23 April 2017

Babbling brooks and buttercups

dating back to the thirteenth century, the huge tower attributed possibly to the Knights Templar



"What are you writing about today?"

"Babbling brooks and buttercups?"

"For heaven’s sake woman ..."

It was an effort this morning to squeeze into the lycra and it would have been so easy to give the cycling a miss but once we got going it was great.  We cycled down Donkey Valley (down is always better than up) and it was a real pleasure pedalling alongside the babbling brook and seeing all the buttercups and cowslips.  We both glanced across the coypu field not really expecting to see anything but screeched to a stop when we saw Daddy Coypu bouncing across the meadow towards the river.  I know they are considered a pest but it was good to see last year’s family still in residence.

We cycled past Le Chateau de Sermet,  just visible high above the road through the trees.  In the height of summer it is totally obscured by the trees and you wouldn’t know it was there.  The chateau is privately owned but has an interesting history and was linked to a local French Resistance movement during the war.  I'm sure Cro will know more about this place than me.

We climbed the hill into the bastide town of Villefranche and stopped for a rest opposite the Mairie.  The town was busy today with people casting their vote for the French elections.  It’s anyone’s guess who will replace Monsieur Hollande.

Back home and a lazy Sunday pottering around the garden, eating, drinking and reading.  The good life.


18 comments:

  1. Had to look up coypu. It looks like a big version of a muskrat. Sounds like the perfect Sunday, Sue. -Jenn

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    1. They destroy the riverbanks but they're the closest thing we have to a beaver I guess. Yes, a bit like a muskrat.

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  2. So Villefranche is a bastide town? How come they don't believe in marriage there? I guess it's a bit like Swindon.

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    1. Are there a lot of unmarried people in Swindon? I didn't know that.

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  3. Why do you wear the lycra - it is clear that you are not out to break any speed records and require the wind resistance of the lycra. Can you not wear some nice brushed cotton shorts, easy to put on and easily washed out and put on the line to dry, and a tee shirt? This is what I would wear.

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    1. Once you get it on the lycra is incredibly comfortable to wear, plus it comes with special padding! And I need every help I can get with wind resistance. And I'm a bit of a poser!

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    2. Please post a picture of yourself in the lycra suit Sue... (sound of lascivious cackling).

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  4. Babbling brooks and buttercups - sounds like a perfect day to me ! These days I'm not sure I'd be up to the struggle to get into lycra - it was bad enough when I was younger and did aerobics.

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    1. The padding makes all the difference when you're sitting on a bike. The French take their cycling very seriously so you've got to look the part!

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  5. I`m all for looking the part. I change clothes at least three times a day, once for tennis, once for going to the store and once for slopping around the house!

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    1. I always change into something comfortable in the evenings and hope I don't get any unexpected visitors.

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  6. Just off to look up coypu. Your day sounds nice.

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    1. I had never seen one until we came to France.

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  7. When my friend Lucienne still owned Sermet we spent a lot of time up there. I also designed the Rose Garden in the front courtyard.

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    1. It looks like a big place. An interesting history I think.

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  8. We also have those Coypu (Nutria) that destroy our river banks here. They look like huge rats! They are not native of here but were introduced for the mink industry, then released into the environment; this is the story that goes around here.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. I think the same thing happened in the UK.

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