Environmental sewage system!

Gravel is leveled out on top of the coarser layer beneath

Construction has begun on a reed-bed system to replace our aging septic tank. Shown is the large tank which will comprise the first of the two-phases of purification. Raw sewage will flow into this and filter through graded beds of gravel. Reeds will use the nutrients to grow. Excess water will flow out into a more naturalistic system of channels, planted with various types of vegetation, including the Robinia pseudoacacia which already grows there.

Reed bed with chateau behind

This large project takes our commitment to the environment forward in a big leap. Not only will we no longer need to have a septic tank regularly emptied by big truck; we will create a wildlife haven and we will be able to harvest and make use of the organic material that is fertilised by our waste.

Some of the shades of tomatoes

We are very keen to minimise our impact on the environment. We already took a big leap last year, with a commitment to buy only organic food. We have also, for many years already harvested vegetables from the garden each year, to supplement those that we buy. We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, mostly from our polytunnel. We continue to harvest squash, chard, lettuce, greens, courgette and have kale and cabbage for the winter. Unfortunately our current Gardener will soon be leaving, so if you are a passionate and skilled organic gardener, and would like to spend the next few years helping to take our vision forward, please get in touch.

All these apples came from just one tree!

Our staff campground is also an orchard, containing trees planted by us, and others that were here long before we arrived. Ralph and I spent some time harvesting one tree: I climbed and shook the branches and he picked up the fallen fruit. We took about 160 kilos from just one tree (see picture) and we will take it to a local cidrier to press for juice. If some accidentally turned to cider, we would have to deal with that...

Wildlife and wild life

I was contemplating writing an article about wildlife this morning, when John appeared and said "do you want to see a viper?" The facilities team had captured this small venomous snake in the Fire Puja Barn, which we are currently "taking down" amidst the Takedown of all the tents and summer facilities. The viper, or adder as we call them in the UK, was only about 20 cm long, dark grey, with a head bigger than the rest of the body, which is apparently distinctive, and pink markings on its neck. A couple of weeks ago a participant in a programme was actually bitten by a viper, although not on our land, I believe. She required hospitalisation. This is the first time it has happened here, as far as I know.

This year I have seen many creatures in the very biodiverse corner of the world that we live in. I have caught the occasional blue flash of a kingfisher on the river before, but I recently saw two flying close by, which was a breath-taking moment. The blue is intense, like that of a hummingbird or bluebird, and seems too exotic for France, somehow. On other river swimming visits (the Vienne is, we understand clean enough to swim in) I have seen swimming snakes, water voles, and even a beautiful crayfish, which was like a small lobster. The particular bend of the river on which we are situated is listed as a site of high biodiversity.

Once, walking along the old road running behind the office, my attention was caught by a flash of green. On looking closer, I was amazed to see what appeared to be a tree frog, complete with adhesive disks on its feet. This was another experience of "isn't that something from the tropics?" but wikipedia proved otherwise. I have never seen it again, but I took some nice pictures at the time. Perhaps the most exotic and rare creature that I have seen is the elusive genet. This lean cat-like creature is supposedly solitary and nocturnal, but I observed a pair of them walking around in daylight in Lageas, a nearby almost-deserted village.

Even without taking into account the larger creatures, the insect life here is startling enough. Almost every day I see bugs I've never observed before. I spent an evening chatting with a friend while the huge stag beetles blundered through the air around us, sounding like miniature helicopters. The larvae of these remarkable creatures spend some years chewing their way through decaying tree stumps before metamorphosing into these large beetles with huge "antlers". The adult form is not known to eat anything at all, and dies soon after either breeding, in the case of the male, or laying eggs in a treestump, in the case of the female. The hummingbird hawk-moth is another pretty extraordinary creature, it is neither hummingbird nor hawk, but a moth that strongly resembles a hummingbird. The hawk part of the name comes from the swift flight and hovering behaviour of this family of insects.