The Wayfarers' Hut – L'asile des voyagers

On 17th May 1882, the Noizay municipal council built a small hut to provide shelter for the night to “destitute wayfarers, labourers and homeless souls” passing through the village. A salary was paid to the person in charge of cleaning the hut built along the walls of the château de Noizay. Subsequently,the “garde champêtre”, a sort of …

Bubbly coming up – Les bulles qui arrivent

This is the chenin blanc grape used to make vouvray wine, which can be dry, sweet or bubbly using the champenoise method. It comes from Anjou where it was mentioned as early as the 9th century and is probably named after Mont Chenin in Touraine. Many of the vines are very old. Voici le chenin …

Island in the Loire – Ilot dans la Loire

The Loire is full of sandbanks and little islands that prevent it from being navigable. This one is on the right side of the bridge looking towards Amboise. La Loire est pleine de bancs de sable et d’îlots qui l’empêchent d’être navigable. Celui-ci se trouve en aval du pont qui mène vers Amboise.

McCormick decked with flowers – McCormick fleurie

The McCormick harvester and twine binder, maufactured in 1881, was the first binder which tied the bundles with twine. Jean Michel remembers seeing them in the sixties on his grandparents’ farm. This one, in Onzain, just across the Loire from Château de Chaumont is decorated with fllowers every summer. La faucheuse-lieuse McCormick, fabriquée dès 1881, était la …

Chenonceau from the Cher – Chenonceau depuis le Cher

This is my favourite view of Château de Chenonceau taken from the bike path. Of the “four C’s” – Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont and Cheverny, I think Chenonceau is the one I prefer, but the other three are not far behind! Voici ma vue préférée du château de Chenonceau prise depuis la piste cyclable. Des “quatre …

Leccinum griseum – Bolet rude des charmes

Yesterday, we found our first leccinum carpini in the little wood behind our house. The taste of this boletus is nothing sensational but it still enhanced the taste of our omelette. Hier nous avons trouvé notre premier bolet des charmes (leccinum carpini, également appelé bolet raboteux, bolet rugueux et cèpe gris) dans le petit bois …

A Barrow of Spuds – Une brouette de patates

Today, we brought in our potato crop. Potatoes are very easy to grow and require absolutely no maintenance, unlike our tomatoes which suffered from lack of watering and got blight. Aujourd”hui nous avons récolté nos pommes de terre. Il est très facile de faire pousser les pommes de terres qui ne demandent aucun entretien à …