France – Birds, Éclairs & Family Memories – Reflections of the Natural World

What began as a family journey across the English Channel became one of those brief trips whose small moments linger long afterward. My son and daughter-in-law drove my wife and me, along with our two grandchildren, from their home near Cambridge to the ferry, where we crossed the Channel to Calais and continued into France. We spent three nights near Étang de l’Ursine, using the area as our base for exploring Paris and the Palace of Versailles while celebrating my 66th birthday.
But some of my favorite memories came before the rest of the family was even awake. Each morning I slipped out early and walked along the forest-edged road toward the pond, camera and binoculars in hand. Those quiet walks around Étang de l’Ursine became my small window into the birds and natural world of France.
This short collection brings those experiences back together—not simply as a record of the birds I found, but as memories of a family journey: a ferry crossing, mornings beside a French pond, Paris and Versailles, birthday cake, coffee éclairs, and time spent with people I love.