Friday 18 September 2020

A Short Walk From Ligueil in mid-September

Cyclamens naturalised in an orchard. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
Naturalised cyclamens in a small orchard along Allée des Cyclamens.

 

Charolais cattle. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
Charolais cattle, grazing on the river flats.

Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna (Fr. aubépine).

Walking group crossing a footbridge. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
Walking across a slightly dodgy footbridge.

River Esves. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
River Esves.


Old barn. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
An old barn.

Old gate. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
An old gate.

School swimming at public pool. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
School swimming at the Ligueil public pool.

Old metal window shutters. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
Old metal window shutters on an industrial building.

Aggregation of mostly juvenile Fire Bugs Pyrrhocoris apterus. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
An aggregation of mostly juvenile Fire Bugs Pyrrhocoris apterus (Fr. Gendarmes).

Fire Bugs are gregarious and promiscuous, and very abundant in France. You will see them absolutely everywhere. They are called Gendarmes in French because in the old days French policemen wore red uniforms.


Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulfureus. Indre et Loire. France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.
Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus (Fr. Polypore soufré).

This magnificent bracket fungus is a much prized edible species, which I'm told sells for about €250 a kilo. This specimen alone would have produced a couple of kilos worth. It was growing in a very typical situation, on the upright trunk of an oak. My fungi expert friend, pharmacist Didier R, says that it is an unmistakable fungus, easily identified by its irregular, rounded and undulating edges and sulphur yellow colour. However, my expert naturalist friend Jean P pointed out that a beginner might confuse it with the Giant Polypore Meripilus giganteus (Fr. Polypore géante).


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6 comments:

chm said...

In the fifth photo, is this green straight horizontal line a foot bridge over the Esves?

Susan said...

No bridge in the photo.

Jean said...

CHM, it looks to me like the very green grassed river bank as the river bends to the left.

Jean said...

We have zillions of those fire bugs chez nous.

chm said...

Thank you Jean. You're right. It was an illusion d'optique!

Susan said...

Everyone does.

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