Breizh is a name and a place and a dog in France

Exercising restraint after posting a recent slew of dog photos. Enjoy some flowering melisse (lemon balm) and this stone cabanon instead. (More about dogs in today's column...)

Breizh (pronunciation uncertain. Here we say BREZ)

    : in the Breton language, Breizh means "Brittany"

Breizh, le nom breton de la Bretagne, vient lui d'un ancien Brittia. (Wikipedia)
Breizh, the Breton name for Brittany, comes from the ancient "Brittia".

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE... by Kristin Espinasse

Our Dog formerly known at "Braise"

The photo at the end of Monday's post led to a few alarmed emails: "Is everything OK with Braise?" one reader wrote in. Another was more direct, "JUST WHERE IS SHE? WHERE'S BRAISE?"

Clicking shut the emails, wave of guilt rushed over me. It's true, my thoughts began. You always photograph Smokey! You never post pictures of Braise. Why is that? Why?

(And here, right now as I type this, caring words from my Dad return, just in the knick of time: "You think too much! Relax and enjoy life.") 

One of the things I enjoy in life--one thing that relaxes me greatly--is photographing our 4-year-old golden retriever, Smokey. Training my lens on him--framing him within a variety of botanical backdrops--helps calm an overactive imagination (read "worry,"not "creativity"). In between writing and doing housework, chasing Smokey around the vegetable patch with my camera soothes a certain "go nowhere" agitation--the feeling that I should be doing something consistently, or face the fact: no matter how busy I'm nothing more than a sack of lazy bones.

Blame the news (pestilence, war, climate change), but lately photographing Smokey has become an obsession--to the point where my social media feeds are clogged with dog.  I'm still reading the news, but these photo shoots help not to focalize on it.

But today's post is not about Survivor Smokey. Back to alive-and-well Braise (Smokey's 9-year-old mama--pictured above!). While she may not be my camera's muse, she became an inspiration in her own right the instant we met her at the dog pound. The year was 2006....

If a golden retriever could be homely she was--there in the shadow of her porcelaine-faced sister. Peering into the small cage, our family--including a then 10-year-old Max, an 8-year-old Jackie--were amazed by the rejected pups. Who would give up a couple of golden retrievers?

"Their mother was a breeder..." the woman at the animal rescue explained. "This was her last portée, or litter, and there were no buyers for these two." 

The trailer floor creaked as we stood up in the office of the animal rescue, where the puppies had just been abandoned. Huddled together now, it was time for our little family to make a decision. We had not set out on a search for goldens ("mutts are more intelligent," my Mom had hinted, when we began our search, which led us, eventually, to the French town of Le Muy--and down a dusty back road to a dog dump.

Kneeling to the floor once again, we gazed into the cage when the runt of the litter--the homely girl who initially cowered back--stepped forward in her little cage, leaving her beautiful sister in her shadow.

"I would like to call her Breizh*" Jean-Marc said, locking eyes with her.

"OK..." I agreed. A big deep breath later and we were barreling out of the dog orphanage, lest the owner come to her senses and reclaim the golden angel she'd given up.

In retrospect we should have taken both goldens. Kept the sisters together. But at that moment in time, one dog was as big of a decision as we were able to make. And when four years later Breizh gifted us with a baby, Smokey (the only male in a litter of 6), it was as though the heavens forgave us our oversight.

As for oversight, it took seven years to learn how to spell my dog's name. When my husband suggested "Breizh", I heard "BREZ" and wrote it down as "Braise" for the stories I would write about her. But I would like to correct that error now and, from here on out, pen our golden girl's name in Breton. "Breizh" is how the locals up north would write it. Breizh it is.   

Speaking of locals, a motley cast and crew is calling me now, brightly-colored characters from the backyard veggie patch! The tomatoes and basil and hollyhocks--and we'll see what else is ripe--they're ready to frame Smokey, once again. I think they're as obsessessed as I am. Anything to take their minds of climate change!

See you next time,

Kristi

Sarriette (savory), strawberries, basil, estragon (taragon)... they love sharing the spotlight with Smokey. Need to mark "fines herbes" on that upended ash shovel (swiped it from Jean-Marc)

Comments

[Marie Slebodnick]

My husband and I foster golden retrievers here in Maryland. We know that people who rescue dogs are truly special people. These dogs give so much love and happiness to their owners.

[Barbara Fee]

Love your stories of your dogs and their pics. I agree that special people rescue dogs. Your flower and vegetable pics are also lovely and bring a smile to my face every time you post them, more so now that winter is approaching in Manitoba Canada.

[Sandy Maberly]

Breizh, a lovely name, a beautiful part of France. JM made a good choice all those years ago!

[Ken Smith]

HiKristen,

Love your blog. I'm learning French via Duolingo. I would pronounce a "zh" like an "sh" with the "z" sound instead of the "s" sound. Zsa-Zsa (Gabor)-like.
There is the smallest typo at the onset of this piece: Our Dog formerly known at "Braise" - I would PM this normally but I know you're inundated.

Best!,
KEN

[Ann Murray]

Your photographs are stunning! I love how the dog is in the background and out of focus.

[Patricia Sands]

Kristen, I loved your story of how you came to choose Breizh at the pound. The love you feel for your two "pups" always comes through loud and clear in your photos and your words. As always, thanks for that! Now I am off to google the town of Breizh! Have a lovely day in your jardin!

[Cynthia Lewis]

Kristi, beautiful photos which enchant me plus touching words so well written ... many thanks, always. Now I'm off to a French class at the nearby university. The progress is slow but I make a little progress each year. Bon week-end!

[Eileen deCamp]

Hi Kristin,
I don't think anybody can get tired of seeing cute photos of your doggies and the lovely garden! I love the photo of Breizh rolling on her back with the lovely pink flowers in the foreground. I haven't been wondering about Breizh so much as your mom. I hope she is doing well.....I have missed seeing her comments here and was wondering if she is OK.

[Amanda]

I call those flowers in front of Breizh "Four o'Clocks." Hollyhocks are the really tall plants the French call roses tremaires (if my neighbor is right).

[Ronni Ebbers]

Both are beautiful Braise and Breizh. I spend and have spent much time in Brittany for the past 17 years. It's as much our favorite place as Paris. All, including we when we're there, have autocollants on their autos "L'Aise Breizh". Definition of which has been difficult to pin down even with a Breton dictionary. I've only heard it pronounced as you said, brez.

Bon weekend.

Ronni

[Jacqueline Satterlee]

Beautiful pictures as usual. Thank you!

[Cheryl in STL]

And Breizh is also the name of a wonderful crêperie in the Marais! Thanks for Braise/Breizh's story and the pictures!

[Bruce in northwest Connecticut]

And here I was thinking both dogs were named for cooking terms.

One mystery solved and another question raised: Why did Jean-Marc want to name the family's new dog "Brittany"?

[BJ Tuininga]

I am so envious of your growing season...As an herbalist, my Lemon Balm has never seen such heights let along blossomed. Suc a treat to the beauty of its bloom.

You photos are always to beautiful!

[Catharine Ewart-Touzot]

Your pictures are lovely, they always are..lovely also in the inclusion of your dogs in your family life..the children leave but the dogs are still there..I have had Old English Sheepdogs since 67..I have bought,I have rescued, I have taken dogs when friends have married and their spouses were too fragile to be able to accept their mates love and devotion to a dog. As I have heard no more of your dogs roaming the countryside I imagine that situation has been resolved..people tend to become breed specific..yours are indeed lovely, so glad you have them in your family I as have many, have enjoyed their lives with your family over the years
.

[Natalia]

Our dear Kristi,
This without doubt is one of your most beautiful posts.
You are truly an angel to rescue Braise(Breizh!)
(Quite honestly I cannot say the same thing about her breeder)!
Your pictures of your four pawed 'kids' warm our hearts and wrap us in smiles.I'm sorry for not mentioning this before;somehow I thought you just knew.
Love
Natalia. xo

[Faye Stelly]

Love this post...beautiful pics.
I always thought "Braise" to be perfect name because it is French for embers and that is what she reminds me of!

[Martha]

Indeed- one of your best posts. Makes me want to run to the nearest Animal Rescue/Adoption Center and pick up another dog. We cared for one for 14 years; he waited by the front door for my now deceased husband to come home for ONE year. Then he too succombed to old age. We buried their ashes together last summer. Reunited again.
Your posts always warm my heart.
Merci. Martha

[Julie Farrar]

Beautiful photos des fleurs as ours start to fade in the Midwest. Thank you for your adoption story. I always love to hear dog-naming stories, too. Don't feel guilty for taking more pictures of the son over the mama. Some dogs just invite that. However, do make an effort to take pictures of her that are at least good enough for your family, if not Instagram. When my beloved Millie died and I went looking for pictures of her, I found that over the ten years we had her I didn't have many pictures. I know I had tried, but every time I pulled my camera out and pointed it at her, curiosity got the better and she came up to investigate. If I had snapped all those times I would have ten years of pictures of dog nose smearing my lens. But I do have a couple of winners that I really treasure.

[Lisa Kennedy]

Truly lovely post today, Kristin. Fabulous photos and great to know Breizh is doing well! Great to learn about her history and her beautiful name.

[Stacy ~ Sweet Life Farm]

Funny, as I was thinking wait who is Breizh?! Your dad’s advice could easily be my dad’s advice to me. Recently, my beloved shared this quote he’d seen on a reader board in town with me, “Worry is a misuse of the imagination”. Yep, dear friend, I can so relate. Hope that your sweet garden, sweet Goldens and being out in nature help to slow your mind and soothe your soul.

[L]

You first saw her at the pound in 2006? That's one old dog!

[judi dunn]

.. We are back after 2 months in Europe! One in the Dordogne and one in England.... our trip was better than we could have imagined. the Dordogne home was so beautiful we truly hated to leave... but we did and drove northwest through la France to cherbourg where we took the ferry to portsmouth! A first for me, and my first time in the UK! We spent the next 3 weeks with our old friends and traveled every day on a new adventure... Salisbury, Winchester, London, Straford-on Avon, Oxford, Farnborough, Itchenor, Southampton, the Cotswolds and Bath for 2 days! I loved the UK so very much. Our TRIPAPALOOZA was a belated lune de miel, after being married 53 years! As a photographer, I am plowing thru my photos one day at a time.... I am so glad to see you are still working hard at Word a Day! We have a Golden Lab in our family, Joey, whom we love and adore! Bhudda says... ' and you think you still have time...... bisous, Judi

[june furey]

Kristin, I have often commented on how much I enjoy your photos no matter what the subject, but I dont know whether I have ever told you how clear and colourful they come through. Also wish to mention how delighted it has been to find your stories at the back of the French magazines I have been buying lately. and reading several books you have listed on your site and have found them wonderfully enjoyable. thank you for all the information to send for those of us in love with France your artiste ami June

[Marianne Rankin]

Yes, your photos are wonderful. You have a real talent for photography, and you snap shots of things many of us would miss.

As Faye noted, "braise" means "ember." I believe I recall a post of a couple years or so ago in which J-M said he chose "Braise" as a name for that reason (I suppose because of the color). I also think I remember that years before that, he had a cat named Braise - is that correct?

In any case, the name is interesting and distinctive.

In English, I prefer names for pets that aren't used for humans. In France, do people mainly name their pets after the animals' characterstics, or do they sometimes just pick a name they like?

[Kristin Espinasse]

Thank you for taking the time to write, and such encouraging words always!

Marianne, you have a wonderful memory. Yes, Breizh was named after Jean-Marcs family cat, when he was still living at home.

Again, thank you for these messages. Reading them is such a pleasure. Wishing everyone a lovely day.

[Chris Allin]

Dear Kristin,

Your pictures and stories of Breizh and Smokey really touch a dog lover's heart...

[Chris Allin]

P.S.

As to "worrying ", I recently saw this tweet, which hit me with full force!

@RealRomaDowney: Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace.

[Lesley-Ann Hoare]

Or perhaps you should take heed of the local saying : "a l'aise breizh"!!! ;-)

[Robin Lewin]

Hi Kristin,

I love your pictures of the Golden Maman and son. Aren't dogs wonderful? We have two rescue puppies too. Baxter and Sadie. I hope everything is Okay with you. It seems a bit longer this time since a post. Guess I'M worrying too much too! Robin

[Buffy]

Your first picture showing seeds being picked from a sunflower, made me think of mine. I grew a sunflower that towered 10 feet high this past summer. I cut it down a couple weeks ago, and left the flower on my patio table. It disappeared!! Was it a large bird or a couple resourceful squirrels? Who knows. But it is nowhere in site.