Yes, we have finally had our first frosts. I have a dim memory of this week back in perhaps 1969 or so when it snowed, and I also remember trying to drive through Flers in Normandy and negotiating drifts six inches deep, so it shouldn't be surprising that we have had two white frosts now. Of course the cold makes everything very clear and crisp as we settle into a winter anticyclone. That can make taking photographs a bit tricky. This one of the turret on the back of the chateau in Baugé came out very nicely.
It was rather more difficult to get a decent shot of this hidden piece of the old town wall and turret, not least as I was down a narrow lane, with little room for manoeuvre. The contrast with the light is really too harsh.
The weather brings out magnificent sunsets but they bring their own challenges when taking photos - this one worked OK.
The crisp clear air and frost makes it much easier to see the nests of the vile pine processionary caterpillar - last year we didn't have many, but this year this poor tree is riddled with them. I now need to invest in attracting great tits to the garden as they are the only predator that will take the revolting things on. I am anti pine processionaries as I am sensitive to their spines, while they can do really nasty things to cats and dogs. They are a non-native invasive species, brought in with lumber in the past and have spread across the country.
The frosts have finally done for the cristophine vine, and it now looks very sad and ugly. We will have to unpick it from the frame and compost all that vegetable material, and then feed up the area with manure and organic matter, as the frame is too solid to move to a different spot for next year. John cut out the last large fruit yesterday, which had got itself well integrated into the netting and had started to sprout. It will likely be the parent of next year's vine, although there is a spare if needed.
With the autumn and the very short days, farmers are more limited in what they can do - although I have seen quite a bit of twilight ploughing going on recently. But give a French farmer a bit of thinking time, and their thoughts turn to their grievances and how to get their message across effectively. Sometimes it's calendars with scantily clad peasants, sometimes it is taking large piles of lettuce and setting fire to them (never entirely sure how that works), sometimes it is dumping large piles of manure in supermarket parking areas (and removing every last trace at the end of the day as it is too good to waste), or spraying slurry on things. This year, protests have taken a new turn, literally. They are out in the evenings turning village signs upside down. It is done carefully, and the markers are still there and easy to see (the village name sign is the start of the 50kmph limit for built up areas, so it is important), but they are upside down.
The argument is that French agricultural policy is upside down as the constraints put on local farmers are such that their products are more expensive than cheap imports from countries without limitations on the use of chemicals, fertilisers, a lower minimum wage for seasonal workers, lower husbandry standards, etc and while people say they want farmers to work to these high standards, they are not prepared to pay the extra so that the farmers can live from their work. So they want a land free of pesticides, but won't pay the necessary premium for organic produce. They have a point - Solidarity!!
Well, it is jolly cold in the non-heated extremities of the house, so I am going to call it a day and head for the fireside. Rebus the kitten is doing well, is a bundle of energy and is going through the rather annoying teething stage - my hands are taking the brunt of it at the moment. It won't last - or that's what I tell myself.
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