Andy's Post - Phillipe, the birds, the bees and the fish

Today was an interesting day. First off, I went with Phillipe our neighbour to the Sanchez’s car dealership as part of getting the Porsche registered and fully legal in France. The car arrived from Dubai with a flat battery resulting in all the computers needing to have their codes cleared. M. Sanchez apparently has a Porsche 911 so of course he has the necessary tools to reconfigure the computers. However, first off, I need to replace the tyres (I knew this before leaving Dubai, but A, they are cheaper here. B, you can buy tyres here that suit the climate) The bottom line is I have tyres on order and once they are fitted the computers will be reset.

Ok that is a bit boring but who cares this is my story!!

This afternoon I was out by the front gate trying to work out how to landscape the entrance when I heard Phillipe say hi from his upper floor window. Françoise his wife had binoculars pressed to her face glancing towards the river Rognon, I should say lake Rognon as its banks have been breached and the farm land beyond flooded. They were both very excited by a flock of African migratory birds, I think Herons, gathered on the new shoreline. Even from my position about 1500 meters away these white birds are large! At a guess ,over a meter tall. Clearly, Françoise and Phillipe are thrilled by the presence of these birds.

A short while later Phillipe arrived at the front door having brought our “poubelle” rubbish bin in after collection and asked if I would like to accompany him down the road for a walk. With Bino’s in hand I assumed we were going for a closer look at the Herons.

It turned out that he had been asked to do something for the neighbour below us. They are not in residence and could not attend to their house after the rains.

I had no inkling about this place 300 meters away at the end of the road that runs past our maison down to the right. It has been rendered with a shitty stucco plaster and painted ochre (I’m being kind here). Nat and I had both thought it had been constructed in the 80’s with some degree of bad taste. There are 6 or 7 buildings starting with what was once a communal laundry house, (apparently there are two in the village I’m not sure at this point were the other is) The laundry is about 5 meters by 4 meters and contains a “tub” about 2/3’s the size and 50 cm deep. This place has been here for hundreds of years. It is such a shame about the rendering as the original stone work visible around the back of the house is a beautiful. 

The original building was a Moulin used for milling maize. The defunct water wheel has been removed by the current owner (much to the disgust of Phillipe who has a profound respect for the local history). Beyond were the wheel once stood is a large pond covering about 1000 square meters. The river runs down into it from the forest. The overflow from the pond runs through the narrow gap created by the absent wheel down to the Rognon. The pond is full of carp. I could see dozens of small fingerlings in the murky water swimming amongst larger fish some easily up to 70 + cm in length. The reason for Phillipe’s visit it seems, was to clear debris from a grill at the downstream end of the pond.

On the walk back home, we passed a builder who had suddenly appeared and was busy repairing the roof of the building next to the laundry. After a brief chat, Phillipe introduced me as his friend, the guy who lives in the first house up the road and drives a Porsche.

At the top of the road just outside our maison Phillipe told me that the road/ track that veered away to our right had been in use since Roman times, used as an access the river. It just happens to also align with a migratory route of bees.

He told me he has some photos to show me  of the Castle that used to exist on the grounds of the Chateau and of a subterranean tunnel that ran between the two. I look forward to that as I am intrigued by the history of this tiny village that has existed in some form or other for over a thousand years.

To top it off we were visited by 3 pairs of Dassault Rafale from Saint Dizier on a low level NavEx (less than 500 ft agl at 420 knots). Nothing unusual in that except that due to a clear visibility and a nice mid-level cloud cover we could see them easily for a change. They passed within 500 meters of us in a 90-degree left bank having crossed the “Lake” essentially following the line of the old Roman road past just to the north of our maison over the old Moulin heading back to Saint Dizier. A stirring sight and an unforgettable sound.