LIEURAC

2011-02-13T13:00:00.001-08:00

There was a call to arms last week as the government is threatening to close one of the teaching posts in the valley. There are several one class schools in the valley, one per village. In the mornings and afternoons the little minibuses go back and forth taking the children from the different villages to the village in which for this year they will go to school. This arrangement has helped rejuvenate the villages, attracting young families who not only want to bring their children up in the country but also enable them to go to small schools, where parental participation part of the course. Old houses have been renovated and nearly every village has a crop of new houses.
The response was strong with over 300 people turning up on a sunny Saturday morning. There was a full compliment of mayors complete with sashes and the sun-powered public address system was kindly lent by the local band. Optimism was high and arrangements were made to demonstrate in Foix next week, with a curt reminder to not forget your picnic!

Orchids and Company

2009-05-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Walked up the valley behind Taychel on Sunday (3rd May) a little too early for the full orchid show but spotted a few none the less.
The first to catch our eye was not an orchid but a broomrape, its curious chlorophyll-less display makes one uneasily feel as though you are looking at something very old. Apparently it is a parasite.. perhaps of the broom plant?

The next neat little beauty is a burnt orchid, petit and perfect.

Left is a man orchid, a yellow one. Up on the hill opposite the house there are also red ones. Well with red 'men', the little creatures with arms and legs dangling from each floret.

This is an early bee orchid I think, whatever its name it is such an harmonious plant to look at, art in nature.

Then we had a surprise, flitting about above the meadows where we found the orchids and only there, were these little cropped dragonflies which we had not seen before. They are about an inch across and there were only about a dozen of them in all. Anyone else know what they are? The camera finally caught one resting and only then could we see that the ragged yellow wings where in fact yellow painted lace and the flashing body a fierce golden mask and armour to discourage predators.

If you go down to the woods today!

2009-04-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

While walking in the woods on the northside of the valley between Lieurac and Le Sautel we came upon this incredible sight. Actually 3 of us walked over it and would have missed it altogether if our sharp eyed son had not spotted it.
A moving chain of caterpillars about 6 - 7 meters long in all. Slowly crawling up the hillside nose to tail in a continuous chain.
Some of them we had unwittingly stepped upon and the chain was broken where the caterpillars were injured. We carefully removed the injured ones and put them out of their misery and joined up the chain again by putting the next caterpillars in contact with the preceeding ones and off the living chain went again.
The video above seems a little faster than they were actually moving but it gives a general impression of what was happening.
None of us had ever seen or heard of anything like this before.. comments will be most welcome.

Février

2009-02-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

Winter comes slowly to our valley, protected as we are by the fold of the Plantaurels between us and the mountains.
The outlines of the trees slowly emerge as the leaves gently fall and by Christmas the woods are a mosaic of olives, purples and browns. Once more the picturesque église at Carla de Roquefort can be seen up the valley, nestling in the shelter on the hills.

The valley of the Douctouyre connects the villages along its route, not only geographically but also socially. The valley shares its schools, each village hosting a class and sharing in the ferrying of the children from one village to another. It is like an extended small school system and is is attracting young families back to live in the country.

Along the secluded banks of the river in the summer, kingfishers flash and children and adults alike splash in its rocky shallows and cool off in its refreshing pools.
But in the winter, the river roars after heavy rain, tumbling away the arches and serpent at le jardin extraordinaire, wiping the slate clean for the coming year. It spills over into the fields adding another dimension to our landscape, back lighting the forms of the trees and reflecting the strong winter sun to dazzle and delight.

And from mid January the little snow drops begin to appear, first in small clumps and finally in shining carpets of green and white.
Delighting the eye and whispering gently that spring is not far away.

Le Jardin Extraordinaire

2008-09-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

For several years the association Artchaum has held an artistic event on the first week-end in September in a very special garden in Lieurac.

This year they delighted us all with hidden treasures, moments of thought and stirring beauty.

Most of the sculptures have been built in situ in the last week out of natural materials found at hand. The serpent is created from stones, bamboo, water and the flower petals of the special sunflowers that tower over you as you walk through this thriving organic garden.

A big thank you and bravo to all those involved.

Mirepoix Flower Market

2008-05-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

Mirepoix is about 20 minutes drive from Lieurac, it has a thriving series of Markets and Festivals throughout the year.

The Flower Market is always on what used to be Whit Monday. This year it was very early, on the 12th May.

Flower growers of an Aladdin's cave of plants from near and far congregate in the open marketplace with their carefully nurtured wares.

From this man I bought a few Chocolate Cosmos plants in the hope that they would yield a different dye than those varieties already tried and tested.

As well as bedding plants there are all kinds of specialist plant growers like the woman selling these orchids.

All around under the couverts are antique stalls piled high with old linen, prints and furniture.

Then, just incase you want to do your normal market shopping the food and textile stalls are nestled in around the abbey.

2008-04-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

If you continue along the path to Sautel, you descend a little hill, and cross the river that runs from Manes. There at the river crossing is an old trough, now silted with earth and playing host to a few clumps of purple toothwort.

This beautiful old spout leads from the side of the trough. Presumably it was under here that the buckets were placed to fill them up for the days supply of water.

A few metres up the bank is a drystone hut which shelters the source from which the trough is filled,

The whole is a little jewel from the past to remind us that folks once had time for things other than work.

The Woodland Walk

2008-03-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

Every morning Fleur and me go for a three kilometre walk through the woods on the hillside opposite. The chemin in the photo goes right through the woods from La Sautel to Neylis.

The little lane has dry stone walls built above and below it to keep it secure on the woody incline. These walls are overgrown now with mosses, lichens and ferns and at the moment, purple and white violets and wood anemones snuggle down in their embrace. The lane has aged graciously and long may it last.

It was made long ago and carefully. There are walls in the woods on either side and a ancient cabin for the shepherds to stay in. Perhaps, once more the woods have encroached on fields cleared centuries ago. I do know that eighty years ago the woods grew right down to the road in the centre of the valley and that now they are being slowly cleared again. They have become overgrown with brambles and saplings. When I asked an old lady in the village why this was, she replied that it is because there are no longer any grand-parents who will keep watch over the sheep while they graze and clean the woods.

La Fibre va arrivée dans Votre Village!

2008-03-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

If you go to www.meteofrance.com you might be lucky and not only discover how the weather is with us but also catch the Orange advertisement that is announcing the arrival of La Fibre in Lieurac.

WE knew already! As usual we have more than our fair share of things. Best weather, loudest bells, most fibre!

In the Ariège it is almost a tradition to be late for appointments, but nowadays you don't even have to try that hard. No matter which way you turn the road is blocked by la Fibre laying processions.

They are creeping slowly over our roads and indeed through all the villages, all over France, in one great coup. They have laid their cables through Raissac, laying dust on the flourishing potager of the 80 year plus lady in the blue stripped pinafore, on through the new immaculately repaired subsidence at Saut de la Mule. Through Tanière, narrowly avoiding the three sheep dogs that inhabit the middle of the road and on to Rapi. Where they have momentarily paused before the ancient bridge. When they have finished all of France's main electricity cables will be underground! Voila.

The Church Bells- update

2008-03-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

That's it, you guessed right, the bells are working again. The morning after I returned from my marathon teaching stint in England, the trapdoor on the church roof was flung back and this minute figure swathed in overall blue climbed out on to the roof and started tinkering with our dear bells. By 3 p.m. there was a definite clang of cloche and news quickly spread that something was in the air. By 7 a.m. the next morning all was clear as the entire village of Lieurac was awakened by a familiar tolling, warning us that the bells were about to strike 7 fold and we should all be springing out of bed and preparing our petit déjeuner.

The big question now is whether or not the bells toll at night? However to date I can only verify that they strike at 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the rest is lost in oblivion!

The church bells

2007-12-18T01:12:00.000-08:00

We had hoped that they would be ringing for Noel, but it looks as though we are going to have yet another silent night. Normally the bells sound the hour and half hour twice during the day. Giving an extra jolly peal at 7 am and 7 pm just to make sure that everyone is awake or à table, as though anyone apart from les anglaises would miss either!

In the summer the villagers collected over

€ 1000, no mean feat for such a small village. Some of the old ladies gladly giving an equivalent of a weeks house-keeping in order to hear their beloved bells sound out again.

But the matter and the € 1000 is now in the hands of the church owners, The Church. and still the bells remain silent. Hopefully 2008 is not too old before the villagers of Lieurac experience once more what some have named the soul of the village.

Transhumance

2007-09-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

The local Transhumance fête took place last week-end on Sunday 23rd. September. It has grown a bit in the last few years, there are more sheep, more people walking and more people stopping at Le Sautel at lunch time to enjoy the communal repas. There were also a lot of people at the vide grenier, antique stalls very early in the morning. I managed to find some lovely old linen tea towels for use in the gite, then I had a quick breakfast of croissants and coffee ( it was after all Sunday) and then walked to meet the sheep , shepherds and really intense sheepdogs to escort them back to Lieurac, where we left them to walk the last kilometre to Le Sautel without the help of me and Fleur. ( She might , and the emphasis is on might, be a Border Colley, but she isn't focussed enough to become a sheepdog.) It will be interesting to see how this event continues into the future, as it has become very popular, although there are many more people enjoying the attractions put on by this amazingly sociable yet tiny village than there are herding the sheep.