June – 2021 | capetocarpe

Featured image taken on the 1st June shows the cereal crop behind my house beginning to golden up and sport poppies

A new arrival in the fields, which, research tells me is also a member of the orchid family, is this wild iris type flower.

6th – 8th A little trip out in the van. The objective was to drive to Nontron to visit Patti.

She is staying in a nursing home with medical facilities following a fall in during which she broke her neck. As a result she is pretty much immobile.

It was good to see Patti and I think she enjoyed the visit.

The hospital sits in a nice setting with great views which I doubt Patti can benefit from.

In addition to the visit there were stops en route which delivered pleasing sights!

The first was a beautifully restored windmill.

Followed by a good dose of deja vu. I had not remembered the name of the village, Villebois-Lavalette but recongnised the castle at once, and the quaint streets and medieval covered market.

Towering above a lovely stone village with a medieval covered market

At Mareuil, yet another castle. Next to the Loire Valley, Dordogne must boast almost as many castles.

At St Martial-de-Valette, just outside Nobntron, the church has an impressive pair of bells and an old lavoir.

At the beautifully kept village of St Ciers Champagne the school children have filled the roadside with tableau in commemoration of the 400 year anniversary of story teller Jean de la Fountaine.

There laudable efforts made for a very pleasing and amusing walk.

A detour on the way home took me to Port Maubert on the estuary. A charming stop with handsome houses bordering the quai and really good photos mounted along the path.

and other quirky artwork.

A story board at a view pint gives a good overview of this, the largest estuary in Europe’s, environment, floras and fauna.

Along the top a 13.5 klm cycle ride with stops at castles, churches and viewpoints along the way is portrayed, a re-visit to do the ride is certainly on the cards.

It is nesting time for European Storks at the moment and we humans have done something right for a change and built nesting platforms.

12th. Following a very hot day we were treated to a dramatic sun set.

13th. On the way to the Boulangerie for the morning croisant I was surprised to find a tent pitched in the middle of the path!

In the late afternoon I took Cassidy, my bike and provisions and headed off the Montange-sur-Gironde where we parked for the night and I was able to harvest cherries and mirabelle (little yellow plumbs) from nearby trees.

I will eat the cherries as they are but the mirabelle are not ripe so I will make jam and compot (posh French term for stewed fruit!)

14th Early in the morning we moved on to Port Maubert where I parked in the shade and took Cassidy for a walk before setting off on the bike.

one of the stops on the way was to view a renovated “Grange” which is basically an old farm building. A much better example is on the road outside Talmond! HoHum. There was a map though and the red line denotes the cycle tour route.

All along the route there was much Stork activity and many nests built on man made platforms

back at the van I enjoyed coffee and bread & Jam before we returned to Meschers with a brief stop in the charming little hamlet of Saint Roman and a quick look at the C12 church which, unusually for France is set in its own grave yard. Cemeteries are usually spaces apart.

The picture on the right is a tiny sculpture at the base of the corner of the building at top left. I will have to research to see if it has any particular significance.

17th. I have been looking for water butts for the front and back gardens to collect the rain water from the roof. Because they are going to stand on the paved terraces I need ones of a size that will straddle at least two pavers and hold less than 300Lt. This is because the wieght baring capacity of the pavers is 300Kg per sq meter. I found appropriate butts and installed them as a lot of rain is forecasts from this evening.

18th. having rained all night the water butts are both full this morning.

One of my smart new water butts and of course the most handsome dog in the world!

19th. Today, my birthday, was blessed with over 20 lovely cards and messages from beloved friends and family, not to mention wonderfully relaxed phone calls. The day was passed quietly with work to catch up on, some gardening and dog walking. This was enhanced today by the presence of Duiky (the real French spelling escapes me) the aged lab belonging to my friend Monique who has gone off for a few days to visit friends.

In the evening another neighbor, Catherine, came round to share some fizz sitting on the back terrace looking out on the sun lowering over the field.

21st. There was a free recital outside the Tourism Office on the main street of the village when I went into the pharmacy this morning.

Over the last few days we have had a lot of rain and small storms all contributing to some wonderful sky scapes.

23rd. I took the van into Fiat this afternoon for the service of the motor. I had about an hour and a half to fill which did not justify taking a courtesy car to go home. Instead I took a stroll round the area and was very pleased that I had done.

I stumbled across a Social (Public) Housing Estate which was truly impressive and should serve as a good example to the USA (with its “Socialist” paranoia) and the current radically right wing UK government.

The first thing that strikes one is the pleasing and varied architecture, clean, colourful, low rise buildings set in green open spaces.

The security is excellent with keypad entrances that also encompass the stair well. There are lifts, ample parking and secure bike sheds.

Each apartment has its own private outdoor space in the form of a good sized balcony and there is a lot of green recreation space.

This includes communal gardens

Basket Ball and Boule courts

There is also a hall for indoor events, posters on the door show the availability of Karate classes and other possibilities. Note the defibrillator to the right of the door.

There is a primary school next to the estate, a bus route, community centre and pharmacy in very close proximity. Shops are within easy walking distance as is a mini light industrial estate no doubt offering job opportunities. The nearest secondary school is also within easy walking distance. You will have noted that there is no graffiti! lets face it, if you are fortunate enough to be accommodated in this fashion there cannot be any incentive to vandalise it. There is even a small chapel on site!

25th. We walked in the fields today for the first time since the start of the recent heavy rains and since I have been taking care of Dukie and were pleased to see that the sunflowers were starting to come into bloom.