Blown Away

When Colin and Elizabeth were here briefly at the beginning of November we accompanied them, Tim and Gaynor, and Jim and Pauline on a walk through the Forest of Preuilly. One of the highlights of our walk was before we had even started.

 

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth.

On arrival at the carpark at the étang de Ribaloche our group were the only members of the public, but we weren't alone. Parked at the junction of the roads through the forest was a local council vehicle, and two council operatives were hard at work -- leaf blowing!

Leaf blowing -- in the middle of the forest! What a thankless task!

 

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth.

The men greeted us politely with bonjours, but they looked a bit sheepish. They could see we were amused.

To be fair though, there was a point to their task. Without the leaves being removed from the unpaved carpark, they would quickly form a layer of humus that grass, wildflowers and even tree seedlings would colonise. It has to be done in late October or early November, after the autumn winds have sent enough leaves whirling to the ground, but before the winter rain starts and they clump together. The council timed the job perfectly, as it has rained more or less every day since our walk on 2 November.

The leaf free carpark in the forest -- a modern miracle.

So, future fungi forayers can rest easy in the knowledge that the carpark is tout propre and the hard standing maintained in good condition.