Cherry Galls

 Cherry Galls (Fr. Galles-cerise du chêne) are caused on Oak trees by the tiny gall wasp Cynips quercusfolii. I've never seen the wasp, which is only 3 mm long, but I regularly encounter the galls on oak leaves in the forest.

The wasps develop on the oak trees, where they are responsable for the formation of spherical galls on the underside of leaves. 

This abundant gall was appears each year in two forms, one which reproduces sexually and one which reproduces asexually ie by parthenogenesis. In the summer, after mating, the female wasps lay their eggs on the oak leaves. Then their larvae develop in the galls on the underside of the leaves, a single 2 mm larva in each gall. The galls start off as yellow-green and transform into red-brown. 

 

Spangle and Cherry galls on oak leaves.

The adult parthenogenic female wasps emerge from the galls in winter, and in the spring they lay eggs on the new leaf buds on oak trees. A gall forms, but it is very different, being only a few millimetres across and covered in red filaments. The sexual wasps emerge from these galls in May and June. In the past it was believed that the parthenogenic and sexual wasps represented two different species.

Water (Snap!)

Two years ago we were having our salon and bedroom insulated. We were staying in Boussay at the time, so we got to see the effect of all the rain. Almost exactly two years ago we took a photo of the Claise river flooding its water meadows.

Yesterday we stopped and took a photo of the Claise river flooding its water meadows.

Can you tell which is which?

And which one is the more flooded?

Another Snow Episode!

 View Sunday morning from our spare bedroom, looking west.

I got up on Sunday morning and was truly astonished to look out the window and see that it had snowed over night. By the time I saw it the drizzling rain had set in for the day, but the snow lasted in patches until lunchtime. So this is the third (or maybe fourth) snow episode of this winter. We've also had 100 ml of rain in the past fortnight and all the rivers are full. The flood meadows along the Indrois, Indre and Creuse all look like lakes. Some roads have been cut and we have a yellow flood warning.

 

View from our attic window, looking north.

Fish Pie

 The fish, vegetable and white sauce filling for the pie.

 

We love a good fish pie, ideally with a mixture of smoked and oily fish with veggies in a white sauce, and topped with mashed potato. So when I found some smoked haddock at the supermarket, I quickly put together the other ingredients and made fish pie. Smoked haddock is a treat which I don't see very much here, so I was delighted. And when I do come across it, it is generally artisanal rather than industrial, so even more of a treat.

 

Ready for the oven.

 

Ingredients

1 kg potatoes, scrubbed, peeled (optional) and cut into 5 cm chunks

125 g butter (50 g for the mash, 50 g to sweat the veggies, and 25 g to dot on top)

1 tbsp olive oil

100 g cream

 500 ml milk (for making the sauce, but use 3 tbsp in the mash)

A pinch each of salt and ground white pepper

150 g smoked haddock

200 g salmon

An onion, sliced

A bay leaf

A leek, cleaned and sliced

A large carrot, cut into dice

100 g frozen peas

3 tbsp flour 

1 tbsp chopped fresh herb (optional, whatever you fancy, eg parsley)

A few drops of bottled lemon juice

Method

1. Turn the oven on and heat to 190°C.
2. Boil the potatoes, drain and mash with butter, cream, milk, salt and white pepper.
3. Skin the fish.
   
4. Bring the milk to boiling point in a large saucepan and add the fish, fish skin, half the onion, and bay leaf. 
5. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 minutes.
6. Heat butter and oil in a large pan and soften the remaining onion, leek and carrot for 15 minutes, on low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
7. Using a fish slice remove the fish from the milk and set aside.
8. Add the flour to the veggies and mix it in well.
9. Cook on a low heat for several minutes.
10. Gradually strain the warm milk into the veggies, stirring constantly.
11. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
12. Add the frozen peas to the veggies in sauce.
13. Break the fish into chunks and gently incorporate into the veggies and sauce.
14. Pour the fish, veggies and sauce into a large deep oval pie dish.
15. Sprinkle herbs and lemon juice over the fish mixture.
16. Carefully cover the pie with mash, a spoonful at a time until the whole surface is thickly covered.
17. Go over the top with a fork to both even it out and ensure rough bits which will brown in the oven.
18. Dot the top with the remaining butter and place the dish on an oven tray because it will bubble up and over.
19. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
20. Serves six, with steamed broccoli.

 

Mash ready to dollop on top.

Hairy Curtain Crust

Hairy Curtain Crust Stereum hirsutum (Fr. Stérée hirsute) is an abundant and widespread bracket fungus species in Tourangelle forests. Sometimes grey in colour, but most often yellowy orange, with a white edge and the top surface covered in short greyish hairs that create a nap like velveteen cloth. The wavy edged semi-circular brackets are leathery and about 5 cm across. The spores are colourless. The species grows on the dead wood of deciduous trees. It is not the sort of mushroom anyone would eat unless they are into cardboard.

 

The smooth orange underside.

The species has a number of lookalikes and it is necessary to examine the underside carefully. It should be smooth and orange, and not change colour when bruised (an indication it is a different Stereum species). If the underside is creamy white, has pores, or little warts then think about alternative identifications such as Aleurocystidiellum, Trametes or Eichleriella. It is very tough and can be very visible all year round, even during droughts. Many mycolologists have observed that it is particularly abundant after a fire.

One sure way of identifying both species is if there is Golden Ear Tremella aurantica in proximity to Hairy Curtain Crust. The Golden Ear is a parasite of the Hairy Curtain Crust, and will slowly envelope and consume it.

A Descartes Memorial

There's a plaque in Descartes, in a slightly out of the way car park, that we have noticed, but never stopped to read.

In the 1930s, André Goupille was a veterinarian living with his family in La Haye-Descartes (now Descartes). When France was divided during the Second World War, the German demarcation line passed close to their home. Because of his profession, André held a permanent pass allowing him to cross the line. From 1940 onward, he organized a clandestine network to help people cross, involving his wife Jeanne, their four teenage children, and their housekeeper, Odette Metais. Together, they assisted approximately 2,000 individuals, including Jews fleeing persecution, escaped prisoners of war, Allied pilots, and members of the Resistance. They also transported messages and intelligence to London and sometimes sheltered refugees for several days.

Their courage is documented by letters of gratitude from those they helped, including Jewish refugees who had escaped from Drancy. In January 1942, André was arrested for carrying incriminating documents but managed to secure his release by claiming they were linked to black-market activities. He then continued his work from the southern zone, joined later by Jeanne. After the German invasion of the southern zone, their resistance activities expanded to include receiving parachute drops.

In February 1944, the entire group was arrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps. Remarkably, all survived. In 2000, Yad Vashem honored André and Jeanne Goupille, their children, and Odette Metais as Righteous Among the Nations.

Pierre and Denise Renard also lived in La Haye-Descartes during the Second World War. Pierre was involved in the French Resistance and helped escaped prisoners of war and downed Allied airmen cross into the southern zone. His actions expanded when a local hotel owner informed him that the Freudman family, Belgian Jews seeking refuge in France, had been abandoned by smugglers after being robbed of their money.

Pierre rescued the family—two parents and their two-year-old twin daughters—and brought them to his home, where they were temporarily hidden in a small hut in the courtyard. Denise, a schoolteacher, cared for them and ensured they had food and basic necessities. One morning before dawn, she provided the family with supplies and forged identity papers before bidding them farewell. Pierre then guided them by indirect routes across the demarcation line and placed them on a bus bound for Vichy. The following day, he visited them to make sure they were safe.

Pierre Renard sought no reward for his actions, motivated solely by resistance to the occupation and compassion for the persecuted. In 1944, he was arrested by the Gestapo and deported to Dachau. Though he survived the camp, he died shortly after the war due to illness and suffering. In 1969, Yad Vashem recognized Pierre and Denise Renard as Righteous Among the Nations.