An intense summer season this year. The national park of the Calanques closes on days of wildfire danger. Wildfires have been destructive in the southwest while the persisting heat has caused drought in other parts of the country. The same in many regions of the world. Here and everywhere, ecologists should take the lead in governments.

Whenever possible, I actually enjoy warm weather in forest areas. A hike can start out slow but I feel so much better after awhile. So far, the cicadas in the pine forests seem to agree, they keep singing also during the hot days. Of course, when the weather approaches the body temperature then the human limit has been reached.

One late afternoon, photography friend Faty called me and suggested to take sunset photos on the coast. After a hard day’s work at the Clinic she was ready to widen her view of the day. She is the spouse of Jacques, the concierge of my apartment building. Faty didn’t bring her camera but she’s good with her smartphone too.

Faty is also an artistic painter in her free time and has a great eye for composition and ambience. We easily agree on these two features that can make an image stand out. We were impressed by the mosaics on the boulevard benches that were done by students from different institutions. New discoveries while the sun kept sinking toward the sea.

The App Mes Calanques told me that the national park was open for the day. I decided to take the long route. The beginning is quite steep upward, then pretty horizontal, then steeply going down until one arrives back on the main road. At the spot where I took a break, I noticed a wood pigeon looking for food in the shade of a pine tree. It was fully relaxed in its activity. Observing that for awhile made my day.

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