These Cherries come to me via the kindness of my good friend J.
I have known FIVE generations of his family, and they are the closest thing to 'relatives' I have in France. J's wife even taught my two oldest children when they were at school here.
J is a farmer; these days concentrating on Sunflowers, Chestnuts, and Wood. He also has several holiday 'Gites'.
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Yesterday when picking the Cherries, I had a quick look around the main body of the farm, which is about 1 Km from our own house.
The big farmhouse is no longer occupied; his Mother died a few years ago, and no-one seems to want to move in, although they tend it lovingly. The barns are all used, and there are fruit and walnut trees everywhere.
I took these few photos showing how life used to be not so long ago, before Brussels got their hands on things. Firstly the old bread oven.
Next the family well, which was fed from rain from the roof of the house.
The old Pigsties. Not used for many years.
And lastly some of the buildings, including two wooden cladded Tobacco drying sheds; still used, but no longer for Tobacco. The building in the middle is the one with the bread oven behind, and was where all the dough-making, and food preservation took place.
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Fascinating pictures of a slower, simpler world which gets further away with each passing year.
ReplyDelete"Gite" - Isn't that what Alf Garnett often called his son-in-law in "Till Death Us Do Part"? He also called his wife a "silly moo".
Serious storm here last night. Girolles will be up soon, and maybe some Cepes in a week or so.
ReplyDeleteHow were the cherries? They look good.
ReplyDeleteThis was a second lot, the tree is groaning. They are delicious.
DeleteCherries look good and the geraniums have overwinter well.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be lucky with my Geraniums, they've been around for several years.
DeleteThere was no offensive language in my first comment... now gone down the spam drain.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they do that!!! I've just published some of the comments that went to 'spam'. My apologies.
DeleteThis farm setting is bucolic. The farm buildings built with stone are quite old and beautiful. I've never seen stone in farm buildings. They are commonly wood and sheet metal in the US.
ReplyDeleteEverything pre-1970-ish was built of stone here. Our own home is about 300 years old and stone. All the buildings above were in use up to about 20 years ago.
DeleteWow, what a great old farm, from back in the days when farming meant a very nearly self-sufficient life style for the family. No need for a supermarket nearby. I love the bread oven.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I remember the bread oven being used was to dry Prunes. The building is still used for bottling beans, tomatoes, etc. Until about 20 years ago they had vines, pigs, hens, geese, ducks, and of course cows. All have now gone.
DeleteBeautiful old buildings .... it's a shame that no one lives in the farmhouse any more. The cherries look amazing ..... I am so sad that we only seem to get the dark red ones now..... when I was a child we only got the yellow cherries which were far better. M&S sometimes have a week of yellow cherries but they cost an arm and a leg ! I'm not even sure if they still sell them even for that week anymore. XXXX
ReplyDeleteI have a yellow Cherry tree. They should be ready quite soon. I was told that the birds don't eat them because they think they're not ripe... total nonsense.
DeleteHow unfortunate that these beautiful places are disappearing.
ReplyDeleteThe Dutch now buy them to rear horses. It's not the same as it was.
DeleteYou have good neighbours. Cherries here are so expensive we haven't bought any yet. The photos are fascinating. The bread oven looks large. I can imagine the loaves that were baked
ReplyDeleteWe have a few wonderful neighbours who've we've known since we arrived here in 1972. It's the newcomers who are a pain-in-the-a*se.
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