Days on the Claise

Charnizay's Mass Dials

2026-04-30T09:00:00.000+02:00

Looking at the Charnizay canonical sundials

(which no longer function because they predate the big 15th century buttresses).

Sundials on the church at Charnizay.

On the south facing exterior wall of the church in Charnizay are the remnants of four canonical sundials (only one of them still clear). In English they are also known as mass dials or scratch dials, in French they are called cadrans canonials. The purpose of these is not for the general public to tell the time per se, but for the priest to know when to perform the daily cycle of services. They date from the Middle Ages, maybe the 12th century. They are semi-circles, divided into six, eight or twelve sectors and vary according to the season. When they were etched into the wall the church only had small buttresses, but nowadays the sundials are in the shade of more massive buttresses added in the 15th century.

The use of mass dials began in the 7th century and continued until the 14th century. The lines don't correspond to the hours of the day as we know them, but to liturgical times, seasonally and geographically adjusted. They are usually a semi-circle, with a hole for a wooden stick where the radiating hour lines intersect. The sticks are always long gone, but their function was to cast a shadow so you knew what the canonical time was. Many mass dial enthusiasts recount finding a small stick and putting it in the hole, almost like a reflex action.

In the 6th and 7th centuries every congregation had their own rites and the number of divisions on the first canonical dials varied. Around the 8th century the Rule of Saint Benedict established a standard set of seven ceremonies or 'hours'. They were Matins/Lauds (midnight/before dawn), Prime (sunrise), Terce, Sext (noon), None, Vespers (sunset), and Compline (end of the day). These canonical hours do not have a temporal hour number associated with them, as they vary according to the seasons.

The canonical dials are positioned at head height, usually near the entrance. On grander churches they may be carved with care, but more often, and on little rural churches, they are crude and difficult to distinguish from graffiti.

It was towards the end of the 7th century, under the influence of the Venerable Bede in England, that canonical dials became widespread. Monks from England, Scotland and Ireland disseminated the practice throughout Europe.

Canonical dials continued to be used right into the 16th century, but by the 14th century the bigger churches and cathedrals started using clocks and the mass dials were slowly abandoned except in small rural churches.

There are around 1500 canonical dials still visible in France, mainly in Normandy, the Touraine and Charente, and in monasteries associated with the Camino de Santiago (Fr. chemin de Compostelle).

A Walk on the Eperon Barre de Murat

2026-04-28T09:00:00.001+02:00

The Eperon Barré de Murat is a ridge of limestone (Fr. tuffeau jaune) topped by a plateau at about 120 metres above sea level. This site, frequented by Mankind since the Neolithic was formed by the confluence of the valleys of the Brignon and the Larçon. It is a well known site for wild orchids and the habitat they require is maintained by a flying flock (Fr. troupeau itinerant) of grazing sheep. The calcareous grasslands shelter a number of insects, such as cicadas (Fr. cigales) and the Large Blue butterfly (Fr. papillon Azuré du serpolet) which require dry sunny places.

Tassel Hyacinth Muscari comosum (Fr. Muscari à toupet).

Two ancient defensive walls, called a vallum, are still visible at the narrow end of the site. They served to protect and 'bar' access to a prehistoric settlement.

There were lots of caterpillars of the localised and increasingly rare Small Eggar moth Eriogaster lanestris (in French the caterpillars are called la Laineuse du cerisier).

The site is managed by the Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels Centre Val de Loire.

Small Heath butterfly Coenonympha pamphilus (Fr. Procris).

Earlier this month Simon and I did the 3.5 km circuit around the site so I could check the progress of the orchid flowering season. It was a hot sunny day in the mid-twenties temperature wise, and about half the walk is not shaded. Just to warn you -- this is a hot site much of the year, so take water to drink. We took about an hour to get around and saw 5 species of orchid in flower. Unbeknownst to me, my friend François, who is an ecologist for the Conservatoire, was also there that day. He bagged an extra species of orchid, damn him...

Downy Oak Quercus pubescens (Fr. Chêne pubescent).

Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea (Fr. Orchis pourpre).

View looking north-east from the vallum.

Violet Fritillary Boloria dia (Fr. Petite violette).

Narrow-leaved Helleborine Cephalanthera longifolia (Fr. Céphalanthère à feuilles étroites).

The uncommon Green-underside Blue butterfly Glaucopsyche alexis (Fr. Azuré des cytises).

A number of Early Spider Orchids Ophrys sphegodes (Fr. Ophrys araignée) lurking about in the grass.

Further Reading: https://espacesnaturels.touraine.fr/eperon-de-murat.html (page for the nature reserve, in French).

What to do About a Swarm of Honey Bees

2026-04-27T09:00:00.016+02:00

The answer is short and simple: contact a beekeeper immediately and they will come and collect the swarm. A beekeeper in France is an apiculteur. You can find contact details for dozens in your area by doing a simple internet search.

The sooner they are collected the better, for their own well-being, and for yours. If they are collected promptly it protects them from being caught out in bad weather (cold and/or wet), which is not uncommon in spring. It also gives them less time to become settled in an inappropriate new home, like your chimney or behind your shutters.

Swarming bees can sound and look alarming, but they are not really a threat to you. They are concentrating on protecting their queen, and finding a new home. Leave them alone and you will find that they will just peacefully attach themselves to a branch and hang there for some hours in a clump huddled around the queen to keep her warm. Scouts will come and go on their mission to find a new home and report back, but they can be safely ignored by you. Don't delay in calling a beekeeper to relocate the swarm though.

The second of two honey bee swarms I saw on 17 April this year. This one was on the Eperon Barré de Murat Nature Reserve where we walked that afternoon. The first was in our neighbour's garden, while we were having lunch in ours.

Honey bee colonies in the Touraine Loire Valley tend to be splitting up and on the move ie swarming from April to June. On Friday, coming back from the dentist, I drove into a swarm on the move between Ferrière Larçon and La Celle Guenand. A few unfortunately splatted on the windscreen. Somewhat disconcerting.

Fantastic Mr Fox

2026-04-24T09:00:00.001+02:00

Signs have gone up in the Forêt de Preuilly featuring a red fox, no doubt called Renard, who is instructing visitors to pack their rubbish out. There are no bins and Renard says 'Remportez vos déchets !'.

And in case you were wondering, the Roald Dahl story and later Wes Anderson movie Fantastic Mr Fox is called Fantastique Maître Renard in French.

Garlic

2026-04-22T09:00:00.002+02:00

Four weeks ago Susan blogged about our local garlic patch. It is now in bloom, and the smell is incredible.

The photo isn't the sharpest, but it does give you an idea of just how much wild garlic there is.

The Car Park at Chenonceau

2026-04-21T09:00:00.001+02:00

I'm sure I have written that title before, but hey-ho.

We were at Chenonceau last Saturday, and I was amazed to see that the car park has been completely reorganised. There is now a designated flow route, and the parking bays have been marked - with wooden logs so you can't ignore them. Luckily, my customary position is too hard to define that way, so it remains totally shaded, and available for random positioning, essential when you're driving a car with the turning circle of a Traction Avant.

It remains to be seen if it combats willful bad parking, and if the surface survives rain, but it's looking better without totally destroying the ambiance.

ANZAC Biscuits

2026-04-20T09:00:00.000+02:00

Since we are coming up to ANZAC Day, when Australians remember their war dead, on 25 April, I thought I would post a recipe for ANZAC biscuits today. These are delicious.

I copied the recipe from the back of a bag of flour, and it comes from the Country Women's Association, so it is the 'official' recipe. (In the UK the equivalent of the CWA is the Women's Institute, but I have no idea what the North American or French equivalents are.)

ANZAC Biscuits

Makes 50

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C and lightly grease oven trays.
Combine flour, sugar, rolled oats and coconut.
Melt butter and golden syrup.
Add bicarb to boiling water and mix into butter mixture.
Stir into the dry ingredients.
Form the dough into large marble sized balls and drop onto trays, allowing generous room for spreading.
Bake for 10 minutes until light golden brown.
Cool on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

PS. ANZAC Day usually more or less coincides with la journée de Souvenir des Déportés in France, which commemorates the French men and women who were deported as forced labour, interned or sent to concentration camps during the Second World War.

No Post Today

2026-04-17T09:00:00.002+02:00

...,.. unless you count this.

Tourtheloire.com is our new website. Same address new look.

At the end of seven day's work, the new website it's at the stage where I can let it rest a while as it is. To my eyes there's no glaring problems that need solving "this instant" and I'm happy with the look (but already nostalgic for the slightly home-brewed look we previously had).

Meanwhile, a photo of a sunset. For no particular reason.

Using AI for a project like this has been interesting: frustrating at times, because machines "think" differently. I used a fairly generic prompt (modernise this website) then when we got to the stage where I was happy with look I (eventually) discovered that it's best to make one change at a time. If I tried to improve too many things at once one of the previous changes got reverted.

Still. It's finished for now, and I don't have to spend 18 hours trying to make a machine mind read my latest thought.

Of course, if you see a glaring problem, please use the contact form (it's here) to let me know.

The New Website

2026-04-15T09:00:00.001+02:00

After 4 incredibly long days our new Loire Valley Time Travel website is online.

There are one or two little glitches I'm in the process of sorting out, but I think so far I'm happy. The website is here.

There's not a lot of other news, yesterday was a nice day so I sat in the garden a while, played some guitar, and fretted about the new website.

Today I hope we can have a little adventure.

Oops a Daisy!

2026-04-14T09:00:00.001+02:00

You may have noticed there was no post yesterday. We've been distracted.

I have been spending the past four days recoding the Loire Valley Time Travel website. It's been rather all consuming, me doing the coding, and Susan reading the results, offering advice, and keeping my liquid and food levels up.

Here's a sneak preview:

It's not yet ready to be put online, but I think we're close.

Springtime in the Forest

2026-04-10T09:00:00.002+02:00

It has now reached the stage where even the most recalcitrant trees in the forest are starting to show signs of spring. These photos were taken on Monday, before we we went to the farm to buy veggies.

Monday before buying veggies is a regular walk time for us, it works really well, as combining two activities in the course of one car journey makes sense - especially with fuel at 2€09.

In other news, I have been using AI to redesign our website. No news on that yet, but it's getting close.

First Visit to the Touraine (20th Anniversary)

2026-04-09T09:00:00.109+02:00

This is part two of our search for a house, exactly twenty years ago. After the disappointment of having the offer for a house we weren't sure about turned down, I was anxious to get back on that horse.

April 9–12, 2006

The second trip happened while Susan was in Australia visiting her parents. She was at Ayers Rock, and I decided that it was time to test the waters again. I rang my mate, Bryan the Artist, and asked if he was interested in a trip. This time we were going to Loches in Indre et Loire.

Bryan lives in Cockermouth (oop north), so we arranged that he would drive to Stansted Airport, and we would fly to Paris together, driving from there. The flights, hotel and car were booked – then the French Air Traffic Controllers went on strike and all flights were cancelled.

This was a problem, because Bryan had a meeting the next week he couldn't miss. Luckily a window opened, and we arranged to fly out on the Sunday and back on the Wednesday. This would allow us time to visit the market in Loches on Wednesday. Bryan was flying from Durham with BMI, and I was flying from Heathrow with BA.

Amazingly, both flights were on time, and we even managed to meet up in the agreed place. Car hired, we hotfooted it around Paris in the rush hour, spending a lot of time following a circus van carrying an alligator. We found a hotel in Amboise (eventually) where one or two beers were partaken of before bedtime.

The next day it was, as on the previous trip, a parade of uninspiring properties, albeit with some amazing views and interesting signs in between, including Valencay and a threatening set of clouds. Although we were getting fairly hungry for lunch (Monday and all the shops and restaurants being closed), we weren't tempted to have burgers.

Storm clouds near Valencay

I was pretty dispirited by the houses I had seen so far. There were places being advertised on the internet that looked promising, but once again they had been sold the day before I arrived in France.

It appears that some people arrive in the country and simply make an offer without any kind of survey. Susan and I had always intended to have any house we were really interested in surveyed properly before making an offer. We weren't going to buy somewhere on a whim only to find later it was structurally unsound – or needed a new roof.

Luckily, a good dinner and a digestif restored my faith, and the views of the chateau and old town of Loches are enough to restore anyone's spirit.

The House at St Jean de Sauves

Loches and our hotel

Angel Food at the Gerbe d'Or

Lettuces in Loches

On the way home we visited the gardens (well – the car park) at Chenonceaux, then retraced our route to Charles de Gaulle airport. Once again it was rush hour and it felt like we were going to miss every turn while trying to find somewhere to fill the car with fuel.

Absolute bedlam, and I vowed never again to fly into Paris. Bryan didn't miss his flight, although I'm not sure how, and I was four hours early for mine.

Simon

A lot has changed since this trip. The Gerbe d'Or has changed hands a couple of times before becoming Abore et Sens. "Our hotel" has also changed hands and reopened as “Le George”, and is much improved.

What hasn't changed is the market, which has become a not quite regular part of our lives. Susan received an email in the Northern Territory with the lettuce photo saying “we must live here”. It amused her then, and it's a story she still tells.

You may find the photos slightly disappointing – digital cameras weren't all they are now.

What the Heck is That?!

2026-04-08T09:00:00.003+02:00

Any minute now bizarre lumbering irridescent black beetles will be appearing in woods and grasslands in the Touraine Loire Valley. These are the ranunculus munching oil beetles. They like buttercups and wood anemones, which they eat so they can accumulate their toxins. It makes the beetles themselves toxic, and their larvae, which you might spot sitting on flowers, trying to hitch a lift on a bee. Once their ride has arrived they get transported into the bee's nest, and will feed on the pollen gathered by the bees for their own larvae.

Violet Oil Beetle. This one was photographed a few years ago at the Moulin de Malicorne in the Courtineau Valley.

Nine times out of ten they will be Violet Oil Beetle Meloe violaceus (Fr. Méloé violet). I know, I counted my records. But occasionally I will see a Black Oil Beetle Meloe proscarabeus (Fr. Méloé printanier). Their alternative name in French is 'enfle-boeuf' ('swollen beef'), because as ancient texts mention, if they are accidentally ingested by grazing animals the toxins in the beetle will cause the beast to swell up, possibly even to the point of death.

Black Oil Beetle. They are so similar to M. violaceus I usually have to ask for expert help to confirm the species.

Because they are parasites I sometimes get asked if we should kill oil beetles if we see them, to help the bees. My response is NO!! The presence of parasites is a good sign for the host. It means the population is sufficient to support parasites -- who are not out to kill the entire population, because that would be depriving them of their own food. Monitoring parasites can be a good way of extrapolating information about hosts. If both are in decline then that's a problem -- and that is the case with this pairing. In addition, you don't want to kill a native species going about its business. The higher the biodiversity ie the higher the number of species, the more stable the ecology is. Everything is linked, and specialist species like the oil beetles are the keys to a well functioning natural system.

Who Knew What the Wallpaper Would Tell Us?!

2026-04-07T09:00:00.008+02:00

The other day we had lunch at Restaurant l'Image, just around the corner from where we live. Sections of the wall in the bar are covered with old nicotine stained wallpaper. It features couples in military uniforms dating from at least a decade earlier than I estimate the wallpaper was printed. Mathieu, the owner, reckons the wallpaper is original to when the building first became a bar, hotel and restaurant in the 1880s. But apart from that he didn't know anything else about it.

'Infantry Regiment of the Line

Valor and Discipline

23rd Brigade'

So I decided to do a bit of research. A rummage through the online archive of the Musée du Papier Peint in Rixheim didn't reveal an exact match, but it was clear that stylistically the wallpaper dates from the 1880s or 90s.

'Regiment of the Imperial Guard

Cavalry

3rd Squadron quartered at Nevers

Company ?? the Emperor'

Members of this regiment are Elite Gendarmes, sarcastically nicknamed The Immortals by the rest of the army, because they rarely saw active combat. Their role is security for high-ranking officials and major towns (and today their equivalent is most visible internationally as the police* motor bike escort for the Tour de France cycle race and the Guard at the Elysée Palace, the official residence in Paris of the President of the Republic).

Then I discovered the Images d'Epinal, an enormous range of popular illustrations produced by a 19th century printing firm in Epinal. I'd never heard of them before, but they are iconic, collectible and easy to recognise. I've certainly seen them before without knowing they had a name. Their main output was postcards (and I assume, cigarette cards), but they did posters, illustrated stories and paper dolls too. They also spawned several imitators, so the wallpaper is 'in the style of' the original Images d'Epinal.

'The Emperor of the French Advance 27th Dragoon Regiment

Colonel the Duke of F?

Shining, youth, ?? '

One of their best known themes was military scenes and uniforms, particularly of the Napoleonic era. They helped spark a wave of patriotism and pride in the French military at several points during the 19th century. The soldiers in their illustrations were always depicted in immaculate and scrupulously correct uniforms, looking dashing and often performing heroic acts. The illustrations on this late 19th century wallpaper are deliberate nostalgia. But rather than being from the time of Napoleon I, they show military uniforms from the time of his nephew, Napoleon III, who reigned from 1852 to 1870. Romantically, the wallpaper shows couples - a male soldier, and a female cantinière, in their respective uniforms. In real life army regulations required that a cantinière was married to a soldier in the regiment that she served in.

You can see the nicotine staining very clearly in this photo.

Cantinières are combat auxiliaries associated with the French army for centuries up to the First World War. Mostly their role was unofficial, but their heyday was during the Second Empire, right at the time this wallpaper depicts. During that period they were an acknowleged part of a regiment, with a uniform and the right to march with the troops in parades. Their job was to provide sustenance, to make sure the soldiers were kept supplied with sufficient nutritious food to stay fighting fit. Unofficially they also provided nursing and first aid. They set up their tents (canteens) anywhere that their regiment was, including at the front line. As well as meals and drinks they might also provide other essentials such as stationery for writing home, tobacco, and just a nice warm friendly place to take a break, especially in the days when the regiment advanced rapidly and soldiers were forced to leave their personal tents behind.

Cantinières carried a tonnelet (small barrel) of brandy on a strap over their shoulder. This was their trademark and made them easily identifiable. They were business women, independent of their soldier husband, and undertook to buy and sell provisions as the regiment performed their military duties, either from barracks or on campaign. Some cantinieres carried muskets and were perfectly prepared to fight as well as cook.

These women became icons of popular culture, and from the mid-19th century, when brands and advertising in the modern sense were being invented, idealised cantinières were frequently deliberately associated with comestible products. This indicates that the public view of the cantinières was positive, the idea being that these women were experts in nutritious, wholesome victuals. Even so they were sometimes inauthentically depicted in advertising wearing long skirts and riding side saddle, in order to avoid any accusations of unladylike behaviour.

In modern times, if people have heard of cantinières, there is almost always the assumption that they were camp following prostitutes. However, there is no evidence that this was the case, and if they had been it is the sort of thing that would have been commented on at the time.

Further reading: The great expert on French cantinières is the American historian Thomas Cardoza, so if you are interested in the subject then seek out his book Intrepid Women.

Note that in English these women are generally referred to by the old French term for them which is vivandières. For practical purposes in French the two words are interchangeable, but the term vivandière may have been dropped because it was seen as being associated with the Ancien Regime (Bourbon rule) and the term cantinière is associated with the Napoleonic Empires.

*Yes, I know that the Police and the Gendarmes are two different organisations in France, but for practical purposes the Gendarmes act as the Police in anglophone countries would in this situation.

God's Feet

2026-04-06T09:00:00.022+02:00

There is Camembert and there is Camembert. Or more precisely there is Camembert and Camembert de Normandie. The poet and gourmet Léon-Paul Fargue, writing in the first half of the 20th century referred to 'Camembert, the cheese that smells like God's feet'. He was doubtless referring to good artisanal farmhouse Camembert, as industrial Camembert often smells of nothing at all.

Farmhouse Camembert that adheres to all the rules has to be 50% milk from Normande cows pastured in Normandy, unpasturised, made in Normandy (the départements of Orne, Manche, Calvados, Eure and Seine-Maritime), and created by carefully hand ladling the curd into the moulds to drain in four separate stages. To distinguish it from the ubiquitous industrial stuff, the artisanal cheese is called Camembert de Normandie and has an AOP. Some of the industrial producers where allowed to 'cheat' and label their product 'Fabriqué en Normandie' to fool consumers not paying attention, but this is no longer allowed.

Around 170 000 tonnes of Camembert is made in France, of which 100 000 tonnes comes from Normandy, and 10 000 tonnes is made from raw milk. It takes two litres of milk to make one Camembert cheese.

The cheese is named after a village in Orne, which is said to be where it was first made. The story goes that a priest from the Ile de France fleeing the Revolution was sheltered by a young dairymaid. To reward her he gave her the recipe for the Brie that his abbey made. In this new location, with different milk and different local fungi, Camembert was created. Camembert is made in much smaller rounds than Brie too. Brie is a cheese you buy triangles of, Camembert you buy whole. The downy white rind is a penicillin mutation, and has been favoured for commercial and aesthetic reasons. Customers are less attracted to the blotchy cheese that a standard penicillin would give.

To make the cheese the milk is semi-skimmed then innoculated. The gentle ladle by ladle filling of the moulds means that small air holes are present between the layers. This is a sign of quality. The moulds are allowed to drain for twenty hours then the cheeses are tipped out and coated with fungal spores and salt. They are left to mature for a minimum of 21 days.

The finished cheese will be a thick disk weighing 250 grams and with just 4% fat. The downy crust is lightly marked by the straw lined racks the cheese has been sitting on to ripen. The cheese should give a bit when pressed but should not run when cut (unlike Brie). Inside it should be pale yellow, sometimes with a white streak through the middle. Camembert is often sold too young, and as a consequence can have an unappealing flouriness.

It is sold in wooden boxes, an idea the producers adopted from Mont d'Or, which enabled the cheese to be shipped to the big city markets, especially Paris, on the train and arrive in perfect condition in the 19th century. As a consequence, Camembert has become ubiquitous in France.

It's good to eat all year round, although apparently real gourmets spurn Camembert made in the spring. Traditionally it is eaten with the famous reds of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Bulbs in the Courtyard

2026-04-02T09:00:00.009+02:00

Back in September last year we started cleaning up the front courtyard after a couple of years of neglect. The cobbled surface was weeded, as were a number of pots and planters, and we removed a frame which I had put in for a passionfruit to climb over.

Unfortunately, we were unable to sufficiently water the previous planting due to a continuing drought, which was very dispiriting. Everything except one very persistent tulip died.

However, I have dipped my toes into gardening again, and in November I planted some bulbs and added some compost.

I'm pleased with the results.

A New and Unnecessary Garden Bed

2026-04-01T09:00:00.001+02:00

I am dismayed to see that part of the nature strip near the médiathèque has been dug up and planted with garden plants that, whilst certainly eye-catching, are rather ordinary.

Lovely pocket of wild bee and orchid friendly habitat on the left. Banal bed of primulas on the right.

This area, along with the public park containing the chapel and the space behind the médiathèque, is a veritable treasure trove of natural biodiversity! It is teeming with native plant species, fungi and wild pollinators nesting in the ground, perfectly adapted to this dry, gravelly and compacted soil. Some of these species are uncommon, others even rare, and at least one, although it thrives here, is globally threatened.

These green spaces, left to minimal management, contribute enormously to Preuilly’s environmental well-being. They do not contribute as much if they are disturbed by earthworks and alterations.

Autumn Lady's Tresses leaf rosette, low profile enough to be safe from the mower, but the flower spike never survives to set seed.

Do you think a nature-loving tourist will be more impressed by the four species of wild orchids they can see near the médiathèque, or by a few primula they could grow in their own garden at home?

But these areas are mowed far too often by the local council. Every year, I look forward to seeing certain specific species and I tell my friends to come and look, only to find the special plants have been mowed off in their prime the day before.

The offending flower bed, plonked right over the spot where the Ivy Bees and Sand Wasps nest.

I have written about these wonderful little wild spots on several occasions, and here is a link to give you an idea.

Further reading:

Biodiversity at the Bibliotheque https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2021/09/biodiversity-at-bibliotheque.html

I've emailed the town hall to express my disgruntlement, and the new mayor has responded saying she would be delighted to meet to discuss. So now I've emailed my retired ecologist friend who lives in town to see if he would be willing to accompany me to a meeting. I'd like to get the discussion extended to the cemetery too. It could certainly do with some 'greening'.

Smoky Polypore

2026-03-31T09:00:00.001+02:00

Smoky Polypore Bjerkandera adusta (Fr. Polypore brûlé) is a grey-brown velvety bracket fungus with a white edge. The white underside has tiny pores, which become grey with age.

Smoky Polypore brackets on a birch trunk that has snapped in the wind, in the Forest of Preuilly, February 2026.

It grows in crowded groups layered above and below one another, and overlapping, on stumps and trunks of dead or living trees, usually deciduous species, but sometimes conifers.

Resupinate Smoky Polypore on a chestnut firewood log, February 2026.

It can be resupinate (with its back stuck to the wood like a scab and the fertile surface uppermost) or as brackets (with the fertile surface facing downwards and the mushrooms only attached by one edge). The resupinate versions can be more difficult to identify as there are a couple of other mushrooms that look similar. The brackets can be mistaken for the somewhat more abundant Turkey Tail Trametes versicolor.

Apero

2026-03-30T09:00:00.056+02:00

Apéro. It's a legendary part of the French lifestyle.

Want to feel embedded in la France Profonde ? Here's what you should be drinking at apéro in the late afternoon/early evening, before dinner...

If you are young it's easy. Beer. Doesn't matter what sort.

If you are, say, 50 or over, and middle class, Suze or Lillet is a good choice. Bitter orange flavour. To read my previous post about Lillet click on this link: https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2023/09/lillet-makes-comeback.html

Pineau des Charentes covers all the bases, especially in the south west where it is made. Favoured by women, and is a bit like sherry. To read my previous post about Pineau des Charentes click on this link: https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2012/01/pineau.html

Pastis is mainly drunk by older blokes. It's aniseed flavoured.

You could also choose half and half white wine and limonade known as a vin limé (note that limonade is not lemonade). Or a kir which is white wine with a dash of the blackcurrant liqueur called cassis. A kir royale is with sparkling wine and a kir cardinal is with red wine.

If like me you opt for alcohol free these days you can try some nice herbal non-alcoholic vermouth with tonic. Or for a more traditional drink, a diabolo. This is sparkling water with a fruit or herb flavoured syrup. The national favourite is mint (menthe). Everyone from old men to small children drink this. I go for strawberry. To read my previous post about Diabolos click on this link: https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2023/02/diabolo.html

I'm a fan of citron pressé too (fresh lemon juice with sugar and water) but I rarely see it offered any more. It disappeared about a decade ago.

Scalewort

2026-03-27T09:00:00.020+01:00

Scaleworts Frullania spp are a genus of lobed liverworts, also known as hepatics, which are sort of primitive mosses. They grow on rocks and smooth tree bark, feeding off the minerals which are brought by water flowing down their rock or tree trunk. The organism attaches itself to a substrate and forms a lacy disk. The tiny 2 mm square leaves fold back on themselves and look a bit like liver, hence the term hepatic. The presence of scalewort indicates an acid soil or substrate.

Scaleworts can cause allergies and they contain substances that can give dermatitis or contact eczema popularly known as 'maladie des bûcherons' (forester's disease). For the susceptible it results in very itchy patches where bare skin has touched the scalewort.

There are many species, all very difficult to tell apart. The ones in these photos might be Dilated Scalewort Frullania dilitata.

Broad-headed Bug

2026-03-26T09:00:00.001+01:00

The other day I had to evict this beast from the kitchen. Since it feeds on the seeds of members of the pea family I'm not sure how it ended up inside our house.

Being given a lift out the door.

Known as a Broad-headed Bug in English, or Camptope des genêts in French, the scientific name is Camptopus lateralis. They are quite abundant and I have encountered them before, on gorse at la Cabane, the Zone d'Interêt Ecologique, Faunistique et Floristique (ZNIEFF) that I monitor.

One I photographed a couple of years ago.

The distinguishing characters are a head that is broader than the pronotum, a white line through the head, four segments in the antennae, clear margins on the sides, enlarged and spiny hind femurs, very curved hind tibiae, a tiny white dot at the apex of the pronotum (thorax) and the scutellum (body part next to the thorax and over the base of the abdomen), and an overall reddish brown coloration. They are about 12 mm long.

Early Spring Forest Walk

2026-03-25T09:00:00.001+01:00

On 9 March Simon, Dotty and I did a 2 kilometre circuit in the Forêt de Preuilly. The Wild Cherries Prunus avium (Fr. Merisier) had just come into flower but I didn't get a decent photo. And the wild garlic, known as Ramsons in English, was covering a huge swath of understorey around the damp confluence of the Sauvaget and another small stream that both rise in the forest.

Blackthorn Prunus spinosa (Fr. Prunellier) blossom.

There were lots of these White Asphodel Asphodelus albus (Fr. Asphodèle blanc) leaf rosettes which had simply punched their way through the dead leaves from autumn.

A White Asphodel just coming into flower.

Ramsons Allium ursinum (Fr. Ail des ours) as far as the eye can see. I foraged a dozen leaves to have with soft fresh local goats cheese.

Ramsons growing on the stump of a fallen tree.

Wood Anemones Anemonoides nemorosa (Fr. Anemone sylvie), a sign of a stable, biodiverse, long established woodland habitat.

Wood Anemone.

Spanish Slug Arion vulgaris (Fr. Loche méridionale), a species with an undeserved bad reputation, due to several misunderstandings of its behaviour and origins.

Les Loches

2026-03-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

Loches is the name of our nearest town of any size (population 7000). Although the etymology of the town name is the same as the Gallic 'loch' or 'lough', in French the word unfortunately can also mean 'slug' (and various somewhat rude body parts if you are being vulgar...). But I take the view that Loches can be proud of its slugs. It's got some doozies, presented here in descending size order. All are over 10 cm.

Ash Black Slug Limax cinereoniger (Fr. Grande Limace). They live in the forests and can be all black like this one...

...or stripey like this one.

Leopard Slug Limax maximus (Fr. Limace léopard). They live outdoors in urban areas.

Red Slug Arion rufus (Fr. Grande loche). They live in the forests.

They are our most abundant large slug.

Spanish Slug Arion vulgaris (Fr. loche méridionale), a species that varies a lot in colour, from dark brown to bright orange. Its English name is a result of confusion over the origin and identity of this species. Genetic studies show that the 'Spanish' Slug is very rare in Spain, but is native to north-west Europe (primarily France, Germany, Benelux).

Spanish Slug.

Dusky Slugs Arion subfuscus (Fr. loche roussâtre), a fairly abundant species throughout France. This photo shows how the juveniles are more strongly marked. Apparently the slime this species produces was the inspiration a few years ago for a new biomedical glue that adheres to both wet and dry surfaces.

Dusky Slug.

Cellar Slug Limacus flavus (Fr. Limace des caves). They live indoors in urban environments.

Unlike other slugs they are gregarious, so where you have one you are likely to have a whole family of them.

None of these slugs will be found in your veggie garden eating your seedlings. All of them are detritovores, eating decaying plants, fungi and the occasional bit of dead animal.

Ramsons and Cheese

2026-03-23T09:00:00.004+01:00

It's the season for foraging the wild garlic known as Ramsons in English. In French it is called 'ail des ours' (bear's garlic) and the scientific name, Allium ursinum reflects a similar idea. The plant is found in large colonies, in damp shady places such as alongside streams flowing through woods. It is one of the few wild plants that I have no qualms about people harvesting, as many locals use the same site I do, and there is clearly no damage to the numbers of plants or their environment being done. It is abundant and occurs in many places.

This year I took a dozen leaves and on the suggestion of a friend, chopped the Ramsons finely and combined with soft fresh locally produced goats cheese. This makes a good dip or spread. If you don't have access to good fresh goats cheese, well drained cottage cheese would do.

Be Careful 2

2026-03-20T09:00:00.067+01:00

There's yet another new stop sign in Preuilly sur Claise, and this one is also very sensible (see Be Careful, from December last year).

It's at the bottom of the marketplace, near l'Image. For as long as I can remember people have found the intersection confusing, with half the population insisting on their right of way, whilst the other half doesn't recognise it as a road and therefore having priority. Luckily no-one is moving at any great speed at that point.

The new stop sign is marked with a red dot.