Cerisiers en Fleurs

Driving back from Auxerre I was stopped in my tracks by the cerisiers en fleurs, the cherry trees in flower...looking like frothy, pink candy floss covering the hillside. 

Jules Roy, a distinguished French writer who lived at Vezelay for over 20 years, described the cherry trees between Auxerre and Vezelay, as "clouds resembling sailboats, red glints aboard the belly of the Earth, hills play leapfrog, the sky becomes a purple sea....cherry blossom from foam ...thrown everywhere over vineyards." 

Take a look at these gorgeous paintings by artist Georges Hosotte...

 

....the fluffy cherry blossom and the violet skies...

 

 

Living and working from an atelier at Irancy, in Yonne, Burgundy,
Georges Hosotte perfectly captures the landscape surrounding him.  

 

 

 

Vast vistas of rolling hills and valleys, cherry orchards, vineyards and cereal crops. A dramatic contrast to the green, dark forests, steep hills and lakes of Le Morvan.