A Walk on the Eperon Barre de Murat

The Eperon Barré de Murat is a ridge of limestone (Fr. tuffeau jaune) topped by a plateau at about 120 metres above sea level. This site, frequented by Mankind since the Neolithic was formed by the confluence of the valleys of the Brignon and the Larçon. It is a well known site for wild orchids and the habitat they require is maintained by a flying flock (Fr. troupeau itinerant) of grazing sheep.  The calcareous grasslands shelter a number of insects, such as cicadas (Fr. cigales) and the Large Blue butterfly (Fr. papillon Azuré du serpolet) which require dry sunny places.

 

Tassel Hyacinth Muscari comosum (Fr. Muscari  à toupet).

Two ancient defensive walls, called a vallum, are still visible at the narrow end of the site. They served to protect and 'bar' access to a prehistoric settlement. 

 

There were lots of caterpillars of the localised and increasingly rare Small Eggar moth Eriogaster lanestris (in French the caterpillars are called la Laineuse du cerisier).

The site is managed by the Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels Centre Val de Loire.

 

 Small Heath butterfly Coenonympha pamphilus (Fr. Procris).

Earlier this month Simon and I did the 3.5 km circuit around the site so I could check the progress of the orchid flowering season. It was a hot sunny day in the mid-twenties temperature wise, and about half the walk is not shaded. Just to warn you -- this is a hot site much of the year, so take water to drink. We took about an hour to get around and saw 5 species of orchid in flower. Unbeknownst to me, my friend François, who is an ecologist for the Conservatoire, was also there that day. He bagged an extra species of orchid, damn him...

 

 Downy Oak Quercus pubescens (Fr. Chêne pubescent).

Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea (Fr. Orchis pourpre).

View looking north-east from the vallum.

Violet Fritillary Boloria dia (Fr. Petite violette).

Narrow-leaved Helleborine Cephalanthera longifolia (Fr. Céphalanthère à feuilles étroites).

The uncommon Green-underside Blue butterfly Glaucopsyche alexis (Fr. Azuré des cytises).

A number of Early Spider Orchids Ophrys sphegodes (Fr. Ophrys araignée) lurking about in the grass.

 

 

Further Reading: https://espacesnaturels.touraine.fr/eperon-de-murat.html (page for the nature reserve, in French).

What to do About a Swarm of Honey Bees

The answer is short and simple: contact a beekeeper immediately and they will come and collect the swarm. A beekeeper in France is an apiculteur. You can find contact details for dozens in your area by doing a simple internet search. 

The sooner they are collected the better, for their own well-being, and for yours. If they are collected promptly it protects them from being caught out in bad weather (cold and/or wet), which is not uncommon in spring. It also gives them less time to become settled in an inappropriate new home, like your chimney or behind your shutters.

Swarming bees can sound and look alarming, but they are not really a threat to you. They are concentrating on protecting their queen, and finding a new home. Leave them alone and you will find that they will just peacefully attach themselves to a branch and hang there for some hours in a clump huddled around the queen to keep her warm. Scouts will come and go on their mission to find a new home and report back, but they can be safely ignored by you. Don't delay in calling a beekeeper to relocate the swarm though.

 

The second of two honey bee swarms I saw on 17 April this year. This one was on the Eperon Barré de Murat Nature Reserve where we walked that afternoon. The first was in our neighbour's garden, while we were having lunch in ours.

Honey bee colonies in the Touraine Loire Valley tend to be splitting up and on the move ie swarming from April to June. On Friday, coming back from the dentist, I drove into a swarm on the move between Ferrière Larçon and La Celle Guenand. A few unfortunately splatted on the windscreen. Somewhat disconcerting.

Fantastic Mr Fox

 

Signs have gone up in the Forêt de Preuilly featuring a red fox, no doubt called Renard, who is instructing visitors to pack their rubbish out. There are no bins and Renard says 'Remportez vos déchets !'.

And in case you were wondering, the Roald Dahl story and later Wes Anderson movie Fantastic Mr Fox is called Fantastique Maître Renard in French.

Garlic

Four weeks ago Susan blogged about our local garlic patch. It is now in bloom, and the smell is incredible.

The photo isn't the sharpest, but it does give you an idea of just how much wild garlic there is.

The Car Park at Chenonceau

I'm sure I have written that title before, but hey-ho.

We were at Chenonceau last Saturday, and I was amazed to see that the car park has been completely reorganised. There is now a designated flow route, and the parking bays have been marked - with wooden logs so you can't ignore them. Luckily, my customary position is too hard to define that way, so it remains totally shaded, and available for random positioning, essential when you're driving a car with the turning circle of a Traction Avant.

It remains to be seen if it combats willful bad parking, and if the surface survives rain, but it's looking better without totally destroying the ambiance.

ANZAC Biscuits

Since we are coming up to ANZAC Day, when Australians remember their war dead, on 25 April, I thought I would post a recipe for ANZAC biscuits today. These are delicious.

I copied the recipe from the back of a bag of flour, and it comes from the Country Women's Association, so it is the 'official' recipe. (In the UK the equivalent of the CWA is the Women's Institute, but I have no idea what the North American or French equivalents are.)

ANZAC Biscuits

Makes 50

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and lightly grease oven trays.
2. Combine flour, sugar, rolled oats and coconut.
3. Melt butter and golden syrup.
4. Add bicarb to boiling water and mix into butter mixture.
5. Stir into the dry ingredients.
6. Form the dough into large marble sized balls and drop onto trays, allowing generous room for spreading.
7. Bake for 10 minutes until light golden brown.
8. Cool on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
   

PS. ANZAC Day usually more or less coincides with la journée de Souvenir des Déportés in France, which commemorates the French men and women who were deported as forced labour, interned or sent to concentration camps during the Second World War.