Lost my sleeping spell last night, awake until 4:00 a.m. I listened to the novel I’m reading on Audible, “The Hired Man,” another novel set in Croatia as we will travel there in June. Then Frank woke me out of a sound sleep at 8 for breakfast. Our friends have just put in an in ground pool in their back yard, and it’s lovely. But there was a lot of excavation and much of the yard was dug up. All around the dug up earth there are lovely wildflowers growing, including the charming poppies in bloom. As I sat waking up in the sunshine with my coffee before breakfast, I watched the excavator come in and scoop down and take a big bite of earth full of poppies in bloom in its mouth and turn the earth over to fill a hole. It was a shocking moment. So, on my walk later, along the riviere eyrieux ardeche, I felt so delighted to be in the hot sun, and along the roadside, paid a lot of attention to the poppies. Found the grasshopper enjoying them too! Today I had two swims in the pool and ran my Ukraine group as well. Lovely meals on the terrace, simple, fresh, delicious meals as only the French can do so naturally. Cheeses and baguette and salmon and spinach and fruit fruit fruit. Tomorrow we head back to Paris on the fast train. I am so happy to be here. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about the special one throughout my day. Especially when the big teeth of the excavator started eating the poppies!