August 2017

Pyrale

AUGUST 2017 (août)

Sliding into fall. August has been hot. Many days in the 90's, and humid at the same time. And the odd thing, although humid we are actually in a drought crisis. It has not rained hardly at all in two months.

Hey it is raining today - and fall,  after 90 degrees yesterday, today we might get a high of  65!

I did not get out much this month (fair weather hiker). Stayed inside and tried to organize some photos. The operative word here is TRIED. Still a long way to go.

( when news around the world is frustrating or depressing, turn and look at what is happening in your "backyard")

Wonder what the photo "pyrale" is about? It is a butterfly that is invading France. It is now here in the Côte-D'Or. It kills the bush called boxwood (in french "buis"). They swarm in like a plague. In the upper part of Gevrey people have their houses covered with the pyrales. And why is this significant and I am putting it in my Blog? The Reserve Naturale Combe Lavaux is known for its' boxwood. It grows wild and is a significant part of the greenery of the Combe Lavaux. The combe is about 500m west of Gevrey, a place I spend a lot of time hiking through. Have to see how much gets destroyed.

It is time for the vendanges (grape harvest). It is usually around the 20th of September (on average), but due to the unusual weather this year, it is starting this week. Grapes are plump and numerous. Although there was the frost 22nd of April, the fires that they burned here saved the grapes ( I think Chablis was hit hard, and some regions south). There has not been a hail storm yet, so after 4 years of disasters, this may be a good harvest. Fingers crossed.

There were a couple days that were not too hot. I ran up to the Haute Côte to take a few photos of two villages, Urcy and Chamboeuf.

URCY_Artist owns this house

Urcy_A Lavoir -usually has a spring of fresh water. 

Inside the Lavoir- a place to wash cloths. The basin holds water
(but dry now with the drought)
and one would kneel at the side and wash cloths

in the fields by Urcy

Urcy belle vue

the church of Urcy

On to Chamboeuf

Chamboeuf _horse pasture

Chambouef from above

Chamboeuf _church and mayors office

After climbing up to take the photo of the village from above
I sat on the bench, it is  there to sit on and to enjoy the scenic view.

Then one morning before the heat climbed too high (22nd of Sept), we went to see the art show in the stone quarry of Villars -Fontaine (limestone quarry). The paintings are on the wall of the quarry.

First photo to get a perspective of the size of the paintings

Still painting, artists worked the whole week on
their paintings

They were also making plaster castings of people (actually wrapped one in plaster, photo below). We did not volunteer! The casts were then put on display. I presume people (victims) picked a pose and theme?

there were about 100 when we went on Tuesday. Wonder
how many by Sunday when they closed the exposition

casting this young lady in plaster!

France has a celebration of heritage (patrimoine) during the month of September. It is called the "Journée du Patrimoine"  and this year it is the weekend of  16th and 17th of Sept. For Gevrey we are preparing a small exposition of the different kinds of "patrimoine".  We are preparing charts on Architecture, Industriel (old comapnies of Gevrey), Nature (the Combe Lavaux has a mushroom and flower unique to the area), Stone cutting, Music (songs of Gevrey), Source (springs) of water, Caves (grottes), Vines, Michelin road signs, and the old railroad called Tacot. Need to get these ready by the 15th!! So I will be busy next week.

Keith, not much to report. He had a good ride out west and returned the first week of the month. Then he had to document it all, and write his journals in Crazy guy on a bike.(https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/search/?main_type=journals&docs=tocs&query=keith+klein).

One last photo! Since the family has moved and we are the official owners of the cat, I had taken a photo of the cat, Tim, to give to the family (especially the boy who was going to miss Tim). Have to say that Tim was not at all cooperative.

All this brings me to the end of the month. Like I said "It was a quiet week (month) here in Lake Gevrey"

Recipe of the Month

Salad with peaches (or nectarines)

I do not have much for you today. After all the hot days, I did very little cooking. So I will just give you one of my favorite salads.

Ingredients

• Lettuce
• Peaches sliced
• Pecans (I get a snack pack that is slightly salted)
• Vinaigrette
• Feta cheese crumbled

Preparation

Put your favorite salad lettuce in a bowl. Using avinaigrette ( I make my usual and add a little honey for just a touch of sweetness), toss the lettuce with a little. Add cut up peaches, cheese and pecans. Pour a little more vinaigrette over the top and serve.