça, lâcher les employé(e)s qui ne sont pas "permanent" mais qui travaillent seulement en contrats temporaires (mais toujours renouvelé), comme moi.
C'est découragent, mais ils disent que le succès est une échelle dont on ne peux grimper les mains dans les poches... alors peut-être je devrais chercher un autre position!
that's very beautiful. it seems very peaceful and calm.
I love you pictures and descriptions, Michel...they are such a relaxing blessing to me!
Have a blessed day!
Michele
Cher Michel,
quelle belle photo! J'aime la plage!
Je n'ai pas de vacances cet ane, mais, c'est ok. I am dealing.
Peut-etre la prochaine annee j'aurai une longue vancances!!!
Amities
Clementine
i have to admit i love open spaces, too!
that's a great photo of endless space as the horizon seems to go on forever and forever! 
I love the wide open spaces. They make you feel free.
What a wonderful photo that reminds me of our time with you on the estuary. Thank you for the Leaving of Liverpool song . I cannot sing that well but my Dad use to sing quite often as he was a real singer
We are recreated when we allow ourselves to spend time in nature. It is nutrition for our souls, I think. Beautiful photo.
Bonjour, Michel!
That is such an interesting picture. Nature works in such mysterious ways. I have always been fascinated by water and its calming effects. The miracle in tides coming and going always make me hold my breath. Whenever I am hunting for a space for serenity, I look to a lake, ocean, or other bodies of water.
I hope you got our card. God bless.
i agree with your comment on this post. it really does put things in a different perspective! ah, meditation and prayer. How true!
Une très belle photo! Il y a une rivière qui coule dans Besançon, le Doubs. Je marchait à coté de cette rivière chaque jour quand j'habitait là, mais c'était dans une ville. Ce n'est pas la même chose que cette photo, dans la nature. J'aime bien la boue, et l'idée que la boue et la végétation sont capable de resister au sel. C'est une métaphore pour la vie, n'est-ce pas?
~Jenny
The sky and the ocean give a sence of infinity space indeed.
Very nice picture to illustrate this.
Picardie must have beautifull landscapes.
The guinea pig would be safe away from people eateng him.
Interesting the word a guinea pig is called in North France( Picardie?)
Amitié
Carlo
That is just beautiful!!!!
Beautiful photo. Nice to see when you want to feel calm and restful and you can take deep breaths and imagine you are there.
I hope you are having a lovely time preparing for Christmas, Michel
@--->---Rosemary
Ce photographie est tr?s belle!
salt indeed! must be hard work thinking of all the mud and zoning
Oh, oh, I want to go there!! SO NICE! I am drawn to the water and the shore!
RYC: You're so very right, my friend....I need more sleep! I usually do pretty good...but once in a while I go for days...sometimes weeks without sleep. I don't enjoy it either!
Have a blessed day!
Michele
lovely. is it getting cold in france now? I heard that you had very cold weather awhile ago
wow, nice picture, michel.. i never thought of you know how to take a picture with a beautiful landscapes.. hehe.. well, michel, im now practicing how to learn french here on the net.. hehe.. will post later er hehe.. laterz!!
you always have such lovely posts. i always enjoy reading them. thank you.
this is a beautiful and peaceful picture, I like this kind of picture or pictures of people who are involved in their surroundings and not posing for a picture- they are timeless.. .... unless it's of family (there are great photos of people posing for the camera too) but nature/natural is my favorite... Hope all is well with you and your family Michel
A beautiful picture, Michel.
You know it makes me want to take my shoes off and walk through the sand down to the water. It looks lovely and cool, and with the hot weather we have now, it would be wonderful! 
A beautiful description and image of this tranquil piece of land/water.
I hope you enjoy your holidays Michel!
Vous aimez les grands espaces, j'aime vos photos.
Such a beautiful picture!! It makes me want to be there so I can enjoy the peace and beauty of God's world even more.
(((hugs))) and love to you and Janine, along with wishes for a very Merry Christmas. ~char
I love the shape of the river, as it bends and winds its way to the sea.
Hey bsweety hope you and yours are well God bless
GO HERE
j ' aime les grands espaces aussi -- la mer, la montagne, ciel dégagé... il me donne un sentiment de la liberté
On This day I have pictures of skating.
Now, I am leaving soon for the rink for my weekly lesson.
I am no longer skating at Ashburn rink. I found a new rink in Maryland I will practice one or two times a week. Sometimes I work at the high school on Monday...
Thank you sooo much for your words.
How pretty.
Growing crops is a good idea; people won't have to even salt their vegetables anymore! Haha.
The water doesn't appear too deep. But that could be deceiving. Sometimes I believe that having connectedness to wilderness is the only link to sanity we have remaining in this world.
Very calming and beautiful
That is how I felt when I sat atop a big hill back in Wyoming in 1982. The vast space was awe inspiring. Wonderful memory indeed.
Michael,
The photo causes such awe. You have such a good eye for photographs. I am interested in the fact that you studied and mapped this same area in 1964. How did this come about? Was it part of your work in education or was it a personal interest in the estuary or something else? In California I enjoyed visiting the nearby esturies and sitting quietly to observe the birds.
Carol Suzanne
Pas mal, mais je prefere la prairie que ca :p
Cette photo me rappelle des scènes qu'on peut trouver ici dans la région. Très jolie. Je suis heureuse de te voir de retour! J'espère que tu passes une belle journée, Michel.
Lise x
"Il est ne', le divin Enfant, jouez, hautbois, resonnez musettes;
Il est ne', le divin Enfant, Chantons tous son avenement!"
Bonne Noel!
PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE POST. IT'S SO DANG TRUE* 1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you. 2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way. 3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you. 4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you. 5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep. 6. You mean the world to someone. 7. If not for you, someone may not be living. 8. You are special and unique. 9. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you. 10. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it. 11. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world. 12. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you believe in yourself, probably, sooner or later, you will get it. 13. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks. 14. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know. 15. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great. Add this as a comment to ten of your friends tonight and at midnight your true love will find you. Something good will happen to you at 2:25 tomorrow. Get ready for the biggest shock of your life. Whoever breaks this chain letter will be cursed with 10 relationship problems for the next ten years tag ur it!! this is so scary!!! send this to 15 ppl in the next 143 min. and then press F6 and your crushes name will appear in big letters!! it is so scary because it works
magnifique image et texte cher Michel
à méditer !
les grands espaces c'est ce qui nous manque en Suisse .... !
bien le bonjour de HK très occupée par la conférence de l'OMC
amitiés
se sentir re - créés à chaque minute que Dieu fait c'est le secret du bonheur
Beautiful! I love open spaces too.
Thank you for your sweet words dear friend I hope all is going well with you and dont over work your eyes sweety God Bless
GO HERE
Drop it like it's hot!
merci pour ton bon commentaire cher Michel
)
re : c'était trop rapide !!!
sitôt que je les ai vus, venant de rue sur la gauche de l'image, je leur ai fait un grand sourire et j'avais déjà la photo dans mon appareil
certains d'entre eux ont quand même eu le temps "de se cacher" ... les autres ont pris le parti de me sourire en retour
j'ai dit merci en mandarin ensuite : "Schésché" !!!
What a powerful photo; it does cause one to meditate on beginnings. In answer to your question, that is a big red Christmas bow that we hung at the top of the ball of mistletoe. Whenever I can, I maneuver my husband underneath it.
What a wonderful vista. I understand your love for open spaces. I love open spaces too. Especially the coast and mountain plateaus.
you're right i am very shy! thanks for your encouraging comment
RYC: you asked if we have snow.........yes we definitely do!!! we had about a foot of snow ..some of it melted but we are supposed to have another storm Thursday and Friday bringing about 6 to 8 more inches!!!!! I live in Western New York about 60 miles SE of Niagara Falls so we get a lot of lake effect snow here
Take care and God bless you and Janine(HUGS)
Ce photo est tres manifique~ (please forgive me if this is incorrect... I must admit I'm better at translating than trying to compose anything of my own in "le Francais")
Take care~
The sky caught my eye. Look at the clouds nearest the horizon. Looks like a city.
Wow, it is so beautiful. I am in awe of the colors, the light, and the lines. You have an eye for photography. This place looks untouched by mankind.
RYC: Yes Michel, that will be our retirement residence during the warm months of the year. We are hoping that when we retire, we can sell our primary home and buy a home in a warm city for during the cold months. We hope to live between the two homes year round, according to weather. But retirement is probably about 10 years away.
Thanks for asking.
The vista is so beautiful, Michel! But when you mentioned walking back and forth there for two months, all I could think of was I wonder how many times you got stuck in that mud! Did you ever lose your shoes in it? I've done that--in different mud, but I'll bet it was the same stickiness!
Thank you so much for the pictures. What peace and calm they bring! Do geese land here?
Great photo so serene. thanks for nice comments. Take care
Angela
This is a beautiful visual and explination.
I'm glad to see you!!
It's been a long time!!
RYC: Merci pour la commentaire. Je bois beaucoup de thé chaud!
It looks very quiet there. Can you walk in the mud without 'sinking'?
what was it, michel? you were not read me.. umm, my xanga premium has gone already and im now using classic... aaayyyy, that's why the protected unless only 8 members to read it... I'm so sorry that my post must been protected and I don't need a public coz' unvisitors might peek my entries and try to tell me to credit them.. how cruel are they? what they need a credit for? such a lame... but nevermind... i will post another public again...
This photograph and the description of what you see is so very soothing to my soul. I too love vast open spaces .... perhaps that is why even though I can not swim I have such a love and respect for the ocean. I always feel like I have come home when I go to a beach and look out at the vastness of the ocean. In answer to your question.... yes that is my youngest child Scotty standing with me in front of the Christmas tree. I have three children, Melissa age 30, Leah age 14 and Scotty age 11 plus one grandchild Ethan and one son in law Kevin age 30. God has truely blessed me. In case I am not able to get to the computer in the next week I would like to wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. May God's Love, Joy and Peace be with my friend!
Love,
Debbie
Thanks for visiting my site. Your comments were very welcome. We dont have to go very far in Australia to find very vast spaces. Your job sounded very interesting to rehabilitate that area. cheers
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
i live very close to the Ohio River. if only it looked like that instead of polluted.
and my cat does hate baths, but she enjoys laying in the sink, lol!
<3 Nichole
I am all behind like a donkey's tail ,No.83, still I have been ,seen, and liked what I saw, have a lovely Xmas the pair of you .Love Marjie
Ah, once again your expert photography has graced us once again. It always amazes me how some things that are so different appear so similar. This scene definitely reminds of the wetlands around coastal Texas. Have a wnderful holiday'
So beautiful! I am missing being outside much this time of year when it is so cold here. I miss it so much!
What lives in the river? Is there too much salt?
Thank you for your visit to my site today!
your photos are always beatiful!
thank you!
<3ashera
And yes... all I want for Christmas is love. ♥
Mon fond ancien est d'Atlantis de Stargate Atlantis, une série de science-fiction.
la riviere est tres belle. je desire pour un moment dans la solitude. j'espere un jour merveilleux pour toi!
-juli
Hi Michel: I have missed you my friend. I love the picture. Thank you for the Christmas card I adore the dog on the front. Not to mention how special it is since it's in French very nice.
Shirley
That's a very beautiful picture. I love to be near water. I particularly love the ocean, but any water is wonderful!
I visited your site a couple days ago and was leaving a comment, when something happened and I was kicked offline.
I have been unable to be on since then, until now.
I really think that picture is beautiful, so peaceful. I have never seen anything like that before. The mud is almost unbelievable. I think it must have been a very interesting project to study that area for two months and map everything out.
I wish love and peace to you and yours. Enjoy the weekend!!
Love{v{ Edie Rose
Ok so the salt takes over and nothing grows right? Not sure I would like that kind of wide open space. I have never been to an esturay so I guess I would not understand. I love the oceans and rivers so I suppose where they meet would be a special place with a lot of energy. Interesting picture.
Thank you so much for your comments at my site. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated.
Hope you are keeping warm and having a great Christmas Season!
Love, Brenda
There is an old old saying that the 'place' good magic is created is where the earth, water and air meet. This seems such a place...endless meditation...without a bounded horizon..you mapped this place? And still you do not know my friend in Cleder? Ah me well..He probably knows of you he seems to love this things as much as you do*..smiles..Merry Chirstmas Michel to you and your wonderful family*..((Wings))
HELLO RANDOM COMMENTS! Well comment me back please! Oh, and nice xanga!
-MARIA VARDALOS (GREEK XANGER)
Your entries make me so relaxed, did you know that?
thanks again!
<3ashera
c'est vraiment interresant!
à 1964...je suis pas encore née...
take care of yourself, m. fauquet
RYC: Of course you are invited on the cruise! I planned on you and your wife being our tourguides for France, especially since you did such a wonderful job when Julie and Marie visited you! Would never think of leaving you behind!!!
Qu'il fait bon se promener dans des sites comme celui là quand il n'y a personne c'est pour celà qu'en ete je prefere la montagne car les espaces sont infinies quand on peut marcher . Mais j'aime bien me promener sur les cotes de la Manche en hiver.
Vast open spaces, nature has provided us with so much awesome beauty, I feel the same as you describe when facing the great Dolomite mountains, I feel so small and humbled facing the gifts of nature. Thank you for sharing this beautiful picture.
RITA
Hello again Michel! Thank you so much for leaing me comments! Beautiful picture!
Thanks again
-Maria
Then an estuary only occurs where a river meets the ocean? I somehow thought there were freshwater estuaries or something--where two rivers meet. But of course, without a tide, that would be a totally different place. Isn't it amazing what adaptations the creatures and plants on this planet have made. I'd have guessed there might be plants that could adapt to salt, and, animals in the water that could somehow exist in both salt and fresh water. But I would never have imagined bees!
I hope to learn more about Picardy.
ryc--I wouldn't be surprised if you had other readers from Boise. It's the largest city in Idaho. We live on a Plain that stretches across the bottom of the state. On a relief map, this plain looks like the mouth on a smiley face, because all the rest of the state is mountainous. Boise is next to the foothills. It probably looks a little like the part of France that is near the Alps, perhaps?
Thank you so much for the pictures--both photographic and mental!
How busy you must be just replying to us all, thank you for sharing yourself with us.....much joy to you and yours this Christmas! I will take pictures of Alaska for you...hugs!
Je ne vois pas assez souvent les grandes espaces, ou l'on se sent une contradiction immense, entre la petitesse (de soi) et la majeste du monde et de la nature. J'adore tes photos, j'adore la France
O, et pour repondre a ta question, j'enseigne le francais, bien sur
What an amazing photograph. I could get lost in it! Beautiful.
~Aimee~
wonderful Michael and healing mud too mmm beautiful and you are right about the light love magi
The estuary looks as beautiful as the ocean!
when I was about 14-16... I sat at 4 AM to watch the water in the canals....when I was all alone.
-the rachael
Serene. Thank you, Michel for your comment on blogging-so glad so amny of us have connected, and become friends!
Merci on the card.
The characters I posted are ones that I created over the years which I write at several online writing boards
I am so busy doing my memoirs that I have not visited you for quite awhile. This picture is so lovely, Michel. It could be titled, "Serenity". Part of me always longs for the sea, the ocean, a river. I will print this and keep it.
Thank you for the beautiful Christmas card, Michel. I don't write of it on my site for I am writing as tho it is 1938, and it would not be proper!
YES YOU ARE.
NELL
Thank you sweety God Bless and Happy Holidays
SEASON'S GREETINGS
Wow, you truly find inspiration all around you! Have a great day!
What an amazing photo, Michel ... the epitome of peace and calm; it does inspire meditation and an appreciation of nature. Your photos are always breathtaking - like you see nature with your heart. God bless! Nancy
Such a beautiful picture! I as always love reading your descriptions of the pictures. You are so descriptive. But I notice in this one that you worked there? That is wonderful! It sounds like a wonderful type of job you did. The picture is so wonderful and airy and freeing! Have a great day and a wonderful tomorrow ! ! ! Much love and many hugs ! ! ! Thanks for your wonderful visits and your worrying for me! It is so much appreciated! May you and Janine sleep with the angels and wake up fully rested and ready for a brand new day! ! ! ! May God bless you and all of yours for this wonderful Season of Christs birth! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND ALL OF YOURS ! ! ! ! ! !
Hi Michel: My special angel is not on Xanga nor is my angel who listens to my frustrations, all the xanga angel's are on xanga but not those two. The antibiotic I have been on for 3 weeks is for a severe ear infection that is stubborn and doesn't want to respond to antibiotic, so for the last 2 weeks I have been taking a stronger dose of 1000mg so far I believe it has worked will find out Thursday morning when I see the work Doc. Hope you and your wife have a pleasant and restful day.
Shirley
I do not know what occupation you had to allow you to do such an exciting thing as to map the vegetation for this beautiful area. A scientist probably, but who employed you to do it. Has the area changed over the years? From your words, you are more than a scientist, but also a philosopher. Thank you for carrying me to another place in mind and heart.
I posted a picture today that was taken in December, 1938 in downtown Danville. I am aahamed that I didn't care for it properly. It was taken by a roving photographer in Dountown Danville. The back has an address in Chicago!!
happy holidays sweety to you and yours
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Your words remind me of Pascal's dictum, "Le silence éternel de ces espaces infinis m'effraie." Yet your thoughts are opposed, properly, to the dread of Pascal. If I understand correctly, Pascal feared the loss of moral certitude implicit in scientific pursuit, and that the vastness of the known universe renders human concerns insignificant.
This is really a loss only of a certain chauvinism and self-centrism. For what are we, that we apprehend and appreciate, however dimly, the enormity of existence! And what human problems were dealt with more effectively before the supposed "loss" than now?
Sadly, in the United States an effort exists, based on the Pascalian fear, and bred of ignorance, to discredit teaching of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory in schools.
I am also reminded of the movie "Mindwalk" featuring John Heard, Liv Ullmann, and Sam Waterson. They play a poet, a scientist, and a politician who meet for a day on Mont-Saint-Michel island and discuss the issues facing human society. Like your estuary, the landscape is an essential character in this narrative.
That is absolutly beautiful.
Have a Merry Christmas, friend.
HXC (hard core...im not sure why there is an x there) is a musical genre popular in america that annoys a lot of my friends so we say it sarcastically.
<3ashera
Asters and bees and the salt of the sea under an endless blue sky! What a lovely picture to carry in our minds on these dreary days! Thank you so much, Michel, for sharing this!
My hamster's name is Autumn, like the season.
Salut Michel! I have missed reading so many of your blogs! I will take some time to go through them over the next few days. Already your beautiful photos begin to bring a smile to my face
In answer to your question, you could not kill turkeys by wringing their necks so you had someone hold them over a block of wood and you chopped their heads off with an axe as you did in your country with the guillotine!!!!!!
Merry Christmas Michel!
~*Sazzy*~
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