Lucky Amphibians

In the drought we are having amphibians are doing it tough. Many of their normal hangouts are completely dry. But any that live around a certain spot in the woods are lucky. They have access to a permanent and reliable spring. It may just seep gently out of the slope and run down to collect in a small lake, but it is enough to keep the frogs and toads comfortable. That's one of the reasons a team of local ecologists and biodiversity surveyors want to get the site listed as a protected zone (ZNIEFF).  Here are some pictures I took recently.

Spiny Toad Bufo spinosus (Fr. Crapaud épineux).

According to my expert colleague Benjamin, this is the newly described (2012) species Spiny Toad Bufo spinosus. He says that the convergent paratoid glands (between the eyes and the front legs) and the dark orange-red colour of the irises tells you it is most likely B. spinosus. And in any case, he adds, most, if not all, Bufo in Indre et Loire are B. spinosus. But if you go to Loir et Cher or Loiret, not very far away to the east, the Spiny Toads peter out and you get Common Toad B. bufo taking their place.

One of the green frog group Pelophylax spp (Fr. les grenouilles vertes).

There are several Pelophylax species, impossible to tell apart from photos, and a definite identification requires DNA testing.

Another individual of the green frog group.

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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.

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...and that's finial

We encountered this home-made finial on the roof of a farm at Plaincourault. It wasn't until I looked through the telephoto lens of my camera that I realised how it had been constructed.

You may have seen this post before. For some reason Blogger took matters into its own hands.

Unicorn Sighting

Unicorns have been extinct in the Loire Valley for centuries, but it seems they may be returning. Probably like wolves, they are making their way over the Alps and dispersing far and wide throughout France.

We were lucky enough to get good views of one near Preuilly just recently. A charming creature, but much bigger than you expect.

Or possibly it was an elderly Percheron mare...

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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. 

A French Barby

Normally, on Mondays Susan posts a recipe. No recipe thoday, because BBQ's don't really need a recipe, they just need style.

This is how you do a Barbeque French style. The photo is not out of focus, it's a pre-production effect called "Pastis for apero".

Plaza Theatre Sydney

The Plaza Theatre at 600 George Street Sydney was built in 1929 as a 2,000 seat cinema. Like many of the cinemas of the time it was over the top luxurious, and ludicrously ornate. The building is brick, which has been stuccoed, and the ornate decorations are precast concrete. The interiors were even more fancy: beamed and painted ceiling, spanish style windows and a balconied viewing gallery, all trying to evoke a Alhambra vibe.

I don't think I ever went to the Plaza Theatre. The building still exists, but it closed as a theatre in 1977 and a McDonalds installed where the foyer was. This was actually a lucky break, because some of the interior survives in the fast food restaurant, whereas the theatre itself was gutted to make a ice skating rink. It has now been turned into offices.

We took this photo in December 2017, when everything in George Street was behind barriers and screens because the road was being dug up to install a new tram system. Hence no view of the ground floor.  Like many cities, the trams in Sydney were done away with in the early 60's and now city life is being made unbearable by the reinstallation of something that should never have been removed. Sydney's new tram system open to the public in 2020.

There is more on the cinema here.

It's not Switzerland

but it is a mountain. We have been away for 10 days working, our travels taking us as far as northern Spain.

This is a photo of there from here

And this is here from there.

The two points are 10km apart and differ by 900 metres in altitude

An Impromptu Visit to a Basket Weaver

On our recent walk around Sauvaget our route at one point took us through a farmyard. The farm dogs came roaring out to deal with us, closely followed by their owner. We greeted one another, got the dogs under control and moved on. But not very far. We got to the machinery shed and noticed an intriguing workstation, with some sort of plant material on the table as well as hanging to dry. It wasn't lavender. After photographing it and discussing it amongst ourselves for a bit, we went back to speak to the farmer and ask him what it was, using that magical phrase 'pardon de vous déranger' on entering his courtyard again.

 Demonstrating how to make a 'snail' base to start off a rush basket.

He was only too happy to tell us all about what he was up to in the shed. He told us he had been an organic farmer, but was now retired. He'd taken up basket weaving as an occupation, and the plants he was drying in the shed were rush (Fr. jonc). We were very surprised when he broke out into English too! He was a thoroughly nice chap and we felt very privileged to have spent some time with him. I hope we see him around at the local fairs demonstrating his craft. If we do we will certainly say hello.

The next step is to work in rush loops to hold the spiraling rushes together.

Sheafs of rush hanging to dry.

The rush is gathered locally. Lisa embarrassed herself by touching one of the sheafs and having it fall to pieces, scattering rushes all over the ground. Our new friend very kindly told her not to worry, it was not a problem.

Rush weaving artefacts were not the only things of interest in the shed.

Leather sewing machines for making boots.

These two machines are for sale, so if you are interested get in touch and I will connect you with the vendor. The machine on the left is for sewing thick leather such as soles or multiple layers; the machine on the right is for sewing the calves of long boots.

We were told that this antique pram body dated from the 1850s

 and that his wife had been wheeled around in it as a baby.

The man's wife came out to tell him she was off to Preuilly, so we met her too and there was a pleasant exchange between us and them.

Their garlic crop drying on a rack.

Elephant garlic, which he called ail de Guadaloupe, which is apparently hard to grow in the Touraine.

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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. 

A Walk Around Sauvaget

While the official walking club has been in summer recess, a small group of us, all anglophone, have been meeting at 8am on Thursday mornings to do 5 or 6 kilometres, just to keep gig fit. This walk was done on Thursday 22 August, around the hidden hamlet of Sauvaget. This post is about the more mundane, general stuff we saw. There will be a couple of others to follow with some absolute highlights --  quite by chance it was a rather exceptional walk in some ways. So these photos represent what you would get without the chance elements.

Vegetables in the foreground, sheep in the background.

The bitumen cracking and sinking on the edge of the road out of Sauvaget.

Limousin cattle.

Naturalised garden asparagus on the roadside. Simon suggested 

we map all these plants in order to return in the spring to pick young green shoots for free.

Fresh Wild Boar Sus scrofa (Fr. sanglier) droppings, 

obviously on a regular route taken by this individual.

The upper reaches of the small Sauvaget stream have been modified since at least the 17C for powering water wheels. Iron ore extracted in the forest was smelted here.

A small orchard in open fields. The Forest of Preuilly in the background.

Yellow Toadflax Linaria vulgaris (Fr. Linaire commune) flowering on the edge of a field. 

A sign that the season is changing I always think.

Lisa looking at some naturalised grape vines, likely a remnant of a vineyard. 

I guessed the variety was Chenin blanc, based on the pink petioles and veins, and three lobed leaves.

A pear tree in a farmyard.

I have previously posted about walking around Sauvaget here and here.

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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 Dead Centre of Preuilly (part 2)

Two and a half years ago I wrote about the Napoleonic Cadastre, and how it seemed to indicate a burial ground even older than the old cemetery that at that time surrounded the Chapelle de Tous les Saints. At the time it was uncertain as to where the marking "Ancien Cimitiere" referred.

Cadastral Map, Preuilly sur Claise

The old cemetery (now the Aboretum) is centre left

My conjecture was that as the area marked with the crosses was at the time the cemetery, the "Ancien Cimitiere" was actually in the field it was written in. What I should have done was check the cadastral map for Boussay. That seems to give even more evidence that the cemetery that the Aboretum now occupies wasn't the first in the area.

The 1810 cadastre of Boussay. The "Ancien Cimitiere" seems to be

deliberately marked away from what was then the current cemetery

Fern Outing

On 6 July the Association de Botanique et de Mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine had an outing to look at ferns. The site was a limestone stream valley at Mareuil sur Cher called la Grosse Pierre, chosen because the range and number of species of ferns present. In total we saw 8 different species.

The outing was led by Franck. He works for the Centre Nationale de la Propriété Forestière, which is an organisation that provides advice to private owners of parcels of forest of more than 25 hectares. The aim is to ensure private forestry managers adhere to best practice, are kept informed of legislation such as health and safety, and are encouraged to prioritise biodiversity. Franck says it can be an uphill battle engaging with older generation foresters, but the trick is to try to meet with them when they are in the company of their grandchildren. He says they will ditch their hard man old school facade in order to be seen to be doing what their grandchildren are focused on ie much more ecologically friendly practices. The big problem is that Franck has no influence over the contractors used to remove timber ie the modern day lumberjacks who roll up in their big semi-trailers and hydraulically operated felling and trimming machines. They just want to be in and out, no fuss, no responsibility except to get the timber on the truck and deliver it to the mill.

On top of all that he has a personal interest in ferns, and generously gave up his free time to pass on his knowledge. He was a really good outing leader, very patient, well prepared and making sure everyone understood all the information in the field while we were looking at the different species.

Unfortunately I left it too long before cataloguing the photos from the day and matching my notes to the photos. I can't absolutely guarantee the identifications now. I'll try to get Franck or Dominique to double check them at some time.

One of the troglodyte caves that the valley of la Grosse Pierre is known for.

Western Polypody Polypodium interjectum (Fr. Polypode du Chêne), a naturally occuring hybrid between Common Polypody P. vulgare and Southern Polypody P. cambricum.

Fern taxonomy is really complicated. There are quite fluid boundaries between natural hybrids, species and subspecies, and many ferns look very similar to one another, even when they are not that closely related. A stable fertile hybrid such as Western Polypode is given its own scientific binomial, which can be confusing if you've never encountered this convention before. Luckily I cottoned on immediately to what Franck was saying about this, as I have come across it with certain local spontaneous orchid hybrids too.

Botanists looking for ferns on a limestone cliff. 

From back to front, some bloke whose name I never quite caught, Dominique T, Franck, Danielle.

Male Fern Dryopteris filix-mas (Fr. Fougère mâle).

The stems of Male Fern are very green (other Dryopteris species have black stems) and they don't have many scales. It is a very stable species. The rounder the spores (and the less kidney shaped) the more fertile they are.

Male Fern spores.

Hart's Tongue fern Phyllitis scolopendrium (Fr. Scolopendre) syn. Asplenium scolopendrium.

Hard Shield Fern Polystichum aculeatum (Fr. Polystic à aiguillons).

The two Shield Ferns are very alike, but Hard Shield is less common, glossy dark green, rather stiff, the pinnae arch towards the tip and the lobes are mucronate and have a short petiole. Soft Shield fern is more common, more mat bright green, fronds rather lax, the pinnae spread out, and each lobe has a fine hair on the tip.

Soft Shield Fern Polystichum setiferum (Fr. Polystic à soies).

Franck highlighting a detail on a fern to the group.

Looking at ferns.

The men are looking at Hard Shield Fern, the women at Soft Shield.

Pinnae of Soft Shield Fern, left, and Hard Shield Fern, right, for comparison.

Lady Fern Athyrium filix-femina (Fr. Fougère femelle).

Lady Fern is a much finer and softer plant that the fern species above, with pale spores.

Scaly Male Fern Dryopteris affinis (Fr. Dryoptéris étalé).

Scaly Male Fern can be distinguished from Male Fern because it has a black spot on the underside base of each pinna.

Franck and Dominique talk the group through determining Scaly Male Fern.

Franck goes exploring amongst the ferns.

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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. 

Pear Tarte Tatin

This is a super simple dessert to make but the flavours are subtle and sophisticated.

Ingredients
50 g salted butter
50 g soft light brown sugar
25 g almond paste
6 pears, peeled, halved and cored
230 g ready rolled short pastry

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190C.
2. Put the butter and sugar in a 24 cm round fixed bottomed metal flan tin.
3. Heat over a medium flame for about 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
4. Remove from the heat.
5. Press a small piece of almond paste into pear half.
6. Arrange the pear halves decoratively in the tin, cut sides up.
7. Place the pastry over the pears, tucking in the edges and pressing around the fruit a bit.
8. Bake for 40 minutes.
9. Leave to cool in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes then invert on to a plate.
10. Cut into 8 wedges and serve with salted butter caramel icecream.

Almond paste is readily available in any French supermarket. It comes in plain or mixed packets of pink, green and plain. The flavour is the same no matter what the colour. If you can't get it you can substitute marzipan, but it has a stronger flavour that many people don't like. You could also use a dollop of frangipane.

Pears do very well in the Touraine and many people, including me, have a pear tree in their orchard. Once my own are used up I would turn to my local organic orchardists, Fruits O Kalm, on the edge of town at the Ferme de la Petite Rabaudière. Every year I am lucky enough to get a bag of organic pears from the gardens at the Chateau of Villandry too.

Yum

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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.

Lake George

We have mentioned Lake George before, but we have never written properly about it.

On the left, the lake is full. On the right, not even a puddle

Lake George is about 70km North of Canberra, and is an endorheic lake - a body of water with no outflow. The lake is often almost totally empty, but there were times in the 1970's when the water level rose above the Federal Highway, the main road linking Canberra and Sydney. In 2016 it was almost full, but by the time we drove past on the new, raised, Federal Highway in December 2017, the lake was almost empty again.

It's a strange thing - the water can disappear overnight. Because it's so shallow a change of wind can literally blow the water to the other side of the lake, leaving just cracked mud. Another change in wind direction can see the dry mud covered again.

    In the distance you can see water: in a wet year it can come right up to the trees in the foreground.

When I was a young bloke this led to fanciful rumours about why it emptied and refilled so quickly: it was linked to another lake in New Zealand by an underground channel, ditto for a lake in South America, and one in South Africa. Siberia was also mentioned.

When I was 11 or 12 years old a workmate of my Dad took us out on the lake in a ute, but my main memory is of the times it flooded and there was doubt of we could get back from Sydney. Even when I had my driver's licence in the 1980's and travelling to Sydney for the weekend it was occasionally an issue.

I can remember when it were all water around here...

There are many myths and stories about Lake George: some of them are here

A Swiss Wood Heap

When we were driving to Davos last year Susan spotted this great way of stacking 2 metre long logs. Genius!