Working around the clock

He that has a good harvest must be content with a few thistles. ~ Spanish proverb.

Last weekend I went to the Comice Agricole in a nearby village. A simple affair with cows and horses, huge modern tractors and a few side stalls, all the locals had sat down at long tables and eaten lunch. I was there mainly to look at the Breton horses, and maybe photograph a few old tractor relics.

This year in Brittany a horse died on a beach overcome by fumes from rotting seaweed. It is shocking that the cause is almost certainly the use and abuse of spraying fields with chemicals. Brittany grows vast amounts of maize, mostly for animal feeds. The chemicals end up in the rivers and then of course the sea, hence this bizarre accident when the horse died.

Farming has changed, they now work into the night on enormous machines that thunder through the villages as late as 3.30am. When my Dad worked at harvest time the days were long but they finshed before darkness fell.

The French government has offered to help pay the bill to clean up the beaches, but prevention can be the only cure.

We are not content to harvest a few thistles, all must be eradicated but at what cost.

The Sharp Mechanical Thistle

Hobby Horse

With the recent credit munch (stolen from Henry the Dog)many people cannot afford to purchase organic, so what is the solution? Are those people who eat meat, or milk, or cheese consuming chemicals too, I think they are.

The French word for thistle is chardon (as in Chardonnay)

The French word for chemicals is chimique.

Counting the cost

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. ~Dick Cheney

Yesterday I went with a couple of friends to see two exhibitions. The first was an exhibition of many paintings all done with pastels. This was not an exhibition of local amateurs they were all of a very high standard. Now to make you really appreciate the pictures we were handed a ticket and had to vote for the best. Around and around we went, choosing was a difficult task, eventually I chose a large picture of three donkeys, if I could have bought one that was my favorite, maybe I should have chosen the ballerina, or the coiled rope?

Next we visited another modern building where we viewed many black and white pictures showing us sights of the town in years gone by. Many photographs of buildings destroyed due to the Allies bombing the town were on display for us.

An information plaque explained that a leaflet drop warning the townsfolk to leave the town hadn't hit its target but had showered the surrounding countryside, so many people in Fougeres died.

The entrance fee to both of these exhibitions was free, gratuit! However here is some free art on a local building.

Small details

Viva le coq

The glory of a former work place

Have you got any interesting factory buildings where you live?

A French word for surrounding is environnant.
A French word to point at a target is diriger.

Worlds End

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. ~Lou Erickson

I went to the end of the world and came back, well actually it was a two night stay over at a friends home in Finistere, the name in Latin means the end of the world. Brittany is called Breizh in the Breton language and Finistere is Penn-ar-Bed (The head of the world).

The landscape is very different over there, in fact at times it is difficult to see any landscape at all since it is obscured by thousands of trees, miles and miles of forest, I guess it makes a change from miles of maize fields.

The garden has several ponds some are very colourful.

A splash of colour

The garden has many large ornamental plants but also is home to many small bright summer flowers.

Sunshine bright

On the Sunday afternoon a BBQ was lit and people arrived for a pleasant and relaxing time in the lovely garden.

Some people met for the first time and sat around in the sunshine, others played in the shade by the water.

Hours of fun with New Friends

The French ~ To go and relax is se détendre
& To take to the shade is ombragé