Playing tourist

Every year our commune has a fête on the Assumption Day holiday. On the same day there is a méchoui held in nearyby Massignac. This year we opted to give the méchoui a try. (A méchoui is a traditional North African lamb roast that has been adopted in the French countryside.) The lambs were spit-roasted, then carried off to be carved for serving.

Because of the iffy weather, tents had been put up over the tables. This turned out to be a good idea, since the sky opened just before it was time to sit to eat, hurrying all the people to their seats. After the rain, the sky cleared and the weather was lovely. Throughout the afternoon there was a one-man accordian band playing on a dancefloor where people, young and old, danced between courses.

In the evening we went up to Mazerolles for the big fireworks display. The next morning Kaye went to help with the clean up (washing up after 230 diners) and stayed for the meal of leftovers and freshly made omelettes. Two big meals in two days. Kaye was sorry.

This week on Monday we toured two old water mills in the Montbron area. It was interesting to see the innards in comparison to Dutch windmills. The newer mill of the two we visited was a working mill up until 1960, and was full of belts and gears to to drive machinery. In the "modern" set-up, the grain was ground by a rather small, cylindrial grindstone, then carried in small buckets up (housed in the square wooden tubes) to a sifter on the floor above. The flour was sifted out and the remaining grain carried back down to another mill and ground again, making the up and down trip through a total of five milling machines. These mills are still working, but are only started up twice a year. We hope to make another visit to see one in action.

The next day we road in a calèche (a small covered wagon) pulled by two horses, Lancelot and Galahad, into the vineyards above the cave at St. Sornin.

We were met by one of the growers from the coop who led us taste the gamay, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon grapes, and explained about the process of growing and picking the grapes. Picking will start in earnest next week, about a week and a half ahead of the norm. Most of the grapes are machine-picked, although we saw a group hand-picking in one of the vineyards. (Their picture was in the paper the next morning.)

This was a very interesting visit, a complement to the tour and wine-tasting we did at the cave in May.

At bedtime one evening last week Ed found an emerald green grasshopper (or katydid?) by the bed and escorted it out the window. The next evening, it (of course it was the same one!) reappeared on the bedroom ceiling. It was gone the next day and hasn't reappeared since.

Kitchen mystery solved: After the second night, we found the discriminating Figalou-eater in our live trap, a cute lady mouse. Ed released her at the far end of the South Forty without taking a photo. So far she hasn't found her way back to us.