Seasonal activity

Living in the heart of the country it is noticeable that the changing seasons are more obvious than for townsfolk. Autumn arrived a couple of weeks ago cladding the world in a riot of colour from pale yellow, through orange and red to deep russet browns. The fields have changed too from the golds and yellows of ripened crops to rich ploughed earthy shades speckled with small pieces of natural limestone which is the underlying bedrock. Winter seed has been sown and is already casting a gentle green tinge to otherwise bare fields. Most herds of cattle have been moved from summer pasture into winter deep litter barns to protect them from the elements.

Other seasonal things are happening too, the local hunt or 'chasse' is now in full swing until the end of February, the main quarry being deer, wild boar, hares, rabbits and an assortment of game birds. There is a strict quota of deer and wild boar that may be taken each season which in traditional French bureaucratic fashion is meticulously recorded by each hunter and association and then submitted to the necessary authorities. The most popular days for hunting are Sunday and Wednesday when groups of twenty men or more gather to arrange the day and then disperse with guns, dogs, horns and walkie talkies. All will be dressed head to toe in camouflage clothing appropriate to the country to keep a low visible profile. There is an exception to this low visibility aspect, each and every hunter will wear a high visibility cap or jacket to avoid being shot by his his chums, thus nullifying any potential advantage of sneaking up on some unsuspecting creature. It should be pointed out that during the course of each season there are some dozen or so fatalities to hunters caused by gunshot throughout the whole country.

Another shorter seasonal pursuit is collecting wild edible fungi which lasts only some six weeks or so which is when the choicest varieties abound. These range from ordinary common mushrooms through the delightfully coloured morelles to a range of dark beefsteak varieties. Often this activity is not a lone pursuit, groups of men band together to seek these delicacies, the usual means of access to the wooded ares is by quad bike. It is not uncommon to see anything up to fifteen or so pass our home en route to the growing areas which are often closely guarded secrets as some of their pickings are sold commercially.

The ultimate prize at this time of year are wild truffles which grow around the roots of specific types of oak tree. The usual method of unearthing this walnut sized delicacy is to use the sensitive nose of a trained dog or pig to seek them out but the hunter has to be very alert otherwise the pig particularly will eat them. Truffles are very desirable merchandise to the restaurant trade and gourmands and are used in minute quantities to perfume suitable dishes the most common of which is probably a truffle omelette. This latter dish will cost anything upwards of €20 in any restaurant. That may seem a somewhat exorbitant price for an omelette but in specialist markets truffles sell for anything up to €1500 a kilogram but that obviously reflects the desirability of the fungus.

Something we always look forward to is the first couple of weeks in January which is the lambing season here, it is a sheer joy to see the new lambs in the fields and to watch them grow. That particular annual event is the precursor to spring arriving in another few weeks when the countryside awakes again ready for another glorious and colourful summer.