Mothers Day

I opened another bottle of milk this morning. Milk is sterilized and then is kept unrefrigerated until the bottle is opened. Cream is purchased in a jar, also from the store shelves instead of a dairy case. It's the consistency of pudding so it doesn't have to be whipped before it can be added as a topping for desserts or mixed into something like beef stroganoff. 

 

Elisabeth called and will meet me at 1:45 in Cluny...the morning is mine so I took off in the BB for Fournieres and kept right on climbing to find the Grottes de Blanot. The parking lot was empty, but the views were spectacular.

Nearby I noticed logs at least twice as long as any I've ever seen in Vermont. Later I learned that this really isn't pine country, but the owner of this section of land grows pine trees to harvest for furniture and other building. There is some concern that the pines eventually harm the soil, but since the land is privately owned there isn't anything to be done about it.

I decided to follow the signs to the highest place, Mont St Romaine. I traveled through a forest that was also being harvested, but probably for wood that will be heating homes. I thought the way the forest gets cut was interesting. I haven't figured out why all underbrush is cleared away, but healthy trees are carefully left standing.

The views from Mont St Romain were also spectacular. On my way home I stopped the car to photograph Charolais cows because they were enjoying the sun right by the road.

As I passed through Fournieres again, I realized that a lavoir was on my left. There wasn't much water inside though the trough for animals was working just fine. The best part of Fournieres was discovering that there were roads beyond that go elsewhere,

                but I was heading home for lunch and then on to Cluny to see Marie-Annick and Lauryne who were still helping out at the lace exhibit. I was able to visit briefly with them before Elisabeth arrived and we took off for Berze la Ville to meet Maguite and Jacques.

After coffee...tisane, which is herbal tea, for me...and cookies, it was decided to go for a walk up Roche Coche...that hill in the distance...
                                                              

Before we began the climb, two buildings further up the road became points of interest. (see below)

 The building in back had once been used for ovens that cooked gypsum until it could be ground into plaster. Elisabeth knew the family that had owned the house in front. They had been convinced that the house was shifting and so they sold it. Other houses in the area have collapsed into the gypsum mines, but 30 years later this one is still standing.

 With the mention of gypsum ovens, I asked if Roche Coche had a white cross at the top. It does, and I realized that 6 years ago I photographed this hill from the bottom where Francis had shown me other gypsum ovens...but more about them later.

The hill across the way fascinated me because the top was so level. Jacques said these had been pushed upward by the Alps...

and below these cliffs the vineyards produce

white wine, whereas the vineyards of the rolling hills across the way (next picture) grow a mixture of white and red grapes.

The brown looking vineyards are the newer ones...grass hasn't yet grown up between the vines.

There was a time when the best wine would command the best price, but in these days that isn't always true...sometimes the price is determined by the best advertising.

Elisabeth said that Nicholas now has a horse he is training to work with him in his vineyards and that others are also turning to real horse-power.

 

Jacques was a fountain of information. I later learned he had been a French teacher and then a teacher of teachers. 

 

The Soane valley runs north and south. Years ago Julius Caesar wrote that he couldn't tell which way the river ran because the water moves so slowly.

The Romans liked to keep drink and food on each side of their army and here was the perfect area...wine on one side and chickens on the other. I haven't really gotten to chicken country yet.

 

Moving my gaze further to the right showed Sologny on the other side of the highway. Find the light brown road heading up the hill. About 3/4ths of the way up the hill is a light colored rectangle. That's the back wall of Francis' garage. His house can be seen just to the left of the garage!

(Finding details works best for people with computers that will enlarge the photos)
Looking down, but closer, there were 2 chateaux, one with a well kept garden behind it. These aren't open for the public to visit, but they were certainly interesting to view.

Once upon a time the owner of the gypsum mines lived in one of these chateaux.

Great to look at, but I wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping this much house clean. I would have liked to walk through this backyard though.

There was also a relatively new farm house. When the highway and tracks for the TGV, fast train, were built, the old farm house was in the way. He farmer ended up having to rearrange his farm and build a new house.

 If you look closely, there are a few Charolais cows in the field.


Below was also the main gypsum mine entrance and ovens. It didn't look quite as I remembered it. Jacque explained that they had continued to excavate the area and had unearthed more than expected. (I didn't put that picture in here because there is a closer look at the ovens in a picture further on in this post.)

 

 

Before we left Elisabeth found someone to take a picture of all of us.

 

 

 

 

Then, on our way off the hill, I noticed a beautiful ground cover with bright yellow flowers called lotier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Below is the picture of the gypsum foundry and ovens that we could see from the hill above...

At the gypsum foundry we saw the carts that had been used to bring the gypsum out. These would have been hauled by horses. (The carts are on the upper level at the left...one is filled with gypsum)

The stone walls in the foreground are what is left of the ovens that were not burning constantly. These ovens would be lit once or twice a week.

There was a big house a little ways up the hill that had once been for the foundry manager. Across the way the building that had been used for storing the ground gypsum/plaster had partially crumbled. It was then basically cut in half with an exterior wall built where the middle had been...

 ...It had been turned into a house and the elderly lady who had lived there has died and left it to her nephew. The town is hoping they can work something out so the house can once again be a part of this historical landmark.

 

The main oven was a huge lined hole with openings at the base where men would have been underground feeding the fire.I took this picture from the upper level...it's under the roof.

There was a map of the mines...they are a labyrinth.

Two dangers of working in those mines were a cave in and getting lost.

A hill was created from town garbage and the dirt removed in the excavations. They have ended the dumping so recently the local elementary school children planted the hill with trees. In every hole they also placed a bottle with a message. 

After this visit it was time to race home. Anne had invited me for dinner and I sure didn't want to miss that!

Sorry it has taken so long to get this post published, but the internet went down for a day, my Picasa program got screwed up, and it took time to get things working again. If you are reading this, it's because Dan at VTel chatted with me from Vermont in the USA to Blanot in France. Thank you, Dan!