It's the first year we have attempted window boxes on the house, but so far the result have been meagre. Maybe it's the odd weather, maybe I am just no good at that sort of thing. This is the window box outside the guest bedroom window. It's planted with Busy Lizzies so should be bullet-proof. Whether it's Simon proof remains to be seen.
This is an example of why you have to check every individual. Nine times out of ten around here a black and blue damselfly like this will be an Azure Bluet, but occasionally, it turns out to be something else, like this male Variable Bluet Coenagrion pulchellum. The key difference is the way the blue 'shoulder' stripe looks like an exclamation mark.
I love these beetles with their blond marcel waved hairs and ridiculous name (it's hard to tell whether the English or the scientific is more silly sounding - Golden Bloomed Grey Longhorn Agapanthia villosoviridescens!)
Hairily attractive Knotgrass Acronita rumicis moth caterpillars are often present in some numbers on brambles. This is a member of the huge family of Noctuidae, which doesn't have many species with hairy caterpillars. The adult moths are more typical Noctuids, being patterned in various shades of grey.
I frequently encounter female Broad Bodied Chasers lurking about in the undergrowth like this one. It is resting in the shade and probably avoiding bothersome males at the water's edge, who are only interested in one thing.
These little Emperor moth Saturnia pavonia caterpillars are only young (second instar). They are a couple of centimetres long here, but will triple their size and completely change colour, ending up as very large green caterpillars with black and yellow markings within weeks. Eventually, after going their separate ways once they are bigger, and overwintering in their coccoons (they are related to silkworms), they will hatch into impressively large moths.
Mari-Charlotte Say, heiress to a fortune made in the sugar industry by her father, was travelling along the road atop the levee on the north shore of the Loire River. The story is that she saw the Chateau of Chaumont sur Loire and proclaimed that one day she would buy it.
The non-members all gathered around Marc Fleury, our orchid expert, as he gave them probably more information about orchids than they really cared about by way of introduction before heading up the hill to look at the flowers themselves. The rest of us, who have heard Marc's spiel before, made a few impudent jokes about Marc holding court, then mooched off with Jean Bouton, one of our octagenarian botanists, who lives 10 km down the road and knows the site very well.
The farm's main focus is a goat dairy, but they grow a number of crops to make themselves as self sufficient as possible. Our walk took us past two sorts of wheat, maize and vegetables such as leeks and tomatoes. The first stop was a field of extremely tall wheat. It is presumably an old variety, and the farmer grows it mainly to supply the straws which are inserted down the middle of his Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine goats cheese logs. He was absolutely delighted to discover that Corncockles have appeared spontaneously in this wheat crop. This once ubiquitous cornfield 'weed' has disappeared from any farm that uses herbicides, and is now very rare. I had never seen it occuring naturally before. The seeds have obviously been lying dormant for some years, waiting for a chance to spring up. Also present amongst the crops were Field Gromwell, Hairy Vetchling and Pale Toadflax.
We headed for a limestone butte which is now dominated by juniper bushes. These sorts of sites are always incredibly rich botanically, as the grass in the clearings between the juniper is full of things you simply never see anywhere else. Everywhere you looked there was Fairy Flax, Narrow-leaved Flax (producing a few rather feeble jokes about feeding the world with linseed), and 7 species of orchid in flower. This is one of the few places that the Fragrant Orchid Gymnadenia conopsea and the Short-spurred Fragrant Orchid G. odoratissima grow together and produce a hybrid now stable enough to be considered a separate species, the Pyrenean Fragrant Orchid G. pyrenaica. (One of the other places all three occur is at Chaumussay, just down the road from us.) Also on the ridge were several species of butterfly that you don't see anywhere but these chalky grasslands.
Several of the women were wearing dresses and sandals, not ideal for scrambling around a limestone butte covered in very prickly bushes. One of the sandal wearers was also worried about viperes (why wear sandals if you are convinced the countryside is full of venomous snakes?) Marc had a good deal of difficulty making her believe that viperes (adders) are extinct in the Loire Valley, and that if she saw a snake it would be a non-venomous one. He later produced a Western Whip Snake out of a box in his car, rather like a magician, and the woman bravely came forward with a few others to touch it, so I think that's another win for conservation.
After descending through the juniper spines (I still have scratches from the previous outing!) we gathered around to partake of Marc's excellent homemade cider in what has become a traditional finale to our outings. Marc had underestimated the interest from members of the public, so there weren't enough cups. Not to worry, the first round rinsed their cups out and passed them on. Another very interesting and convivial afternoon in the field wound down and we made our separate ways home (I got lost again...).
This one is a real treat. It's in the village of Rilly sur Loire, and is built in to one corner of the old lavoir. You do need to take your own paper (but wise people always do, no matter which lavatory they are visiting). A bonus for the non user is that it has scenic surrounds and a door, something that can't be taken for granted in more rural areas.
In effect the factory still exists, as the state run Mobiliers national (part of the Manufacture nationale network) which showcases the French heritage of decorative arts and trades, provides training for weavers and conservators and perhaps most important of all, is one of the few places you can send a tapestry for cleaning and repair.
Not everything thrives in this vertical and artificial environment and the gardeners who maintain it don't necessarily understand what is required or have the resources to achieve it. Or maybe I just happen to see les murs végétaux too early in the year. This one must certainly have suffered in the cold winter we had.
It's called 'Spirale végétale' and it's in the courtyard of the stables in the Chateau Parc. The official blurb is here (in French).
While I was there I also took a photo of some of the "Old Hoak Barrels" which are used to store the sweeter wines for two years.
But Stinkhorns are so extraordinary looking that I made an exception and photographed this little group in the Brenne in late May. Their scientific name, predictably, is Phallaceae, and this one I think is Common Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus. They supposedly give off a stench like rotting meat, but I think it varies a lot and I can't say I noticed it. In any event, the olive green slime on the cap is there to attract flies which normally visit carrion and manure.
The photos were taken at the back of Montrésor on one of our many expeditions last month. And what a magnificient place to spend an hour or two just messing about in boats it would be.
They are warmth loving, occupying dry open spaces, both bare earth and grassy. They require some sandy soil for laying their eggs. The adults appear on the wing in June and continue to increase in numbers peaking in July to about 1 fly every 10 square metres in suitable habitat, then numbers tail off again in August. The males are very restless and dart about looking for prey and females. The females tend to just sit and only fly if they spot prey. They have excellent sight, enabling them to spot prey up to 2 m away and dart out to catch it in the air using their legs. The prey is brought to the ground and killed by stabbing with the proboscis. Their hit rate is remarkably high - up to 85% of their attempts at catching prey are successful.
If you encounter one of these flies it is well worth a few minutes of quietly watching it. Despite their formidable appearance they are not aggressive towards humans and do not bite or sting. Nor do they carry disease or present any sort of threat towards mankind. I have written a species account for D. diadema on Loire Valley Nature which you can see here.
I also took some shots of the moon itself, and have to say that for hand held low light photos, they came out pretty well. One day I will grab the tripod, take it seriously, and see what happens.
Very few genuine pieces survive that can be attributed to Boulle for certain, but he established a fashion and his sons all produced high quality pieces, as did several of their contemporaries. Boulle was so influential that the most prestigious furniture making school in France today is named l'Ecole Boulle Paris.
The Chateau of Chaumont-sur-Loire regularly and deliberately invites designers to blur the line between sculpture and gardening. It makes the park an engaging and surprising place to wander through. The artists clearly love having the opportunity to work large scale and with humour.
I have not been able to find out what the work above is called or who it is by, but at least it explains what the bloke leaning out of the tower a month earlier had been doing.
Susan
Usually old, traditional, sometimes rare breeds are used. In the Brenne the breed of sheep used is the Solognote. They also use Konik or Camargue ponies, or Salers cattle, depending on the type of 'finish' required. Each type of animal crops the grass differently, resulting in different lengths of sward and differing amounts of trampling or bare patches. Which type of animal is used depends on what species the site is being managed for. Sometimes it is nesting birds, sometimes it is orchids, sometimes it is a butterfly. Experience has shown that carefully managing a site for a flagship species with very narrow ecological requirements is usually more effective for creating overall high biodiversity than managing a site for a wider group of generalist species that tend to be ubiquitous no matter how you maintain the site.
For those curious but not much more amongst
And here is the edited video
When she was at the mechanic's getting her nipples greased the other day, Monsieur Denis the mechanic introduced us to this cute little Vespa. Simon tried it out for size, but we have reluctantly decided it was not quite right for us. I know all our friends who have been encouraging us to buy a convertible will be disappointed, but we just don't think white is the right colour.
The tranquil surface of Etang Vieux, near Sainte-Gemme.
The Brenne wetland area just to the east of us is sometimes referred to as 'the land of a thousand lakes'. In fact it's more like two thousand and growing. The lakes are called étangs in French and they are manmade. In the Middle Ages this naturally swampy area began its transformation into a major centre of pisciculture. Low lying damp patches were dug out and streams dammed to create more and more small lakes for raising freshwater fish such as carp. Over time many of these lakes have become semi-natural, with long shallow water reed bed tails at one end and deeper water near the earthern digues at the other. In the 19th century there was a concentrated effort to drain the land and control the water, as the place had deteriorated into a malarial swamp. Today, fish farming is once again big business, and the creation of new lakes continues.
Water Crowfoot floating on Etang de la mer rouge.
As a side effect of the many lakes and reed beds, the Brenne is France's third most important wetland and an important stopping off point on the migratory route of some species and summer nesting site for others. Birdwatchers come here in droves and there are now several well known hides and birdwatching hotspots. For all the packed carparks and herds of naturalists mooching along quiet roads, like all wetlands it maintains a secretive and primeval air in much of its domaine.
For fuller posts on how the Brenne was created and has been modified over time please go to my posts about the history and geography of the Brenne and its étangs here and here.
This summer there is a battle for supremacy being played out in my garden. It looks to me as though the native Field Poppies, in the red kit, will dominate, but the exotique North American interlopers - California Poppies in the yellow gear, are giving them a run for their money.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the result is that macarons are now ubiquitious in the Hexagon. They rise in popularity again in Nancy and in Bordeaux, where two nuns made them famous after the Revolution. Whether squidgy or dry and meringuey the 'traditional' ones are all different. Those from Montmorillon in the Vienne belong to the squidgy school. At the end of the 19th century two sisters in Montmorillon were the last in a long line of macaron makers. Having no descendents themselves they gave their recipe to their kitchen maid, who carried on making the macarons. Her daughter married and in 1920 she and her husband took over the business. It is now run by their grandson, who has expanded to several shops and in 2003 set up the Musée de l'Amande et du macaron. It seems that these days, France doesn't produce sufficient almonds to supply the ever burgeoning macaron market, and they are now made with Spanish almonds.
Your first impression when you encounter this species in the field is that it is an unusually large blue butterfly. With a wing length of 16-22mm compared to the 12-18mm of the Common Blue it is noticeably bigger than any of the other blues likely to be flying. You will also notice that it isn't a stunning almost irridescent sky blue like the male Common or Adonis Blues. It's a rather dull blue infused with grey on the upperside and a lovely dove grey on the underside, with bold black spots. When you look closer you will observe that there is no trace of orange on the underside (which eliminates many species) but it usually has a blue basal flush. There is a quite distinct 'ladder' pattern of black and white in the fringes, but only visible on the underside. The black marginal and sub-marginal spots in particular are much more clearly defined and complete than in other Maculinea spp. Males and females look the same (unlike many species of blues, where the males are blue but the females brown).
The species can be found from Western Europe to Japan. In France it can be quite abundant locally, but is in regression. The adults fly from June to August and eggs are laid on the buds of wild thymes (Thymus pulegioides, T. praecox) or Wild Oregano Origanum vulgare. Once they hatch, the caterpillars spend a few weeks on the host plant, then engineer their adoption by an ant Myrmica sabuleti who takes the caterpillar down into the anthill, where it promptly eats the ant larvae before hibernating. They inhabit poor grassland, grassy fallow and wasteland and flowery margins that have been invaded by oregano and woodland edges and clearings.
The Large Blue became extinct in the Netherlands around 1964 and in England in 1979. The story of the species in England since the middle of the 19th century is quite well known and shows that the extinction was the result of habitat loss and the increasing isolation of populations. It was successfully reintroduced in a programme beginning in 1983, involving considerable research to understand its very particular lifecycle and ecological requirements.
Studies in England and Germany have shown that traditional sheep grazing provides a significant tool in the conservation of habitats for Large Blues using thyme as a host plant. The requirements for the southern populations, who lay on oregano, seem to be different, with stronger colonies populating lightly maintained sites with quite dense vegetation.
Our Large Blues are obviously of the roughty-toughty southern type, happy to lay on the oregano sprawling through natural grassland. Sadly, the day after I took the photos, the field was mowed to prepare the overflow carpark for the Comice Agricole. Even more distressingly, the field has now been completely destroyed as Large Blue habitat - yet another piece of natural grassland to go under the plough.
I picked 4 kilos of strawberries on 2 June and another 4 kilos yesterday. The peas are just ready to pick now. Mangetout (snow peas), normally much more reliable here than petit pois, are slow, only just starting to flower, and they did not germinate nearly as well as the peas this year. I've no idea what the cause of their problem is. Virtually 100% of the ever reliable broad (fava) beans germinated and now have small beans forming. I planted climbing beans opposite the mangetout about a week ago. They are up to two leaves but they usually take a couple of weeks to really get under way. I haven't got round to planting dwarf beans yet.
The potatoes, planted relatively late in May, are up. They are a variety called Stemster, which performed extremely satisfactorily in last year's drought followed by a rainy August. Pauline recommended them to me and this year I have not planted anything else. In fact, I haven't even planted all the Stemster - I ran out of steam and time.
All the seedlings I bought at the Verneuil plant fair and planted out in the potager got eaten by slugs. Disaster! That's all my cucurbits and half the tomatoes and aubergines (the rest I planted up at the house in pots - my standard precautionary measure). More tomatoes and some chillies and peppers from Bricomarché have been planted, and they are doing fine. I picked up some tomatoes and basil at Villandry the other day too (the gardeners leave out excess stock for visitors to take). We will just have to buy zucchini (courgettes), gherkins (cornichons) and melons at the market this summer.
The garlic looks good and is close to being harvested. The leeks have gone to seed - I think the weather has just been too weird for them, with too much alternation of hot and cold, quite apart from the fact that they didn't enjoy the dry beginning to spring. Onions and spring onions (scallions) seem to be struggling a bit. They aren't dying, but they aren't putting on much growth. The chives are flowering and have grown enough to be divided.The silver beet (chard) seems to have finally conked out after 2 and a half years, so I will have to sow some more.
Annie gave me some tiny fennel seedlings and they are settling in. They haven't grown much, but they look healthy, so they must be sorting out their underground bits before shooting up and out too much. I planted a single celery seedling down in the potager next to them, but I think the last spell of hot and dry hasn't done it any favours. I kept the rest of the celery up at the house where I can pour as much water as I like over them. Likewise, lettuce this year is all up at the house. Even up here they are going to seed as fast as they can. I haven't planted any carrots or beetroot. They just don't seem to like the potager - or my haphazard vegetable gardening style maybe...