It is early April and we have come to stay in a gîte in Normandy. Eight years ago we sold the holiday home we had near Lisieux and now we have come, nearby, to revisit some old haunts. It has been the perfect time to come.

We wake in the morning to the sound of birdsong - chaffinches, robins, chiffchaffs, song thrush and blackbirds 🐦‍⬛ all singing joyfully. There are cows in the next door field, grazing peacefully. This morning there were two cattle egrets picking insects out of the grass

I took a stroll on our first evening here and came upon a bank of primroses, mixed with delicate violets and a few orchids just coming through. The bank of primroses stretched for yards down the lane, interspersed with nodding cowslips.

I looked up through the tree canopy and saw a 3/4 moon shining down on me, it felt quite wonderful.

Today we visited a beautiful manoir with warm, intricate stone work, attractive round turrets on each corner, lovely grounds with graceful, low spreading trees, surrounded with violets. There was an octagonal dovecote tower in the grounds, the same warm brickwork that has been there since 16th century. You can look it up :  Manoir de Bellou, there you can see pictures of the house. It is quite far from anywhere and so peaceful - again, just birdsong.

I realised, as my OH drove along, that I had a big smile on my face and I felt very relaxed.

Sometimes, when my Moodscope score goes up, the accompanying wording tries to be encouraging and says, hold on to what made you feel good and try to replicate it. I don’t think I can escape to Normandy every time I feel a bit down, though it would be very nice.

We have just been very fortunate with the timing - the sun has shone every day and been warm enough for me to sit out on a sun bed, listening to the birds and watching the cattle calmly grazing or laying down to chew the cud. I feel blessed and grateful that we are able to be here.

I am very grateful for the friendship I have found here on Moodscope and hope people reading this can find a place to rest and unwind, a garden or park where there is birdsong and flowers.

With love,  

Another Sally xx

A Moodscope member