Steve Sulks

Steve the Siberian Iris has decided to sulk this year because I haven't repotted him, and he is not going to flower. Meanwhile, the Pseuds out the back are partying like mad and putting on a great show.

The Year Before Cook

This date is carved into the lintel of a garage in Chedigny. I suspect it's genuine.

Louis Antoine de Bougainville returned to France this year, having got as far as the Great Barrier Reef, not realising what lay beyond the dangerous reefs and shoals. He was the first Frenchman to lead a circumnavigation of the world, and his expedition was the first to take a team of naturalists. Remarkably, he lost only 7 crew on the 3 year journey.

James Cook arrives in Tahiti for the first time and crosses the Pacific to New Zealand but does not make it to Australia until the next year.

James Watt establishes himself in the anglophone public's mind as the inventor of the steam engine, effectively sidelining Denis Papin's legacy from a generation earlier in France.

Spain establishes the colony of California.

Daniel Boone sets out to explore Kentucky.

Richard Arkwright invents the spinning frame and kick starts the Industrial Revolution.

Arthur Wellesley and Napoleon Bonaparte are born.

Exciting stuff, eh?!

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Save money, time and biodiversity: There is a nice article in the Nouvelle République encouraging local authorities and landowners to stop mowing, hedgetrimming and strimming in the spring. The LPO point out that it costs money, time and impacts very negatively on nesting birds and insect populations. By mowing you remove nesting birds food source (insects in the grass) and prevent plants from setting seed; and by hedge trimming you destroy nests or cause birds to abandon them. 

They understand that maintenance is necessary, but point out that mowing has become a reflex action, and it is not a necessity. There are nice ways you can maintain your property or roadside without endangering the wildlife or property values. For instance, mow paths through grassy areas, not the entire area. Don't trim hedges until the autumn or winter. If you mow over your orchids in the grass, you don't get to enjoy them in flower. The places that are mowed are the last areas where pesticides are not used, so they are more and more important as refuges for both plants and animals.

They have some guidelines:

• the height of the cut is important. Don't cut lower than 7cm. Mowing lower results in killing 70% of the insect life.
• don't mow at the end of spring, but allow plants to set seed.
• begin mowing in the centre of an area, to allow creatures to escape to the sides.
• leave the clippings in situ (at least temporarily) to allow creatures to stagger out and find new areas nearby that will support them.
• in a big area, just mow paths. They make a great game for the kids. Don't mow the rest more than once or twice a year. You find lots of unexpected species appearing in the untouched zones.

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Botany Outing: Yesterday I spent the afternoon on the Pelouse des Grandes Fontaines at Bléré with the botany club. Gazillions of orchids, a new butterfly species for me and an impressive new broomrape. I'll write a blog post at some stage to tell all.

Weathering on The Rock

The weather of centuries has created all sorts of pits and patterns on Uluru.

Sun on The Rock

Sun streams down on the base of Uluru.

The Troglodyte Village at Souzay Champigny

 Imagine you are cycling along the Loire between Turquant and Saumur and all of a sudden the signs direct you off the levee bank and up onto the river cliffs. Not just along the old road in front of the chateau and the other fine houses that back onto the cliff either. You are directed underground, into the atmospheric world of the troglodyte caves. Our friends Rosemary and Jean Michel had just this experience and wrote about it on Aussie in France. I was so intrigued by the troglodyte village they encountered that I was determined to go there myself. A visit from our good friend Liselle provided the perfect opportunity, as we could show her something new and exciting that we hadn't seen either.

 The troglo system is vast and stretches from one end of the village to the other. Periodically one pops out into the sunshine where the roof of a cave has collapsed and created a sun drenched hole in the ground. In these holes you will find private houses tucked away, or a stylish slate picnic table and public toilets for tired and hungry cyclists.

One section of the complex was a medieval parade of shops, others were workshops, storage units or houses. Throughout there are excellent illustrated information boards (in French) explaining the quarrying process, the geology of the area and the various uses the caves have been put to subsequently.

For example, some of the caves were used to store silk worm coccoons. It wasn't until the 12th century that the secret of how silk was made arrived in southern Europe. In the 15th and 16th centuries, numerous mulberry trees were planted in the south of France and the Loire Valley and buildings or caves given over to the raising of silk worms by local women.

It provided a not inconsiderable boost to household incomes, even though the silk from this area was not particularly prized -- the locals never quite got the hang of spinning it finely. Later, in the second half of the 19th century, a disease attacked the caterpillars and the industry disappeared.

Costume at the Logis Royal

The Logis Royal in Loches is hosting an exhibition of medieval and renaissance costume from French film and television programmes this year. Here are some examples.

Below, a costume for an actor playing Henri IV in a 2010 television documentary that did a facial reconstruction of the King when a mummified head which many believe to be his was discovered in an attic. Grey cloth with false puffs and slashes, in the style of the end of the 16th century.

 A costume for Anne of Brittany, an evocative addition to her oratory in the royal apartments.

The Dragon and Her Nest

The Chateau of Candé really strives to accommodate the widest possible biodiversity on its estate. A recent success story has been the arrival of a breeding pair of Eurasian Dragons in the park. Let's hope they manage to raise the young to adulthood and in time we might have a permanent population of these elusive and iconic beasts.

Simon demonstrating the best way to approach an adult female dragon with nearby young.

 The dragon's nest. Several young can clearly be heard, although they are very difficult to get a glimpse of.

A number of these innovative hanging hides have been installed around the park in the vicinity of the dragon's nest. They hold one or two people in considerable comfort, and of course, total safety. Apparently dragons can't see this particular shade of red.

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Botany Outing: There will be a botany walk on Sunday 18 May to learn about the orchids of the Pelouses des Grandes Fontaines at Bléré. Meet at 14.30 in the stadium carpark at Athée sur Cher. Organised by the Association de Botanique et de Mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine.

Une Echauguette

An echauguette is a 14th - 16th century surveillance tower, set high up on a corner of a building and projecting in such a way as to provide the widest possible angle of view.

They are sometimes equipped with murder holes or arrowslits to allow active defense, but their primary function is to shelter and facilitate the observations of one or more sentries keeping watch for a house, town gate or castle.

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A la cuisine hier: Ham and egg cups -- another variation on the oeufs coccottes theme.

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Loire Valley Nature: A new Habitat entry has been added for Prairie (meadow).
A photo has been added to the entry for Tongue Orchid Serapias lingua.
A photo has been added to the entry for Loose-flowered Orchid Anacamptis laxiflora.

Shrinkwrapped Roof

The roof on the Chateau of Candé has been shrinkwrapped! They are once again undergoing major building works, having received a substantial grant from the Conseil Général (along with the other sites run by the departmental council, such as the Prieuré de Saint Cosme). Presumably this and the various temporary structures to protect people entering and leaving the building is a prelude to getting a new roof. We will watch developments with interest as this is one of our favourite chateaux. We were most impressed with how discreetly the building works has been blended in so the visual disruption and potential disappointment for visitors is minimised.

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A la cuisine hier: Pollachius virens (aka Atlantic Pollock, Coley or lieu noir), brined and poached in an oriental style broth made from sherry, rice vinegar, canola oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic (see recipe here). A great way to treat a cheap, fragile and unexciting fish like coley.

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Supporting Our Local Orphans: Yesterday we went to the annual plant fair held at the Chateau of Verneuil sur Indre. The chateau is home to a horticultural college that takes disadvantaged kids and trains them to be horticulturalists, landscapers and gardeners. Most of the kids are sans papiers ('without papers'), meaning they are refugees. Most have arrived in France as minors with few or none of their family with them. They raise many of the seedlings for sale at the fair, but other nurseries are invited to have stalls as well. We bought red and white bedding plants for our window boxes and I won an ornamental sage plant in the tombola. We timed our arrival and departure perfectly, being in the greenhouse for the duration of an almighty downpour.

Kata Tjuta

Dreaming in the distance, the rocks of Kata Tjuta, in the same National Park in the Australian Northern Territory as Uluru. They are nearly 200m higher than The Rock.
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Loire Valley Nature: A new entry has been added for Pasqueflower Pulsatilla vulgaris.
A new entry has been added for Dog Lichens Peltigera spp.
A new section on creating a brash pile has been added to the Habitat entry on Gardens.
Some photos have been added to the Praying Mantis Mantis religiosa entry.
A new entry has been added for Reed Beetles Chrysomelidae.
The entry for Loose-flowered Orchid Anacamptis laxiflora has been updated.
A link to a recent Guardian article reporting on bird song research has been added to the Nightingale entry. Nightingale's win the prize for largest range of notes.

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A la cuisine hier: Falafel, Baba Ganoush, Salsa -- served with Turkish flatbreads, julienned carrot, spicy red cabbage, char grilled red peppers and lettuce. Followed by homemade chestnut icecream.

Yet Another View of Uluru

Taken at 16.20 on 22 April 2006.

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Loire Valley Nature: A new entry for Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos has been added.
A new entry for Nuthatch Sitta europaea has been added.
A photo has been added to the Lizard Orchid Himantoglossum hircinum entry.
A new entry has been added for Short-tailed Vole Microtus agrestis.
A photo has been added to the Habitat entry for Roadside Banks, Verges and Ditches.
The same photo has been added to the entry for Military Orchid Orchis militaris, and to the section on the Association de Botanique et de Mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine in the Resources entry.
A section on managing semi-natural grassland in gardens or orchards has been added to the Habitat entry for Gardens.

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Scared of Spiders? : Chris Buddle and his Arachnophobinator is here to help (...ahem...) Check it out whether you are arachnophobic or not. There are hardly any spiders involved (seriously -- you'll hardly notice them, and that's the point!)

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A la cuisine hier: Oeufs coccotte au saumon -- light but filling.

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An Organic Market Garden: For those of you who read French there is an article in the Nouvelle République about an impressive sounding organic market garden at Montreuil en Touraine. Apparently they produce 750 veggie boxes a week, containing on average 3 kg of produce each. They are delivered to households in a 40 km radius. Total production is around 2 - 3 tonnes a week, distributed to retailers in Tours, Blois and Paris. Horses are used to hoe the rows and the enterprise employs 15 people full time and 45 people part time. The part timers are unemployed people being trained to get back into the workforce. The farm has been going 20 years and is called La Ferme de Roucheux.

The White Lady

This green and white Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea was photographed in the grounds of the Chateau of Cheverny. Lady Orchids are normally browny purple and pink. A specimen lacking much of the normal pigmentation like this is said to be hypochromatic. Last year I photographed a hypochromatic Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera. The condition is a naturally occuring mutation.

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A la cuisine hier: Spicy Cheesy Soda Bread -- fromageophobes will be alarmed to learn that the recipe took a whole block of cheddar (many thanks to the cheddar fairies who keep me supplied). Make sure you grease the tins well and leave the loaves cooling in the tins for about 10 minutes before attempting to tip out (but don't let them get cold in the tin). 

We went to the 8 mai ceremony yesterday morning, and by curious coincidence, there was smoked salmon or olive savoury cake, served with sparkling wine. The recipe above would be called something like cake aux lardons et fromage in French.

I used my new found breading skills on some dos de cabillaud (cod back) and made oven fish and chips, with homemade chunky chips.

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Loire Valley Nature: A new entry which offers an overview of the hybrid orchids in the Touraine Loire Valley has been added (at the request of Tim). There are photos to compare hybrids with their parent species, including close ups of individual flowers.
A new entry for Narrow-leaved Flax Linum tenuifolium has been added.

Orchids at Candé

The Chateau of Candé has an extensive park surrounding the house, which is carefully managed to maximise and encourage biodiversity. Some of the proof of this is evidenced by the large colony of wild native orchids which pop up on the grassy slope behind the chateau, and in other places in the park. When we visited on 17 April there were 5 species and a hybrid in flower. Later, several more species will appear. Here is a selection of photos that Simon took on the day.

 Fly Orchid Ophrys insectivera

 

 Lady Orchids Orchis purpurea

 Monkey Orchid O. simia (or more likely, a common naturally occuring hybrid Lady x Monkey O. angusticruris).

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Preuilly Restaurant News: Local readers may have noticed that La Claise restaurant has re-opened, with new owners. Previously it was a popular pizza restaurant, which closed under rather sad circumstances, then it had a brief incarnation as El Dorado before closing again for a while. The exciting news is that the new owners are experienced restaurateurs, and had a Michelin star at their previous restaurant, in Saint Savin. The new Claise offers an excellent value daily changing €12 lunch menu of starter, choice of two mains, cheese, dessert and wine. There are other menus, the most expensive of which is €31 I believe. We haven't been yet, but friends John and Alice reported at length and enthusiastically to us yesterday. They recognised the owners from Saint Savin, but apparently they originally come from Charnizay.

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A Rare Sight: On Tuesday we were driving along and caught sight of a real rarity. We've never seen one in the wild before, but as we came down a hill we found ourselves looking directly into an open corrugated iron shed close to the road. We've never seen this shed open before, so had no inkling of what it contains. Inside was a large, double flasked glowing red gold copper alembic still! (Rather like this one.)

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A Restaurant in Bracieux: We had lunch on Tuesday at the Café de Commerce in Bracieux, near the Chateau of Chambord in the Sologne. It was an entirely positive experience costing a grand total of €37 for the two of us. We chose the Buffet Complet menu, which gave us unlimited access to the starters buffet (patés, terrines, salads, cured meats and fish), the generously stocked cheese platter and two desserts each from the dessert buffet. We added a 25cl pitcher of Touraine gamay and coffee. No main course with this menu choice, and no need for one! Simon was most taken by the menus options which offered three desserts per person for €5 (or buffet starter and two desserts for the same money). The food was attractively presented and delicious. The dining room was absolutely packed, mainly by remarkably hunky masons. Bracieux is full of rather smart restaurants, several of which have very good reputations and are rated by our friends, but we didn't feel we had chosen unwisely by taking the more workman friendly option.

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Chambord Report: We had time on Tuesday to spend an hour or so at Chambord, so can report that the roof restoration is coming along nicely. The end nearest the carpark has been cleaned and repaired, the middle section, including the cupola for the famous staircase is swathed in scaffolding, and the far end yet to be done. It probably slightly spoils some people's visit and mars their photos, but it could be worse. The scaffolding isn't covering everything, only certain sections. There is a sign saying that the work is definitely going to be finished by the end of the summer.

We also tried out one of the 4 seater pedal powered vehicles they call Rosalies. They are €20 to hire for an hour. Unfortunately we got about a third of the way around the chateau and the pedals on my side stopped working. Oh dear... poor Simon got more of a workout than he planned for. Frankly, I thought it was expensive and noisy, and would suggest that you hire individual bikes instead, or simply walk.

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Loire Valley Nature: A new Habitat entry for Roadside Banks, Verges and Ditches has been added.
I have updated the page on Butterfly Surveying in France with a section on how to choose the dates of your survey. The information is based on a recent communication from Luc Manil, who co-ordinates the project.

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A la cuisine hier: Grilled sausages, jacket potatoes cut open and slathered in butter, and spicy red cabbage. This last is more like a relish than a vegetable accompaniment. It is made by layering shredded red cabbage, finely sliced onion and chopped garlic, chopped or shredded zucchini and a seasoning mix of ras al hanout, ground coriander, ground allspice, 5 spice, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a large pot. Pour over some apple juice (or in this case some leftover and unimpressive pomme kiwi) and red wine vinegar and simmer for 3 hours. One cabbage will yield about 15 servings. Divide into batches and freeze what you are not eating immediately.

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Pollinators are Like Cyclists: Richard Jones meanders his way through a thought process and comes up with some nice similies and a good overview of the situation -- why we need pollinators and why the focus should be on resilient environments. Read it here.

Candé and Cowslips

The Chateau of Candé, taken by Simon on 17 April, from a low angle on the wildflower lawn that slopes away from the house at the back.

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Can you help? : I've had an email from my friend Jean Claude Jacques, who is a retired ecologist working on a project to publish a photographic pocket guide (un Livre Rouge) to the threatened habitats and species of the Centre Region of France. He tells me they are still looking for photos of the following:

•  Spengler's Freshwater Mussel Margaritifera auricularia (la grande mulette)
• a water, bicoloured or lesser white-toothed shrew (Neomys fodiens, Crocidura leucodon, C. suaveolens) - in French les musaraignes.
• a stoat (une hermine)
• a genet (une genette)
• an Edible Dormouse (un loir gris)
• a water vole (un campagnol aquatique)
• a pike (un brochet)
• a European smelt (un éperlan)
• a spined loach (une loche de rivière)
• an eel (une anguille)

All photos must show the animal in its natural environment.

Email me if you think you have suitable photos and I will put Jean Claude in contact with you.

Surf's Up at Chenonceau Again!

One day in mid-April I once again encountered the Cher River boogie boarder at Chenonceau. This time he had some mates with him.

 Powering along against the current just downstream from the chateau.

Some sort of conflab mid-river. The water looks deep, until you realise people can stand up in it like this. I particularly like the bottle holder on the board of the man closest to us.

Taking a break at the base of the chateau. Unfortunately I never get to see what they do next.

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Au jardin hier: I mowed the potager yesterday. For two and a half hours work it seems a pitifully small area to have covered and it isn't exactly manicured. Some of the grass clippings have gone into the compost, some has been used to mulch the veggie plants. I'm pleased to report that nothing has eaten my newly planted seedlings (yet...) and I only accidently mowed over two orchids.

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A la cuisine hier: Cream of pea and leek soup followed by cabbage leaves stuffed with pork mince, rice, grated veggies and chopped herbs, braised in tomato sauce.

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Loire Valley Nature: A photo has been added to the Common Toad Bufo bufo entry.
A new entry has been added for Monkey x Man Orchid hybrid Orchis simia x O. anthopophora.

Wildlife at Candé

Last week while driving through the grounds of the Chateau of Candé in the late afternoon/early evening we encountered some typical wildlife.

Two Roe bucks couldn't make up their minds whether to flee or ignore us.

A fat and complacent Ring-necked Pheasant cock took no notice of us as he pecked a few morsels from the grass and kept an eye on his hen, who lurked about in the undergrowth.

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A la cuisine hier: Potato salad made from locally grown Charlottes and homemade mayo, with diced red pepper, canned sweet corn and finely sliced homegrown spring onions added.

Pasta with a sauce based on tinned sardines in tomato sauce. Not stellar, but not as gross as it sounds either -- a reasonable storecupboard dish. Can you tell I'm overdue for my monthly visit to the supermarket?

Uluru Again

Uluru, taken at 16.17 on 22 April 2006. Bored yet?
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A la cuisine hier: A southern USA thing going on yesterday, with Pork and Black Bean Chili served with cornbread (many thanks to Ken for his Mom's recipe). Followed by strawberries topped with homemade chestnut icecream.

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Au jardin hier: The first pototoes are up and some of the broad beans are forming pods. I pulled some spring onions. I planted out chard, beetroot and coriander seedlings (many thanks to the Potager Queen, Pauline, who gave me the chard and beetroot seedlings along with some others like tomatoes that it is still slightly risky to put outdoors -- she has the touch with seedlings, I don't).

It looks like we will have no peaches or nectarines, some plums, a reasonable crop of red sweet cherries and sour cherries, but not many yellow cherries, good numbers of pears and apples, with the Granny Smith absolutely loaded.

The first Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera is out in the orchard, joining the Early Spiders and the Lady who have been flowering for several weeks.

Uluru Two

Uluru famously changes colour as the sun moves and the weather changes. Compare this photo, taken at 16.08 with the one I posted last Sunday, taken just 14 minutes later, on 22 April 2006.

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Loire Valley Nature: A new entry for the flower longhorn beetle Stictoleptura cordigera has been added.
A new entry for Praying Mantis Mantis religiosa has been added.
Photos of Saint Mark's Fly Bibio marci have been added to the March Fly Bibionidae entry.

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Yesterday's Quiz: The girouet is at Rivière, on the Vienne near Chinon. Congratulations to Dean France who got it exactly right.

UNESCO Weathervanes

 The Loire Valley between Chalonnes and Sully sur Loire has been declared a World Heritage Site since 2000. Throughout the area you will encounter these windvanes or standards (called girouets in French). The top and bottom motifs are the same on all of them, showing the UNESCO symbol at the top and the World Heritage logo at the bottom. Between the two will be a motif symbolising each individual town or village. This one depicts Saint Martin.

3 points if you can tell me where this UNESCO girouet is.
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Quiz Update:  Congratulations to Dean France who is exactly right and wins all 3 points.

The Nature of the Touraine Loire Valley in May

The Cuckoos Cuculus cuculus arrived in April and they spend May in the tops of trees 'cuckooing' their hearts out. This one is in a walnut tree in Beaulieu-lès-Loches. Even though this isn't the best photo in the world, anyone who is familiar with cuckoo species all over the world will recognise the jizz, especially the droopy winged stance. It's amazing how rarely one sees a cuckoo, given how often one hears them.

Longhorn to Look Out For:   Golden Bloomed Grey Longhorn  Agapanthia villosoviridescens. 
You may see them lurking about on vegetation at this time of year. I don't know if it is coincidental, but whenever I have seen them they are on plants that are prickly or otherwise irritant.

This is the first month of the year when temperatures are likely to be in the 20°s and sunlight hours at least 200. Hurrah! Minimum temperatures around 10° on average.