This is from 9.4.2011. (I’ll write more about my technical difficulties in the next blog.)
It was a short drive on winding narrow roads to la Chapelle Russe, the Russian Chapel. With each turn, a new vista opened before us. I was breathless at each new landscape, even though the hills and valleys were rather ordinary when viewed through the camera lens. I could not seem to capture the quality that induced that sudden intake of breath in astonishment and recognition. The force of nature.
The Russian Chapel is perched atop a planed-off hill. It is a Russian Orthodox thank-you
to the people of this region for their support during the Cold War. Originally built in northern Russia, using wood from their nearby forest, it was painstakingly dismantled, shipped, and reassembled here, log by log.
The joints are all interlocking without a nail in sight. The scale is grand, and this feat of human gratitude and engineering incredible. Yet this wood from the colder climate is not doing well in the warmth of the South of France. It yields to a finger’s push as fungus destroys it from within. The force of nature.
This grill beckoned us to lunch. The main fire behind, the hot coals are raked
forward to control the heat for the meat on the rack. Yet the only open tables were those outside, and a light sprinkle persisted longer than our desire for the results of that
grill. 
We headed back to le Mas de Salel, the sun inviting us to an al fresco lunch at home. But just as we sat down to a dish of onions, green beans, fresh tomatoes, and scallops in cream, with fresh coriander a perfect accent, light rain began hitting the plates. A meal outside was just not to be, and we moved everything inside. The rain continued into the afternoon, and I followed the invitation, taking a long nap. The force of nature.
The forces of nature. We try so hard to control them, their effects on our activities, surroundings, and spirit. Sometimes they conform to our persistent will; sometimes we are the ones who must bend. The trick is in the discernment of knowing which situation is which at the time, wanting to avoid the unforeseen loss of a crumbling shrine.