October - Autumn has arrived in the Limousin!

The beauty of Autumn

Andy  at almost 50!

It's that blog time again.

Birthday with Thumper!

 I spent a very pleasant time in the UK to celebrate Andy's 50^th birthday and also to visit friends. I cooked him dinner for his friends as my present and we also went out on the day itself for splendid meal of Tapas with a "sourced from Sussex" twist. Really good.

On my travels managed to take in WNO's production of Rossini's Cinderella – fabulous! (Thanks Shaun and Rebecca).

No

Not picked yet

No

Not sure

Probably not

Not sure

YES!    The chemist gave the all clear to eat!

I was away from La Ribiere for 12 days and in that time summer left and autumn has arrived, we still have sunny days (and no rain) but the morning are misty and a bit chilly. However this has brought out the first rush of fungi/mushrooms and I am pleased to say that some have even passed inspection at the pharmacy and declared safe to eat!

My week back has mainly been devoted to finishing the fence work, erecting a 743 foot long electric fence (yes, I was sad enough to count every foot) to deter Otters from have a meal of the carp and in finishing off the first of several paths through the woods. This first one is to enable non-anglers to walk close to the lake on the far side but to not walk along the bank itself and disturb the fish or the anglers!

743 feet of fence.

Because the woods have been so neglected, making the path has entailed clearing undergrowth and then felling all the dead wood from what was once a lovely coppice of hazel and chestnuts. I must have felled close to 200 dead trunks. I now feel I have got the hang of chain sawing in safe and productive manner and also believe myself to be the king of the bow-saw.

It has also been time to get back to some local cuisine, so I made “Pâté du Limousin, pommes de terre et viande” basically the local meat and potato pie and a couple of loaves of bread for good measure. I had to make chestnut bread as I have now frozen about 15 kg of them. 

Pate de Limousin

Cooking them and peeling them ready for use is a bit of an art. You have to peel them whilst they are hot otherwise the skin goes hard which means that you almost get blisters on your fingers, but hopefully the end justifies the means. 

OLive bread and Chestnut bread

Boil

Peel

Ready

Last Friday we went to Limoges for the “Frairie des Petits Ventres” loosely translated could mean the “Merrymaking of the small bellies” I think “small” as in “empty” as it is a food festival devoted to local meat products and takes place in the “Rue de la Boucherie” which had been the centre for butchers in Limoges since the middle ages. The fair dates back to these times but in its current form was revived some 46 years ago. The highlight of this is “offal” especially tripe and things like blood sausages, (boudin noir - black pudding), andoullietes (tripe sausages) and duck hearts.

For more on the topic of Butchery in Limoges go here: 

www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/05/the-proud-history-of-butchery-in-limoges.html

Three happy merrymakers!

Tucking in - Boudin Noir in a Baguette ...yum!

I loved the duck hearts and the boudin noir with chestnuts but have to admit that the tripe sausages had a smell rather too reminiscent of diarrhoea and thus not a pleasant experience – what one would call an acquired taste! 

The tripe sausage - innards exposed! An experience.

Possibly the worst band I have ever heard.

However it was great to experience the “merrymaking” with local beers and ciders and be part of a Limousin tradition. On average 40,000 people attend the fair held in just two small streets from nine in the morning until two the following morning. Making merry in honour of St. Aurelian, patron saint of butchers on the 3^rd Friday of October for hundreds of years!

Sunday also had the surprise of my first “Vit Grenier” (clear your attic) – a French car boot sale. Have to say I have never seen so much junk being sold alongside a cider festival (Limousin is famous for its apples), but except for a wonderful display of ancient tractors altogether a rather underwhelming experience.

So back to the countryside and on the look-out for deer (welcome) wild boar (not welcome) and avoiding the crazy local hunt who are out an about every weekend. So far this year they (the hunt in france) have managed to shoot dead a cyclist wearing bright blue, as they tend to shoot first and think about what they shot afterwards. Not helped of course by hunting often after a very boozy lunch! I don't go into the woods at the weekends!

Very French

That's it for now, except to say that with the nights drawing in and the clocks goig back at the weekend it is time to get started with “Learn French with Alexa” downloaded from YouTube.

Saw this and was amused - it was in Tate Modern

Oh, and to enjoy some of the comestibles brought back from the UK .... and picked up at the market.

Suet, custard powder (for the anglers), spices, treacle and other goodies for autumnal cooking!

Finally,

I will shortly have to say goodbye to my mate Diesel, as he and his owner John will be returning to the UK for Deer management duties in Scotland.  He won't be able to take me out and let me play sticks with him!  ACTUALLY, Diesel is one of teh most disciplined and obedient dogs I have ever seen. He sees me as "the guyI play sticks with" but as soon as John (his owner) takes over he reverts to being the well trained Deer stalking dog he has been for the last 9 years. I look forward to him (and John) returning to La Ribiere in 2019.

Diesel the Hungarian Wirehaired Vizlar:  here offering me the chance to pick up the stick!

Bisou, Bisou.

Early autumn, due to lack of rain.

UPDATE:   see video of the bridge here:  https://www.facebook.com/KnowmadicMike/videos/10156230710545709/

Forgot to add this!!!! Completed on August 8th.  

Also forgot to mention my brief trip to UK to celebrate my 62nd birthday; many thanks to Andy for looking after me so splendidly.  No fotos to protect the innocent!

The last month or so has seen the sunshine continue and the ground look more and more parched. This has meant that some of the trees are already shedding their leaves and that the sweet chestnuts are not fat and juicy but rather pathetic. They should not be dropping from the trees until the start of October. So maybe my plans for a harvest of chestnuts and chestnut bread baking may have to be shelved. Lets see.

Scarecrows to frighten off the Otters (they are lit from behind at night) these will be placed at the inlet and outlet to the lake.

Fungi starting to appear.

Logs for strengthening the fences

Dead fir trees: my source of logs!

The hunting season started on Sunday 9^th September and so the priority has been (for me) to get the fence repairs done so that a) the hunt can't easily put their dogs in to the land and b) that wild boar do not enter. This has meant finding recently fallen trees to use as logs to protect the bottom of the fence or to fell trees if no dead ones available. The logs are then pinned to the fence with wire staples which all makes for some jolly back breaking work. But I so enjoy enjoy the solace of the wood and working carefully and safely alone as I make the repairs. I hope to have this task completed by October 3 (when I leave for a UK break). French hunters are mad!  So we try not to go in the woods on a Sunday when they hunt as they shoot first and work out what they have shot second!  And in the afternoon they seem to be somewhat inebriated! Not the best combination.

We had two weeks of solid catering including one where Heidi and I were cooking for 10 anglers as well as the family, John (the bailiff) and myself. And it is hard when you are presented with a couple of anglers who only eat meat and potatoes! Anything else being some kind of spawn of the devil!

In the midst of this I was also planning for the visit of my dear friend Andy. I wanted him to see La Ribiere (of course) but also something of France. It would be an adventure for us both as I have not seen anything more than Limoges other than Lidl in St. Junien! (Not that I am complaining!)

Limoges station: Benedictines.

Intrepid tourists!

Pont St. Etienne: Limoges

So I planned a three day circular trip, mainly in the Dordogne, taking in Brive -la- Galliarde, Rocamadour, Domme and Bergerac; about 500km, By happy chance I looked at a brochure and saw that the Gouffre de Padirac (chasm and caves) were just 8km from Rocamadour: spectacular. The whole trip was a revelation, empty roads, not many holiday makers, few children, reasonable food, nice hotels and good company (the best actually).

Dordogne Church; coffee stop!

Cheeky statue in Brive of Sisyphus. (Poor old Sisyphus, his eternal punishment to roll the large ball up a hill only for it to roll down again, and he having to start again. Pointless, but good for developing the glutes!)

Window in the church at Brive

Rocamadour (not my foto) as I didn't have my helicopter with me.

Looking down on village of Rocamadour from the Holy City!  St. Amadour is supposed to be buried here; he was discovered in a grave in 1199 since which time many miracles have happened and the village is place pilgrimage.

The path to the top is very SLEEPERY!

Not quite getting the hang of "selfies": Do I press here?

One of the very many chapels in the "holy city"

Hot air balloon  over the Roc!

The chasm opening; Grouffe de Padirac

Thankfully there are also lifts!

The mites go up and the tights come down!  So I remember from geography lessons 50 years ago!

An amazing experience involving walking 400m then a boat ride 500m and then a further 300m of caves then the return. Unhurried, well planned and not commercial. Most enjoyable.

Gate into Domme.

View over the Dordogne river.

Posing in Bergerac.

Traditional river boat for moving goods down the river.

Back here now for fence repairing, cooking and the usual mix of hard work and beautiful scenary until my break in the UK on October 3.

Foto post 2: 07 August. 2018.

Domaine de la Ribiere:  approx 80 acres.  40 wooded, 20 lake, 20 fields, grass and buildings etc.  Enough to keep us all busy!

To the north of the lake is an amazing place (my favourite). As you can see from the picture it consists of stands or blocks of different types of trees some of which had been coppiced in the past.  Sadly the previous owners of La Ribiere did nothing with any of the forested areas and they are in a diminished state, this will now a major project for me (and others).
Heidi and I are working on building up the B&B business expecially for next year and as part of that I am working on reopening some of the woodland pathways and making some new ones.  The task is to provide walks for visitors that will in no way interfere with the anglers. To facilitate this I am going to embarke on building a bridge to enable access to east end of the woods north of the lake. The northern side of the lake has a ditch running alongside it leaving a wide bank for the anglers to use, but this needs to be as undisturbed as possible as it affects the angling. So visitors have to be shifted to the woods above the lake. 
The lake is in a valley and all the wooded areas north and south slope down to it.
In the following picture:
WHITE =  the ditch seperating lake from woods on northern bank.
DARK BLUE = Anglers only paths
LIGHT BLUE - Existing paths
YELLOW = Recreated paths
PINK = Proposed paths

 I am thankful for a professional strimmer - requiring goggles, ear muffs and protective vest and gloves - and the amazing Honda self propelling mower to hack my way through undergrowth to uncover or create the pathways.

This is an ongoing project and will take time as you will see from teh following fotos that the woods need clearing to enable the paths. But I am trying to follow either pre-existing but overgrown pathways or those made by the deer or wild boar.  At the same time preserving the hideouts and "secret" areas where these animals hide, live, breed.


There is a just decernable path here, which needs to be cleared and signposted.

 Old piles of wood need to be left as they are an important habitat for insects, small mammals and reptiles.

 This area had been coppiced many years ago and now the dead wood needs to be extracted.

 In other areas the amount of dead wood and fallen trees and branches means many happy hours of clearing so that old avenues and paths become usable again. 












Bringing the wood back under "management" is important as contrary to popular opinion once managed a wood will not return to a natural state; if just left, it just becomes an unmanagemable wilderness that doesn't benefit the trees, the undergrowth or the wildlife.

 This glade is completely hidden, surrounded by a fir plantation and thickets of brambles. It is where the deer hide and feel safe.  It will be left untouched.

 In the glade an unexpected food source, a plum tree or rather a whole group of trees.

Another section of the wood is more natural, not previously managed with piles of stones and also a stream, and a "wallow" used by the deer and the boars. Again an area where things need to be left as untouched as possible.  Given that wild boar can be quite ferocious it is also important that they be left undisturbed.

The area near to where I am planning my bridge and stairway up the bank is an area of coppiced beech and hazel.

I have started to clear the area of fallen dead wood.  

 The branch shows the location of the bridge over an almost dry stream - in the winter this is more like a small river and almost three feet deep in water. The span of the bridge will be about 12- 14 feet and I hope about 18 inches wide.

 The bridge will be made from a few birch trees which are growing nearby with very straight trunks.  A job for the chain saw. Then a small flight of steps will be sunk into the rather steep bank again made from tree trunks.

I hope that a few vistas will be opened up so that the absolute beauty of the trees can be fully appreciated and also to give some vantage points to look over the lake without disturbing the anglers.

The lake looking east at sunrise.

La Ribiere is part of a national forest and as such it beauty needs to be preserved and enhanced so that its biodiversity is maintained and the flora and fauna can flourish. 

You can imagine just how happy this work makes me - a far cry from Waitrose! And good to know that I am doing work that frees David and Heidi up to concentrate on the anglers and the guests in the various accommodations. So that La Ribiere develops as a biodiverse and sustainable resource for years to come as well as being one of the best carp lakes in France.

Hopefully the next blog will feature the bridge building.  My culinary exploration continues and I hope to also write about this in the near future.

Finally,  the chickens are becoming remarkably friendly even occupying empty chairs at dinner.