THERE is a touch of autumn chill in the air when taking the dog out for a walk in the morning.
The local farmer walks past, following an overnight rain shower, most probably on the look out for cèpe mushrooms as he is armed with his wooden walking stick to fold back the bracken hoping to tease out the bun shaped fungus.
SUCH joy the sounds of summer bring. The strident, strangulated squeal of the strimmer; a guttural grumble from the sit-on mower; the gentle swish of the scythe.
All right, so you don’t hear much scythe work going on these days but after spending a couple of hours chomping through the grass it is something that I’d like to learn more about.
It started when I spotted a red handled scythe hanging up in the back of the barn, and after quickly realising it was blunt, I spent five minutes or so sharpening the blade.
But I quickly learnt that it is not just a simple task of swinging the scythe from side-to-side, and so it was on to the web to find out more.
I quickly stumbled upon The Scythe Shop website, based in the UK, who not only supply various bits of kit, but also offer an online resource I quickly devoured.
For starters I was trying to scythe the grass around the house at the wrong time of day, it has to be early morning, and I also realised that the blade I had was for slicing through weeds, brambles and nettles.
If I really wanted to gain control over the grass then I had to master the Austrian scythe and its delicate make up.
Austrian scythes feature thinner, sharper blades that are extremely effective on grasses and meadows, but they quickly blunt against stones and woody branches so you have to be careful about the route you take.
Then there is the craft of peening, which involves the tapping out of the blade after repeated sharpening, because as you sharpen you get closer to the thicker part of the blade and so you eventually end up with a rounded, bull-nosed edge.
Peening is followed by honing, which involves boat-shaped stones of various grades that allow you to sharpen your blade either in the workshop, or when out in the field.
So there is much to learn, but when I think about the grumbling neighbour with his head under the bonnet of his mower trying to work out why it’s not working, I think I’d rather master the scythe over the carburettor.
And it will be pretty hard to beat the feeling of watching a deer slowly cross a nearby field as you brush the wet grass off your scythe in time for the day to start.
A THUNDER storm tumbled over the hills last night and as the lights flickered it made me think about the delicate threads connecting the electricity supply.
You feel very close to a storm here in the French countryside when it is rattling away outside your window and the advice is to sit tight and take plugs and telephone cables out of the wall sockets.
But I recently bought a d.light solar lamp so at least I knew I had some illumination should the house be plunged in to darkness.
The lamp features a solar panel that plugs in to the side of the lamp, and if placed in the sunshine swiftly charges up the battery offering you light as well as the chance to charge up basic mobile phones.
Within the sturdy orange casing you have a highly efficient LED bulb that offers up four different light settings from a high option that easily fills a room, to a bedroom side light for those that need a little reassurance.
D.light developed the lamp to enable people living in countries dependent on kerosene or other fuels for lighting to have a safe and renewable option, letting people cook, read and study without the fumes and risks of oil based fuels.
And the lamps have proven so successful that two other smaller versions have been developed, again featuring solar panels that enable people to take them with them to work, or for children to use when studying.
Any of the d.light lamps could prove a handy tool to get you through the next power cut should the dark clouds rumble in to view.
Amazon: d.light S250 Solar LED Lantern
HAVE you ever wondered if anyone has a planning policy for those remote walks across tranquil French village fields and meadows?
In fact, city councillors considering the future needs of rural France are bringing these together in documents or certificat urbanismes, revisions of the former site inventories, writes Carol Miers.
While taking a walk through seldom used footpaths you may well be walking across land that has been recorded on inter-crossing maps, for example categorised for ecological significance, or suitable for construction, or as containing heritage sites, or arterial roads.
Nationally, there is a change in policy towards using resources efficiently by grouping houses together and limiting the size of new builds. The new regulations are cemented into a village document.
At Loubejac, in the Dordogne, one such village analysis is now in its primary draft. I attended a meeting for the 273 inhabitants where a presentation by the société URBANAE, introduced the first stage.
It will be followed by a period of consultation where an expert sits in the Mairie to listen to project ideas, suggestions, criticisms and all questions from the villagers to better shape a local constitution. This is how the initial draft will be pushed and stretched into shape.
In order to satisfy future needs and demands for utilities the land categories aim to maximise all interests, from building plots to agricultural needs, leisure to being of tourist interest.
Labels for valleys of significant beauty, primary natural water sources, road passageways, necessary wildlife pathways all bring to mind the assessments for the UK’s sites of special scientific interest.
Preliminary research had included a virtual census of the population, their employment locations and types, ages and status.
It stated the ratio of forest to open land as 53%. The future for each hectare was decided by allocation of a letter, such as N for house building. From discussions with the pompier every new build has to have fire barriers.
Pointing at bar charts the speaker hazarded projections for the growth in population based on the previous ten year pattern.
From this a hypothetical house building plan and the required hectarage was calculated and the total represented as a proportion of available land.
It is reassuring that no decisions are to be taken by a figure in a remote office. After all, as I overheard it said, this is a republic, the French fraternity.
IF you have seen white, candyfloss styled webs high in pine trees, keep a watchful eye on the ground for the Pine processionary caterpillar.
It is at this time of year that the caterpillars head to woodland floors in search of a place to pupate and it is when you will see the characteristic long lines as they follow each other nose to tail.
And while that is a view of nature to behold, the Pine processionary caterpillar has a horrible ‘feature’, the small hairs on its back are poisonous and can be a terrible irritant if touched.
But cats and dogs are particularly at risk as the fine hairs can become embedded in the mouth, or stomach, and if not spotted quickly and dealt with by a vet, can prove fatal.
Beyond keeping your pets close to heel, there is little you can do to keep the caterpillars at bay. Professionals will use blow torch apparatus to burn the insects, but the trees in a small area will play host to hundreds of nests.
So just keep an eye out between now and May for the Pine processionary caterpillar, stay clear of pine trees if you are worried, and let the beasties progress on their way.
Related: Asian hornet battle set to start
BEE keepers across south west France will be keeping a keen eye out over the next few weeks as the beginning of spring prompts the dreaded Asian hornet, or Vespa velutina, to make its nests.
Queen hornets will start producing workers very soon to build the large football shaped nests, often found in trees close to a source of water.
And whilst an impressive looking structure the Asian hornets within can decimate a bee colony by invading the hive and picking off victims.
Asian hornets are distinguished by yellow tipped legs, with a dark brown or black thorax, and they usually measure around 25mm in length.
They are believed to have arrived in France via a container ship in 2004 with the first nests spotted near Agen the following year, and from there the Asian hornets continued to spread through Aquitaine.
Cases have been recorded of people being stung by a swarm of Asian hornets but it is still rare and they are not more potent than similar species.
Although their spread across France as far as Paris and Brittany will increase the risk of an attack and people with bee allergies are advised to take great caution.
Nests are a fairly common sight here in the south of the Dordogne, with one method used to destroy them being the local hunters taking pot-shots at the structures.
But regional officials are keen to take more effective action and many Mairies here in the south west of France have designated a person to be the first point of contact should local residents spot an Asian hornet nest.
Have you spotted the presence of Asian hornets near you? Please feel free to pass on any observations or tips via the comment form below.
THERE is a small, little-known corner of the north western end of the huge Rhone-Alpes region in France which is waiting, somewhat patiently, for discovery and greater attention, writes Brian Franklin.
This area is called Le Roannais in the département of the Loire.
Yes, of course, many tourists and business travellers from the UK and other parts of Europe visit, or drive through the region down the famous route N7 every year.
This is exactly what they often do – drive straight through or around it without stopping and taking a ‘breath’ but they are missing a lot.
It is not, however, an isolated part of France, like many areas can be in this huge country.
BRIAN Franklin continues his story of how he and his wife, Lucy, slowly and sympathetically returned a collection of outbuildings found in the grounds of the Chateau des Cresses, in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France.
Here he looks back on the work involved, and some of the lessons learnt, as well as the advantages of moving to France.
At last. The work is over, the spending has slowed down, and the results of all our efforts can be clearly seen and appreciated.
CONTINUING on from last month’s article about our renovation and conversion of Le Cuvage in the Roannais, Rhône-Alpes, things have moved along rapidly, writes Brian Franklin.
WITH the summer here a dip in the pool is sure to appeal, so it is with this in mind that the Service Public is reminding people about the regulations, introduced in 2003, that are in place.
The rules are designed to protect young children from drowning and you have a choice of four different types of technique that can be employed.
The first is fencing that surrounds the pool, another option is a a cover placed over it, a motion detecting alarm or a hard shell-like cover.
