Wildlife Rich Walk, Part II

These are some photos from a walk we did near Yzeures-sur-Creuse on 1 July. [Link to Part I.]

Wild blackberries Rubus fruiticosus complex (Fr. les mûres).

[Link to the species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

We were quite surprised to find ripe, tasty blackberries so early.

Rampion Bellflower Campanula rapunculus (Fr. Campanule raiponce).

[Link to the species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

A carpenter ant worker Camponotus sp.

[Link to species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

Until recently both sides of the track would have been lined with a ditch and a wild hedge like this forming the field boundary. This side remains intact...

Teneral (juvenile) male Common Darter dragonfly Sympetrum striolatum (Fr. le Sympétrum fascié).

The hedge has been grubbed up and the field converted from being mown for hay to being ploughed and sown with maize. This is a sad loss for the environment and for biodiversity.

Male Small Pincertail dragonfly Onychogomphus forcipatus (Fr. le Gomphe à forceps).

[Link to species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

Fiery Clearwing moth Pyropteron chrysidiforme (Fr. la Sésie de l'Oseille).

The tumbling flower beetle Variimorda villosa (Fr. la Mordelle veloutée à pointe).

European Hornet Vespa crabro (Fr. le Frelon européene) gathering wood pulp from a burnt stump.

[Link to the species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Wildlife Rich Walk, Part I

Our Dutch friends Huub, Ingrid and Anne-Loes made it down to their house near Yzeures-sur-Creuse as soon as the borders were open. Once they'd done sufficient self-isolation we joined them for a walk up the back of Yzeures, on the First of July. Here are some of the photos I took. Part II will follow [link].

Father and daughter stride it out.

Bell Heather Erica cinerea (Fr. Bruyère cendrée).

Male Wall butterfly Lasiommata megera (Fr. le Satyre).

[link to Loire Valley Nature species account]

Female Small Spreadwing damselfly Lestes virens (Fr. Leste verdoyant) 

[link to Loire Valley Nature species account]

Limousin breed beef cattle.

The area we walked in has traditionally been grazing country with small fields surrounded by hedges. Sadly that is now changing, as my next post will show.

Male Small Copper butterfly Lycaena phlaeas (Fr. le Cuivré commun).

[Link to species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

Large Skipper butterfly Ochlodes sylvanus (Fr. la Sylvaine). 

[Link to the species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

European Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album (Fr. le Gamma).

[Link to the species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

Cut-leaved Selfheal Prunella laciniata (Fr. Brunelle laciniée).

A Western Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus (Fr. Chevreuil) buck legs it when it hears us coming.

[Link to species account on Loire Valley Nature.]

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Local TV Interview

We are part of a volunteer group working towards creating a community space in Preuilly. Recently we won a pot of money from the Département which will enable the project to go ahead and renovate a premises on Place des Halles (the market place). It has been very kindly offered to us rent free, but requires a complete renovation.

 The TV Tours journalist talking to me, London Bruno and Charlie,
in front of the former shop we have been offered.

Photo courtesy of Raphaële Vezin.

A journalist from TV Tours got in touch and asked for an interview so those of us who were available met him in the market place. We chatted informally and gave the journalist some background. Raphaële was then designated the spokesperson to wear the mike and be interviewed. The rest of us stood around nodding and smiling. Then the journalist went off to interview the mayor.

The project is called Lieutopie Preuilly and we have a Facebook page, which we invite you to like [link].

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Simon's Sixtieth

Simon and his cake.

Simon turned 60 last week so we had a party. Because of Covid19 I had to ask permission from the Préfecture and get their authorisation to have more than 10 people in a gathering. I also had to tell them what measures to ensure public health I was going to provide. The event was outdoors, we had fewer than 20 people and they sat well spaced. I put hand sanitizer at the point of entry. Everyone brought their own food. It was a bit weird, but the best under the circumstances. Simon had a good time.

Simon requested a cheese platter rather than a cake, and we served it with champagne.

Clockwise from top left: Pecorino, Sainte Maure de Touraine, Bleu d'Auvergne, Ossau Iraty, Comté, Chaource, Gorgonzola -- bought at the market in Loches.

Then he decided to make his notorious popcorn cake [link] as well...

My official authorisation to hold the party.

Toasting Simon.

To read about his fiftieth birthday party click on this [link].

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Strawberry Fraud

Now, before I relate this story I need to make everyone aware that the people in the photos have absolutely no connection with the strawberry fraud case I'm going to write about. The pictures show 'my' strawberry producer at Loches market. Her farm is in the Sologne and I have been buying strawberries, other soft fruit, asparagus, green beans and tomatoes, and wild mushrooms from her for years now. Her products are good quality, well priced and I am sure always correctly labelled.

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Strawberries are not just strawberries in France. Everyone knows the different varieties and have their favourites and know their seasons. So passing off one variety of strawberry as another is taken very seriously here. Recently, a wholesaler accused by a strawberry producer of having sold Cigalines under the name of Gariguettes was convicted of fraud.

This dispute, between a strawberry producer in Contres and a wholesaler in the Sologne, has been rumbling on for several years. Both the producer and the County Department for Consumer Affairs filed a civil action against the wholesaler accusing him of fraud. The producer was asked to supply the wholesaler with Cigaline strawberries, but the producer subsequently discovered that the strawberries were being sold on by the wholesaler as Gariguettes. The Fraud Squad investigated and found that over a three year period the wholesaler had sold 289 tonnes of Cigalines as Gariguettes, which allowed him to make a higher margin, which they calculated as 231 thousand euros over the period.

 Gariguette strawberries from a local producer who sells at the market.

The two varieties of strawberries are a type known as 'long strawberries' and very visually similar. But not everyone has heard of Cigalines, whereas Gariguettes are the most popular variety in France, so normally sold at a premium. The wholesaler stated in his defence that he considered Cigaline an excellent variety, and the same standard as Gariguette. He also stated that wholesale prices for both varieties fluctuated up and down, and Gariguettes were not necessarily more expensive than Cigalines.

The prosecution argued that the producer lost money because he concentrated on producing Cigalines and did not have a supply of Gariguettes available for other buyers. The Fraud Control team said there was no question that passing the Cigalines off as Gariguettes was fraud. The judge said that in her view the real question was consumer information, and if she bought a punnet of Gariguettes at the supermarket, she must be sure that they were not Cigalines.

The wholesaler did not put in an appearance at the court, and it was revealed that he had a previous conviction for fraud involving leeks (!??) 

Buying strawberries from the Sologne in Loches market last Wednesday
 (that's me in black on the right).

After deliberating, the tribunal ruled that it was consumer deception and that the producer was not substantially disadvantaged. The wholesaler was found guilty and fined 5000 euros.

If you want to check the authenticity of your strawberries, then check their hairs. Apparently Gariguette hairs go one way, and Cigaline hairs go the other (but don't ask me which way for which, as I have been unable to find out). Gariguettes were bred in the 1970s and are now a firm favourite early season in the French farmers markets (only displaced later in the season by Mara des bois). Cigalines were developed in the Sologne, so you could say are our local strawberry variety, adapted to local conditions, but they didn't come on to the market until 1998, and have not had so much time to become a household name in France. My reading suggests that the wholesaler had a point -- they seem to be a highly regarded variety by those who really know about strawberries.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Variable Eyebright

Europeans will struggle to believe that this Australian plant, here growing on Mount Kosciuszko, is an eyebright Euphrasia. It's huge compared to its European cousins.

This one is Variable Eyebright Euphrasia collina.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

The Fleet at Bourcefranc-le-Chapus

While we were in the Charente-Maritime we did a bit of random driving around to see what we could see. At one point we got to a point where we couldn't get any further by road, and parked at the harbour of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus. We really didn't expect to see what appeared to be an invasion flotilla leaving the harbour and motoring out to sea. The effect of all these oyster barges heading out together was quite startling. We assume we must have hit the harbour just at the right moment of the tide, and they were going out to tend the oysterbeds in the shallow waters just offshore. Previously unknown to us, it is the largest oyster port in the Marennes basin, and it's an ideal jumping off point for the Ile d'Oleron and other coastal destinations around the bay if you want to go by boat.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Insects in the Valley of the Courtineau

The Courtineau is a small stream that runs roughly from north to south, meeting the Manse River between Sainte Maure de Touraine and Saint Epain. My local botany club has long taken an interest in it and it has a rich biodiversity in general. Recently I was asked to contribute my insect records to an inventory that is being produced for the valley, so I thought I would share some of my better photos from several visits over several years.

Male reed beetle Plateumaris sericea on Ladys Smock Cardamine pratensis 

(Fr. Cardamine des prés).

Male Violet Oil Beetle Meloe violaceus (Fr. Méloé violet).

Left, Castor Bean Tick Ixodes ricinus (Fr. Tique du mouton) 

and two Ornate Cow Tick Dermacentor reticulatus, right.

Male Orange Tip butterfly Anthocharis cardamines (Fr. l'Aurore) on 

Lady's Smock Cardamine pratensis.

A Dark-edged Bee Fly Bombylius major (Fr. la Grande bombyle) nectaring on a garden primula. Dark-edged Bee Flies are important pollinators of primulas.

This Common Vetch Vicia sativa (Fr. Vesce cultivée) is guarded by Pavement Ants Tetramorium caespitum who receive a reward from the plant in the form of nectar produced from the black spots near the leaf axils. The ants eat or remove other insects that would eat the plant.

This bee fly (either Bombylius or Systoechus sp, I can't tell from this photo) knows where the real reward is on Tassel Hyacinth -- their lower, dull looking flowers are full of nectar.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Chasing the Comet

Much astronomical excitement in our house as we realised that our spare bedroom window gave us a great view of NEOWISE streaking through the sky. The weather was clear and Simon spent five nights in a row up till the early hours taking photos and honing his technique with different cameras and post production. He said he isn't waiting until he is 6,860 years old in order to capture it again. Here are some of his results.

Comet NEOWISE, the ISS (with DragonX attached) and the US spy satellite USA245.
Taken last night at 23.30 with a 60euro fully automatic camera.

 The comet over the thousand year old Chateau of Boussay.

To locate the comet he used a free program called "Stellarium". It has been on our computer since before we moved to France, but only recently has he added the comet and satellite information to it. This makes the sky a lot more interesting (for instance, did you know that some debris from the ISS is visible from earth? No, me neither).

 From our spare bedroom window.

Something that did surprise us is that due to knowing where the comet is thanks to Stellarium it is possible to aim the camera to the appropriate corner of the sky, and take a photo even before the comet becomes visible to the naked eye. There is no way we would have been able to pick the coment in the below photo, which was taken only 30 minutes after sunset.

None of our equipment is really appropriate for taking this kind of photo - we habitually spend at least 500euros less than what would be needed to produce stunning astronomical photos. Some of these pics, including the one immediately above, came from our recently purchased 60euro Lumix on a 20euro sportscam mount.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Masks in the Market

Mask wearing in public places and enclosed spaces has just become mandatory throughout France. Many municipalities, like Preuilly, have made it so already, and mask wearing is commonplace here. Mostly it seems to be washable reusable cloth masks, but disposable surgical masks are seen quite often too. Not everyone complies, and it was not policed, so those who have not been wearing masks are not in fear of being fined, or being denied entry to anywhere -- at least around here.

Shoppers wearing masks at the market in Loches last week 

(before the requirement to wear masks was introduced nationally).

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Archaeology in the Streets of Loches

On Wednesday last week we went to the market in Loches and were delighted to discover live archaeology happening in the street.

A few terracotta potsherd finds and look! A bone in the waste heap!!

This is in rue Descartes and is part of the final phase of investigating the area to be improved and beautified in front of the former court house. In all, fifteen trenches have been dug, to find out more about the 17th century Ursuline Convent, the 19th century town cemetery and the medieval Picois residential quarter. The courthouse itself will ultimately be transformed into a 4 star hotel.

This last trench is over the grounds of the convent, which was there from 1629 to 1790. The old municipal cemetery was a bit further over, and was in use from 1794 to 1845. The county archaeology service has had two months to investigate these sites before redevelopment takes place, to be finished in 2023. I don't think they are finding very much because they appear to be ahead of schedule! Normally a municipality engaged in such work would hold a public meeting to inform residents about the project, but because of the Covid19 health crisis this did not happen, so I'm relying on newspaper reports to follow the action.

The convent trench in rue Descartes. The courthouse is just visible in the top right corner

 and Saint Antoine is parallel to the trench on the left.

The purpose of the archaeological survey is to provide an assessment of the impact of the planned improvements on the archaeological remains. Thus they have dug a series of investigative trenches covering 5% of the total area, and are not attempting to dig the entire site. It's the first ever archaeological dig in the town centre (although there have been a number on the Royal Citadel).

In particular they wanted to know how the old cemetery was organised, and if all the bodies had been removed to the new cemetery, or if some still remained in their original graves. It turns out it was the latter situation and the archaeologists are going to take the opportunity to study the bones to learn more about the population at the time.  They have not found any name plaques or other identifying marks on any of the remaining tombs, which are older graves which were deeper. They must be left where they are, as the occupants don't have the right to be transferred to the modern cemetery. It is unusual to dig a cemetery that is so close to contemporary times, as usually a 19th century cemetery would still be in use. When the medieval cemetery became too full to continue to use this cemetery was created in the grounds of the former convent near the Church of Saint Antoine, where once the nuns grew vegetables, fruit and raised animals. It took up the whole of the area of what is now the carpark in front of the courthouse. After this cemetery in turn filled up and closed the ground was turned into an open green space for hold fairs and markets on. Then in the second half of the 19th century the courthouse was constructed at one end of the site.

The archaeologists have been hoping not to find Roman remains. They know that Loches was an important Roman town, but it is unknown where exactly the Roman town was located. This dig at least confirms that it was not located near the court house or Saint Antoine. They've also come up against various walls which they think belong to medieval houses and are the remains of cellars, probably in use between the Middle Ages and the 19th century. What they have found though is that although there are the foundations of 14-15th century homes, they have already been disturbed by past water pipe installations. They have not found any trace of the nuns graves, but the dig has allowed them to judge the course of an old stream, which should help to reduce future flooding risks.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. 

Dinner in the Charente-Maritime

An informal dinner on the terrace prepared by our host Roddy Hays, a couple of weeks ago, in the Charente-Maritime. Pizzas, frittata and a bit of this and that.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos.