Country signs and scenes I

After the heavy rains of the weekend, Monday turned out to be a pleasant sunny day. Roselyne the Bread Lady said yesterday that she thought Monday's weather was too nice — with the sudden change to sun and warmth, she felt like she was coming down with a sore throat. It's good that today is her day off.

When you enter the forest, you have to watch out
for deer and other animals crossing the road.

Instead of taking Callie for her regular walk out in the vineyard, I decided to put her in the car for a ride out into the country and a walk out there. I know a place about 12 miles south of Saint-Aignan where there's a gravel lane that runs in a big loop off the paved road. There's no car traffic on it, so it's perfect for walking with a dog.

The Château de l'Estang is in the Forêt de Brouard near Orbigny.
It dates from the 16th century and is privately owned.

The lane I'm talking about is a hiking and biking path. Markings on the trees along the way keep the hikers and mountain bikers from taking a wrong turn and ending up down on the banks of an artificial lake, complete with dam and spillway, that is just off to the side through a little wood.

It's pretty clear that you're not supposed to walk down this path.

As everywhere, the ground is really soaked and spongy right now. Callie and I didn't end up walking as far as I had planned because a big puddle blocked the way and the mud around it was just too soft and squishy. We had to turn back.

Orbigny is less than 15 km from Saint-Aignan in
Touraine. Genillé is a village over closer to Loches.

The area I'm talking about is just at the southern end of the Forêt de Brouard, which forms a leafy barrier along the southwest side of Saint-Aignan, separating it from the small villages of Orbigny and Nouans-les-Fontaines. Those two villages are actually in a different département, the Indre-et-Loire, which is centered on the city of Tours. Our département, the Loir-et-Cher, is centered on the smaller city of Blois.

This old cart has seen better days, unfortunately.

The path we walk on also goes past two old, well-maintained farmhouses. One of them sometimes has a car with Belgian license plates parked in the driveway. And by the way, I've never seen a hiker or a biker out there. When we go, Callie and I pretty much have the place to ourselves.