Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor

Or in this case more like Saracen, Moor, Caesar, Mercenary. These carved heads are a selection of those which feature on the ends of the pews and on internal doors in the church at Montrésor. It seems likely that they were chosen from a pattern book of 'types of people'. I don't recall that any of them are women at Montrésor, which is a little bit unusual. 

An Ottoman Turk. 

France was allied to the Ottoman Empire from the time of François I and Suleiman the Magnificent's ground breaking inter-faith alliance in the 1530s right up until Napoleon's invasion of Egypt.

A black African.

Both the character above and this one below could have been termed either a Sarrasin (Saracen) or a Maure (Moor) in the medieval/renaissance European world ie someone who was either Muslim and/or not white. Generally someone of Turkish or Arab origin would be referred to as a Sarrasin and someone with black skin as a Maure, but there is a lot of crossover eg the Arab North African rulers of Spain contemporary with the Carolignians were called Maures, but their forces invading France are usually referred to as Sarrasins; anyone with a swarthy skin, let alone black, was likely to be referred to as a Maure (such as Ludovico Sforza).

 A Roman Emperor.

The glory days of the Roman Empire were always nostalgically regarded as the good old days by the Western European ruling classes and for centuries images of kings and lords dressed up in ancient  imperial kit appeared as a motif in European art.

 A soldier.

Probably a mercenary, as they seemed to go in for these elaborate helmets.

The pews are 16th century, and I assume are original to the church, which dates from the first half of that century. Their style is fairly unsophisticated (compare them with the magnificent and much more ambitious pews in the chapel at the Chateau of Ussé, which are exactly contemporary).

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WWII Anniversary: Today is the 70th anniversary of the British bombing raid carried out on the rail marshalling yards in Saint Pierre des Corps on the outskirts of Tours on the night of 10/11 April 1944. The railway facility was very badly damaged and not much of historic Saint Pierre des Corps remains as a result. 180 Avro Lancasters from No 5 Group Bomber Command took part in the raid, which was part of a concentrated campaign to disrupt German activities in France.

Based in Lincolnshire, No 5 Group were the most reknowned of the specialist precision bomber groups, and included the squadron which delivered the bouncing bombs that breached the Möhne and Eder dams in Germany.

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Threat to Kew: I have just heard, via Jeff Ollerton's biodiversity blog, that the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew is once again threatened with funding cuts. It is now at a level which will really hobble this globally important botanical research and conservation facility, with the worst case scenario being the loss of 120 posts, mainly scientists and outreach staff, and the closing of some projects. Consequently they have started a petition, which if you are interested you can sign here. Even if you are not a petition signer, it is worth going to the page and reading about what Kew do (many people don't realise how important their phytopharmceutical research is, for instance, or their practical rainforest regeneration programmes). Most important of all they run the world's largest seed bank. David Attenborough has been supportive enough to make a video to promote the petition.

Roe Deer and Climate Change

A group of scientists have been studying the population of Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus in the forest of Trois Fontaines in Champagne for 27 years. They published their findings in PLOS Biology recently.

A Roe buck in friends' garden.

Roe Deer numbers in France are increasing, but the rate of increase is slowing. Fewer fawns are being born and fewer are surviving to adulthood. Careful monitoring of the does parturition dates reveals that they haven't significantly changed from year to year, even though the date of leaf burst in the forest is now earlier by about a fortnight compared to when the study started.

 Taken through a glass door, hence the orange reflection which mars the photo.

This means that the deer are no longer giving birth to coincide with peak availability of food for the mothers, which impacts on their milk supply. Roe Deer are browsers, feeding mainly on coppiced trees,  and rely on the new shoots in their forest habitat. Fawns aren't gaining weight and strength as quickly as they should and as a consequence are more vulnerable to predators, disturbance and other stresses. The study surmises that the likely cause of death for most fawns was lack of food, as the deer this forest are not subjected to pressure by hunters or predators.

Roe does in agricultural rape, feeding on the flowers.

The scientists have concluded that Roe Deer ovulation and conception, and therefore parturition, is linked to day length, not temperature, and that they are likely to be climate change losers in the long run. This is exacerbated because does all tend to give birth around the same time (May), and those few which give birth early will not be sufficient to cause an evolutionary change. All the fawns are vulnerable at the same time, which means that extreme weather conditions, for example, could wipe out an entire generation. Other studies have indicated that Greenland caribou (reindeer) have similar issues, but that Red Deer are adapting and giving birth earlier (interestingly, by reducing gestation periods).

A doe grazing in the valley of a small stream surrounded by forest.

The average springtime (April - June) temperatures at Trois Fontaines have increased year on year and are now nearly 1.5° higher than when the study began. This rise in temperature is causing trees in particular to respond by bursting into leaf earlier. The research team used the flowering date of the Champagne vines as a proxy for calculating peak vegetative flush each spring (the dates are published annually by the wine producers association). Roe Deer gave birth a month prior to the vines flowering when the study started, exactly when the tender green shoots of many plants are available, full of nutrition before their energy goes into flowering and seed production. The mismatch between birth dates and peak vegetative flush increased by about half a day a year. A fawn born on or before 12 May (on average a month before the vines flower) has a 50% chance of surviving to winter and adulthood. After that date, survival rates plummet, and one born at the end of May (about two weeks before the vines flower) only has a 24% chance of surviving. (It should be noted that the number of days mismatch between birth date and peak vegetative flush in any given year is a better predictor of survival rate than birth date per se.) Older, heavier does tend to give birth earlier, so there is some natural selection mitigating the effects of climate change, but probably not enough in the long term, and the tendency to give birth earlier is not strongly heritable.

The data on deer birth dates and relationships was collected using a capture-mark-recapture programme. The Roe Deer lifecycle is somewhat unusual, in that it includes a period of embryonic diapause, which effectively doubles the period of gestation. They give birth in the spring, the rut takes place in the summer, then there is an embryonic diapause in the autumn, before true gestation takes place in the winter.

Place de la République, Paris

La Place de la République is on the intersection of the boundaries of the 3eme, 10eme and 11eme arrondissements in Paris. Created in the early 19th century, it was re-imagined as part of Baron Haussmann's great project to rebuild Paris in the mid 19th century. The métro station République is underneath the square and the Caserne de Vérines (the Republican Guard barracks) dominates one side.

The monument to the Third Republic with the Caserne de Vérines behind it.

 In the centre stands a monument commemorating the creation of the Third Republic, erected in 1883.

A bronze lion at the base of the statue.

Around the base of the statue are fixed a number of bronze reliefs, commemorating various dates of significance in the history of the French Republic.

Here is a random selection:

29 July 1830 -- the final day of the three day riot in Paris known as the Second French Revolution, which toppled the constitutional monarchy of King Charles X and replaced him with his distant cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orleans.

13 Prairial An 2 -- a date from the Revolutionary calendar that equates to 1 June 1794. This relief memorialises the sinking of the French ship Vengeur du Peuple in the largest maritime battle between the French and British during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British navy attacked to prevent a convoy of ships carrying grain from reaching France. Losses on the French side were very heavy, but the convoy got through with the vital food supply.

20 September 1792 -- the Battle of Valmy, which was the first significant victory by the French in the Revolutionary Wars. Thanks to a lucky combination of bad weather and superior artillery, the French were able to prevent the Prussians from advancing on Paris.

11 July 1792 -- The French Legislative Assembly gives itself emergency powers in order to counter the threat of the Prussians massing on the border.

It is very clear from these panels that any significant historic event involves a great deal of of arm waving and dramatic gesture. I'll try to remember to look out for that so I will recognise great events if by chance I stumble across them as they happen.

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Botany Outing: There is a botany walk on Sunday 13 April to see Snakeshead Fritillaries at Véron. Meet at 14.30 in Place de l'eglise in Savigny en Véron. Organised by the Association de Botanique et de Mycologie de Sainte Maure de Touraine.

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Au jardin hier: Our asparagus is up, which seems to me to be about a month early. The broad beans are flowering, even though they are only about 15cm high.

The Harp Shop

A harp shop in rue la Boétie, near Métro Miromesnil in the 8eme arrondissement of Paris. Simon took the photo because he had never seen so many harps in one place. He reckoned there were more harps in this one shop than there are harpists in the whole of Australia.

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Nature News: The hirundines arrived in Preuilly yesterday on a weather front. I also opened our back door to find a Red Mason Bee Osmia rufa in the act of reversing in to one of the drainage holes on the outside of the door. She has obviously chosen it as a nest hole. Both O. rufa and the European Orchard Bee O. cornuta have used the door in the past.

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Yesterday's Quiz: Well done to everyone who engaged with yesterday's wildlife quiz. All commenters got a few points for names (and a special thanks to chm who unearthed a valid French name). No one got what the bee fly was actually doing in the video however. To see full answer and points click on the link to go back to yesterday's post.

April Wildlife Video Quiz

These little insects appear in March and by April are common all over the Touraine in sunny gardens and flowery wild places. You can easily observe them at flowers and if you are lucky you will observe them engaged in the very interesting behaviour you see in the video.

Points will be awarded as follows:

• 2 points for its English name.
• 3 points for its scientific name.
• 1 bonus point each for the nerdy ones amongst you who want to give me scientific Family and Order.
• 2 bonus points if you can give me its French name (as far as I know it doesn't really have one).
• 5 points if you can correctly describe what it is doing and the purpose of it.
• 3 bonus points if you can tell me what it will do next.

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Nature News: I heard my first cuckoo yesterday. We haven't had the pleasure of the swallows arriving in Preuilly yet, although we saw them a week ago in Le Louroux and Montrésor.

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Quiz Results: A total of 2 points to Antoinette for identifying it as a Bombylius sp bee fly. A total of 6 points to chm for giving me the full scientific (B. major) and la Grande bombyle (which now that he mentions it, I have heard before). I've awarded him an extra point for all the extra Bombylius spp French names he has supplied. A total of 7 points to Anton as he also supplied an English name (although I prefer Dark-edged Bee Fly) as well as family and order.

All of you guessed that it was egg laying, but this is in fact the answer to the question of what it will do next. What it is doing in the video is loading up its rear end with sand, which stick to the eggs when they are laid. This disguises and protects the eggs.

Packing

So what do you pack when you travel? How much does the contents of your suitcase vary between your outward journey and the return?

Our suitcases are carrying wine on the outward journey -- 3 bottles each, which is the limit you can bring into Australia. For a glimpse of what we carried home to France in December 2012, take a look at these photos.

 My suitcase: top right, a hat -- all the women in my family have this wonderful brand of crushable sun hat. Below that a box of VitaWeats, a cracker that you can only get in Australia. A couple of books, borrowed from Niall and Antoinette, that I had already read on the flight over. A tube of citrus scented gel, a gift from a friend, and great for tired feet. The blue centre bottom is my bathing suit. The two objects wrapped in white plastic bags top and bottom left are skin care products in bulk dispensers -- one body lotion, the other sunscreen. You just can't get this size pump action dispenser in France.

Simon's suitcase: on the left some neoprene booties which he bought to protect his feet while doing aqua-aerobics at the Australian Institute of Sport. Some socks and T-shirts. Ventolin for his asthma. A pair of sandals and a pair of jeans. In the middle, a full sized Australian flag -- Simon's parents were having a clear out, and we thought the flag might come in handy. In the plastic bag are some books, also from his parents, with sentimental value.

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A la cuisine hier: Tomato soup, simple and satisfying, especially if served with croutons sprinkled with a bit of cheese.

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Au jardin hier: Sweet cherries, two of the sour cherries, pears and plums are all flowering. Pears and plums look good, but my impression is that the sweet cherries are not flowering very heavily this year. 

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Nature News: The first of the Claise Valley orchid species, Early Purps (as anglo naturalists refer to them), have begun flowering.

Cabbage Tree Palms

The little bay to the south of Manly in Sydney is called Cabbage Tree Bay. It is a well known aquatic reserve, popular with divers and snorkellers as the waters are for the most part calm and protected. Shelley Beach, as the inner most part of the bay is called, is a family friendly place, intimate and safe. We visited with friends in December 2012.

The beach is shaded by a grove of the trees that give the bay its name -- Cabbage Tree Palm Livistona australis. The palms get their name from the fact that the growing tip of the plant is edible, like a little cabbage. In fact, they weren't very often eaten though, as to remove the 'cabbage' is to condemn the tree to death.

The Cabbage Tree Palm grove at Shelley Beach.

Their real claim to fame is that right from the earliest days of the convict settlement the leaves of this tree were used to weave hats. The convicts had been issued with crude felt caps which were entirely unsuited to the hot humid climate they found themselves in, being itchy and heat absorbant. They took to weaving quite stylish looking sun hats from cabbage tree palm fronds, probably after learning the basics from the local aboriginals, who no doubt used the leaves to make traditional dilly bags.

Dead leaves showing the natural strong cross woven fibrous structure which I suppose might have contributed to their suitability for making hats.

Not surprisingly, very few of these sun hats survive, and the techniques of creating them had been virtually lost, until the textile theme of History Week in 2012 inspired a local textile artist to revive the art.

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A la cuisine hier: Tartiflette, definitely not for the faint hearted or the calorie shy.

Pittsworth and Preuilly -- Railway Stations

Simon has been digging around in various online photo archives and has found these two images of railway stations in small country towns at the turn of the previous century, one in France, one in Australia.

An old postcard, showing the station at Preuilly sur Claise, probably in the late 19th century.

An image put online by the State Library of Queensland, showing Pittsworth railway station c1903.

Dayglow Scooter in Paris

Simon took this photo because he liked the dayglow pink scooter on the left. I was more interested that he has captured the political poster. It says 'The worst is yet to come!!!' and features Paris Socialist mayoral candidate Anne Hidalgo (who became the first female mayor of Paris a few days after this was taken) and the claim that under her local taxes will increase by 202 million euros in 2015.

These posters were plastered all over Paris in a high profile campaign involving an investigative journalist called Nicolas Miguet. He claims not to have been working for the opposition candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, but to be a concerned taxpaying citizen. Then there was an accusation that Anne Hidalgo, who was previously deputy mayor of Paris, used City of Paris employees to take down the posters, and there was a good deal of acrimonious exchange. The tax in question is the tax d'habitation (council rates on property), which is calculated based on the theoretical rentable value of the property.

On the surface, the proposed changes are to take into account the resources of the taxpayer, but many fear it will be an excuse to raise taxes. It hasn't been reviewed since its introduction in the 1970s, when the base property rental values were originally set. Obviously, there will be some winners and some losers when the new valuations take place.

The Nature of the Touraine Loire Valley in April

With its variable weather, reptiles take the opportunity to sunbath and get up to operating temperature whenever they can in April. This month is when you can get a good look at snakes in the middle of the day, as they will be reluctant to move from their sunny patch. They won't be out in the open though -- more likely in a little spot of sunlight surrounded by long grass or hidden from view in some other way.

A sunbathing Western Whip Snake in our orchard -- you have to be quiet and lucky to get to see one.

The month will still feel cool, with average maximum temperatures not hitting 20° and average hours of sunlight still under 200, but the trend is upwards.

Poisson d'Avril

In France, the tradition on what we would call April Fool's Day is called Poisson d'Avril. The aim of the game is to pin or stick an 'April fish' onto as many unsuspecting colleagues, friends and family as possible.

Last year our laitière's small daughter, who often accompanies her mother on the milk round, entertained herself by drawing fish on postit notes and sticking them to the plastic bags of milk. That allowed her to shout 'Poisson d'avril!' as I took delivery.

A Walk With the Forester

Friday 21 March was the International Day of Forests, and our local forest managers organised a walk lead by the head forester, Gérard Couturier. He had hosted a school trip that morning and was giving a lecture in the evening. He was quite open about the fact that his professional sphere was the production of timber, and he was not an expert on the birds and animals of the forest.

The Office National des Forêts (ONF) manages the Forest of Tours-Preuilly on behalf of its owner, the City of Tours, with the aim of reconciling the production of high quality timber, the preservation of natural surroundings and the countryside and the recreation needs of the public. The ONF is a public body dating back to Colbert's 17th century economic reforms in the reign of Louis XIV, and acts as a policy developer, consultant and law enforcer in all things forestry related in France, as well as hands on management of large swathes of the country. Although the City of Tours is the nominal owner, the forest is a long way from there and in fact, most maintenance and improvements (signage, barriers, etc) in the forest are funded by the Communauté des Communes de la Touraine du Sud (CCTS).

Gérard Couturier giving us some history before we start the walk.

The forest was left to the City of Tours in 1952 by the last private owner, Madame Hersent-Luzarche. She also left the family home, the chateau of Azay-le-Ferron to the city, and the area of land which became the Parc Animalier de Haute Touche to the National Museum of Natural History. The Luzarche family had acquired the estate in the aftermath of the Revolution. Prior to their ownership, the forest had been exploited for its reserves of iron ore, which were smelted and forged down on the Claise, using the power of the water to run mills and the wood from the forest to fuel furnaces.

It has taken 50 years of modern forestry practices to bring the forest to the generally good condition we see today. Azay le Ferron was not the Luzarches principle residence, and they viewed the forest as a private leisure park for hunting. They made no attempt to maintain the forest ecosystem in good condition.

A parcel that has had a couple of thinnings and now has chosen trees marked. These will be given a 12m clearing around them on the ground and allowed to grow to prime timber to be harvested at about 200 - 250 years old. These trees are Sessile Oak.

Consequently, at the time of the legacy, there were many 'empty' parcels of forest, requiring extensive 'cleaning' and replanting. That was stage one of the forest regeneration, and the aim was enable stage two ie to start producing saleable wood which could fund further maintenance. 300 hectares in all (one third of the forest) were replanted in this first stage. Stage 3, which was basically the regeneration of another third, finished last year. Stage 4 begins this year and is consolidating more complex and integrated management systems that began in Stage 3.

A total of 9 people, including Gérard, are responsible for managing the forest. No hunting is allowed except to control vermin, which means that they don't have the benefit of that potential income stream. However, Gérard is very firm that the forest is for everyone, and hunting is difficult to reconcile with other, more popular, leisure activities such as walking. Twice a year there are organised culls of big game, but otherwise the forest can be freely used by anyone at any time. He was asked if the deer population was a problem for the forest plantations and he said no, not as far as he could see, although he would like to have a pot of money to fund some research on their impact. He observed that the deer tended to concentrate on the edges of the forest.

Two of the foresters thin a young naturally regenerated parcel that is about 12 years old. The brush will be left on the ground to rot and replace nutrients in the soil.

At this point in the proceedings he told us a story about his colleague who manages the nearby Royal Forest of Loches. The ONF forests have simple wooden bar type barriers across any track they don't want vehicles to use. Apparently his colleague arrived at work one morning and discovered that every single barrier was missing, presumably stolen overnight. The barriers are milled timbers about 5m long and probably 15cm by 10cm in section, with a strip of green reflective plastic fixed to the middle. The whereabouts of these timbers was discovered not long after, by someone arriving at a house in Genillé after dark and noticing that a roof under construction on the property was glowing eerily in his headlights. The 'rafters' had been given away by their reflective strips and the police were called.

The commercial crop of trees is primarily oak, which is produced to the specifications of the timber industry. They want trees of a maximum of 85 cm diameter, and preferably 55 cm, which is cheaper to process. Any tree that has grown faster than 5mm per year in diameter will be rejected. Foresters have to consider whether they want bulk yields but low margins, or restricted yields and high margins. Conifers are usually an example of the former and need to yield 3000m³ / ha to be commercially viable. Tree felling machines harvest about 140m³ / hour. The management of a commercial plantation is a matrix of time, yield, timber industry requirements, and the average price received by the forest is about €25/m³. The best quality timber, from 3m lengths of trunk, will fetch €300/m³ and non lumber about €40/m³. The upper branches sell for €8/m³. Nowadays, over half of all timber produced in France comes from ONF sites.

Pruning the lower branches of young trees so they don't tangle.

The ONF aims to maintain a zero carbon footprint with its planting and harvesting cycle, as well as considering the forest as a resource for the future. The forest is managed so it is a mosaic, taking into consideration a mixture of mature commercial parcels, regenerating parcels, and parcels which will not be harvested, but left to mature naturally. Tree density and light penetration has to be managed to keep the trees in good condition. Trees chosen for timber production are ultimately given a 12m clear zone around them. At any one time these days they have 100ha in regeneration. 

Parcels are regenerated naturally as far as possible, as planted parcels do not grow as vigorously, and are more fragile and less stable. Sometimes seed from uncommercial areas are used to augment entirely natural regeneration, and occasionally a parcel will be manually planted. Machines are not used to plant in the Forest of Preuilly as they compact the soil and have other disadvantages. Regenerated areas are now mixed species (hazel, hornbeam, chestnut and sessile oak dominating, with a bit of ash, beech, birch and aspen, along with some smaller species such as service tree, wild cherry, field maple and rowan). It is recognised that monocultures of oak do not thrive, especially if they follow a previous oak plantation on the same soil. A mixture of species ensures groups of trees are not all competing for the same micronutrients, and that the soil does not become exhausted after multiple generations of the same monoculture.

 A Sessile Oak in its prime, about 200 - 240 years old.

Once the parcel is about 10 years old the foresters will move in and thin out the trees. The resulting brush is left piled on the ground to rot and feed the soil. After another 5 or 10 years more thinning takes place and trees are pruned to prevent lower branches from tangling with each other. This pruning is also the beginning of ensuring that trees can be felled cleanly and not break branches as they come down. The next stage is to mark certain trees with orange bands. These trees are the ones that have been chosen by the foresters and timber mills as the ones that will be harvested at around 250 years old, and over the years they are given more and more room to grow. Oak trees can live to a thousand years, but they become hollow inside and therefore valueless as timber if left too long. By the time they are ready it is hoped they will be worth three to four thousand euros each.

This mixed planting regime is a change from the planting schemes immediately following the Second World War and up until the 1970s. The great conifer forests of the Ardenne were badly damaged during the war and France was desperate for timber to rebuild, particularly in the mining industry. Consquently, the practice in the Forest then was to plant 10ha alternating parcels of conifers (Maritime Pine, Corsican Pine or Scots Pine) with Sessile Oak. The remnant conifer parcels are a disaster according to Gérard. The soil in these areas has been acidified to such an extent that he may not be able to plant broadleaf trees once the pines are removed. He's worried that the consultant ecologists will force him to bring in soil at great expense to reinstate the natural pH, rather than allow him to plant conifers again. On the other hand, conifers don't make any money and these acid soils lead to a proliferation of bracken and heather.

Other areas are left to gently age in a natural way. These are parcels which have proved uneconomical to harvest, and are now being reserved to provide tree seed, ensure biodiversity and create attractive leisure areas. Gérard is a staunch defender of Ivy, which is allowed to grow naturally and is not controlled or removed. He says it doesn't harm the trees, and protects and nourishes the birds, which in their turn, reduce the insect pests.

Climate change is providing a new challenge. Various cedar species and Downy Oak are being planted throughout France as a 'hedge' against climate change. Gérard predicted that Chestnut, Beech and Ash could disappear from the forest within the next 30 years, and Sessile Oak within the next 100, due to the increasingly dry summers. Already the natural distribution of these species is moving north, and it is not worth persisting with trees that will not thrive. He reminded everyone of how quickly Elm disappeared once Dutch Elm Disease struck and said it only took 2-3 days of hot dry weather to permanently damage a tree. On the other hand, he reported that Douglas Fir has already adapted to drier summers, and perhaps other species will too.

Shark Nets

About 50 beaches in New South Wales are shark netted. Other states do not try to protect beaches against sharks, or use a different system. This one at Manly Cove is unusual in that it is quite visible. Normally, the nets are set several hundred metres offshore and only come to within 4m of the surface of the water, to allow boats to pass over them unhindered. They appear to be very successful, in that there has only ever been a single fatal attack on a netted beach. However, any shark caught up in them drowns, and there is a significant bycatch, often of endangered species such as sea turtles, dolphins and even whales. The nets are removed over winter, partly to ensure that migrating whales are not accidentally caught.

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We've Been to Paris!!: We have just got back from a few days in Paris. We rented a studio apartment in Bastille (11eme arrondissement) and spent the time doing touristy things with our Australian friend Liselle. Highlights were a guided tour of the Gobelins tapestry workshops and shopping in Bastille market. We also went to the Petit Palais, the Rodin Museum, the Jacquemart-André for the de Watteau à Fragonard, les fêtes galantes exhibition, and waved at the Chinese president on Pont Alexandre as well as just general mooching about looking at interesting buildings and eating at favourite restaurants (Chez Marianne in the Marais, Café Beauvau in rue Miromesnil).

Eco-sculpture Walk

 Snorkelling and scuba diving is popular and encouraged in this sheltered bay, although divers are reminded not to collect or disturb marine creatures by moving rocks, or even to feed them. 

These charming cast stainless steel sculptures by Tim Johnman are scattered along the length of the beachside walk to Cabbage Tree Bay from Manly in Sydney. They represent the special creatures present in the aquatic reserve here.

Gloomy Octopus (yes, that's really what they are called) are commonly encountered amongst the rocks underwater, but conservationists are concerned about the impact of habit disturbance and human interference on their numbers.

I assume the little sculptures are held on by large spikes driven into the rock and some mighty glue to prevent them being nicked.

 One of the largest colonies of Weedy Seadragons on the New South Wales coast is in Cabbage Tree Bay. They are a  protected species, threatened by damage to the seagrass habitat that they live in.

Roman Ruins near Thésée

Some years ago we read that there were Roman ruins near the small village of Thésée on the northern bank of the Cher. After studying the map and even GoogleEarth aerial photos we duly trotted off to visit them, approaching from the south and discovering the excavated foundations of a temple complex on the south bank of the river, by the small bridge with a memorial to a downed American airman. Thrilling we thought, and took lots of photos. We visited a second time and found that more excavations had been done. Super dooper and gosh what a lot of rather indeterminate rubble -- we weren't sure whether what we were looking at was Roman or 19th century.

The main building at Les Mazelles.

Eventually we mentioned the site to Niall and Antoinette and they in their turn trotted off to visit. When they got back their description of what they had seen didn't match ours at all. What was going on?

One day last year we found out. For once we entered Thésée from the west, and there on your left is a stonking great Roman ruin, with walls metres high, not just foundations requiring the maximum of imagination. Before, we had always entered Thésée from the south and turned right to go through the village, never realising that the ruins we had heard about were plain to see on the edge of the village in the opposite direction.

Looking north, from the road -- unmissable Roman ruins...

Earlier in March we returned yet again to take photos of this impressive site. It should properly be called the Gallo-Roman Site of les Mazelles. These imposing ruins have long intrigued the locals, specialists, antiquarians, archaeologists and historians alike. Theories (some serious, some crackpot) abound as to the purpose of the buildings and local legends have been created around them.

For the visitor today, the Mazelles ruins are the most visible remains of the ancient Tasciaca. In fact, far more still lies hidden underground, having been excavated and re-buried for protection. The site is situated 100m or so from the right (north) bank of the River Cher, right on the modern D176 as it comes into Thésée. In Roman times, this was the road from Tours to Bourges (and on to Nantes or Lyon ultimately). The proximity to both these highways (road and river) explain the location of Tasciaca.

The interior of the main building.

The sign says 'This listed site must be preserved. Have the kindness: not to climb on the walls; to avoid touching the stones.'

The complex consists of three buildings within a curtain wall forming a quadrangle of 7000m². The main building, to the north, is exceptionally well preserved with walls still 7.4m high and 52m in length. It comprises two rooms, one of which is 40m by 14.5m, flanked by two pavilions which were probably connected by an open sided gallery.

To the south we find two other buildings. The one on the south-west, 12m x 10m, is levelled off on top by three courses of quarry (rubble) stones. The other, to the south-east and measuring 35m x 18m, shows evidence for several rooms, but is in a rather delapidated condition and the original construction was more slapdash than the main building.

Evidence of what looks like a nicely done modern repair, made clearly visible so there is no confusion between museum service repair and original, as is best practice today.

The big main building to the north is the most interesting. Nothing else like it exists in the Gallo-Roman world, but its method of construction, with small visible stones and frequent brick courses is typically Roman. The walls have two faces, interior and exterior, made with small rectangular quarry stones or flat ones laid in a herringbone pattern, bonded by mortar. A mixture of mortar and stones was packed between these two faces. To bond the vertical layers together, two courses of big bricks which bridged the width of the wall were periodically laid.

The holes you can see in the walls are notches to hold wooden scaffolding used while constructing the building.

The cruder building to the south east, with the main building in the background.

Two thousand years later the walls are still standing, thanks to their method of construction. Although local tuffeau, like the stone used to make the chateau, these stones are of particularly high quality, with a low porosity and high density that has made them very durable. In addition, they are small in size and set in a very hard mortar, so they did not tempt the later local inhabitants to reuse them and treat the site like a quarry.

Les Mazelles was classified as an Historic Monument by Prosper Merimée in 1840. Old photos show the buildings abandoned, covered in ivy, brambles and scrub. In 1950 they were privately owned, with a vine growing in the shelter of the walls. From 1962 to 1965 a team of young archaeologists pulled the ivy from the walls, cleared the area and undertook a series of surveys and test digs. Maurice Druon, a member of the Academie Française, happened to pass the site one day in 1965. Falling in love with the place he purchased the ruins and the surrounding land, which he scoured and remodelled. In 1976 he gave Les Mazelles to the département of Loir et Cher for a symbolic 1 franc and the Conseil Général have landscaped the surroundings to what you see today.

A close up of a wall. 

Note the alternating bands of small flat stones laid in a herringbone pattern and small rectangular stones, as well as the notches for scaffolding.

Les Mazelles was probably constructed during first third of the second century, under the rule of the Emperor Hadrian, a period of peace and prosperity in the western part of the Roman empire.  The preliminary digs completed on the site have not allowed archaeologists to say with certainty what the site's role was. It is assumed that the buildings had multiple functions relating to their geographic position and in particular their proximity to the Roman road and the Cher. It is thought they were a sort of staging post, with government offices dealing with administration, taxes and justice, possibly also a market, shops, exchange and a temple. It does not seem to have been a military encampment.

The Friends of Tasciaca have an informative website here (in French), which is where I cribbed all the information above from.

A Local Pest

Unfortunately, this is what can happen if you choose to go completely pesticide free in the garden.

Adorable ou touchant ?

An encounter with these two dogs in the market place at Blois recently led to a discussion over lunch about what (French) word best described them. I opted for adorable, but after pondering the matter for several minutes, Jean Michel thought touchant was better.

What do you think?

In English they are just sooooo cute!

I Made Compost!

The composting area of the potager.

Well...I didn't make compost, a load of fungi and invertebrates made compost. All I did was chuck our kitchen waste in a pile and leave it for several years. I didn't turn it, add accelerators or anything. Just left it sitting in the bin. Nevertheless, I was thrilled when I dug into our oldest compost bin, started soon after we moved here, and it was dark and crumbly and looked just like soil. It's one of nature's magic tricks.

 Compost made from 2009 to 2012 kitchen waste, weeds and grass clippings, ready to use in 2014.

In 2012 I asked Alex to make me two more compost bins, using his simple but ingenious system of recycled pallets. They work extremely well and now I am organised for a three year compost cycle. (See here for what they looked like just after completion.) No more garden centre fertilizer and potting mix for me. I can make my own.

 The 2013  compost bin, now under a heavy cardboard cover to try to minimise surface weed growth as it matures.

It's good invertebrate habitat too. I've encountered some interesting larvae lurking around in the compost, such as juvenile glow worms and lace wings.

 The 2014 compost bin, with shredded paper on the left and grass clippings on the right. The black bin on the far left contains ash from our wood stove.

Compost spread on the newly dug potato bed, waiting to be incorporated into the soil. Look at the difference in colour between the dark brown compost and the pale grey natural earth in the bed to the right.

Surf's up at Manly

On a thoroughly blustery and not very warm day in December 2012 we went for lunch with friends on Manly Beach, Sydney. The surfers were out in force, and the local surf lifesavers volunteers were using the conditions to stage an exercise.

 A lifesaver surfs in to shore on a surf rescue board.

 Other volunteers bringing an inflatable boat in.

 Two surf rescue boats in the distance patrol the small area between the flags. The surfers have all chosen to be outside the flags to catch the breaks. (Update: Simon has pointed out to me that there is a $250 fine for surfing within the flags, because of the risk of injuring swimmers.)

 A group of surf lifesaver volunteers heads out into the waves -- this was just an exercise, they weren't heading out to save someone.

Surfboards for hire.
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A la cuisine hier: Pasta with arrabbiata sauce -- I slightly overdid the chili, but it was OK.