30 June 2015

“The Walnut Tree”

The next place we visited after the village called Jars (pop. 511) is called Le Noyer (pop. 235). That means "the walnut tree" in English. It's where CHM stayed, in a hotel, when he visited the area more than 70 years ago. More than 2500 people lived in the Jars-Le Noyer area two centuries ago, at the time of the French Revolution, by the way.


CHM told me he remembered walking from Jars to Le Noyer on the long, straight road you see in the photo above. We were driving my old Peugeot, so the trip was easier for us. That's Le Noyer in the distance, and the photo below shows a closer view.


I thought the church in Le Noyer was nice. There was some road construction going on, but we made it through without being shunted off onto a detour. I just stopped the car in the middle of an intersection and got out to take these picture.


There is a château in Le Noyer called Le Boucard that dates back to the 14th century, but we didn't find it. It's the venue for a music festival that takes place every summer.


This whole area between Sancerre and Orléans, Giens and Bourges, is beautiful rolling countryside. It's on eastern edge of the flat, forested Sologne and is contained in a wide arc of the Loire River to the north and east. The vineyards of Sancerre lie to the southeast. It feels very much off the beaten path. Here's a map:


Meanwhile, here I am in Saint-Aignan and it's the last day of June. Where did the month go? We are in the middle of an unusual (for this early date) heat wave, but we are on the eastern edge of the hottest temperatures. So far it's been pretty pleasant, even without air-conditioning. Today the contractor who's been working in Walt's office room will be wrapping up the job. By the coming weekend, we should have Walt be moved back into his office and our house will get back to normal.

13 comments:

  1. "By the coming weekend, Walt should be moved back in and our house will get back to normal"....
    Ken, you aren't going to make him move all his stuff back during Wimbledon, are you?
    Surely you can wait until the Monday after!!

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    1. I was just about to say the same thing! That said, though, he should do the moving early in the morning, when it is still a bit cooler, and relax with tennis in the afternoon.

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    2. Bit cooler? BIT COOLER??
      You jest madame, you jest!

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    3. Ellen, yes, that is the plan. We have plenty of time.

      Tim, Wimbledon doesn't end until July 12 or so — if it doesn't get rained out for some days between now and then. Not sure what you mean about "cooler" but it certainly is much cooler at 6 a.m. than at 6 p.m.!

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    4. I was meaning the Monday after Wimbledon finishes....
      it was 27 Centipedes here this morning at 7:30....
      it was 28 Centipedes yesterday at around 8PM....
      I don't call that cool!!

      But, there is a steady breeze...
      and, if you get in the shade...
      now that is cool!!

      Need more tea!

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    5. Our low temperature this morning was 18.3ºC. By 6 a.m. I had all the doors and windows open to let that cool air into the house. Was 27 the temperature in your house or outdoors? I didn't notice our inside temperature this morning, but it could have been as high as 22, I think. Are you in Hell down there? Our outdoor high yesterday was just below 29.

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    6. That was the outdoor temperature!!
      Indoors we were a coolish 23

      We are currently at 35 out [in full sun] 32 in shade and 30 in...
      the most comfortable place is on a chair, indoors, between the two open doors...
      but I am about to shutter one of those as the sun is just coming round...
      everything is totally parched and the potager is now being watered morning and evening...

      But this is nothing compared to 2003, when having bought the house....
      we visited that August, during the canicule that killed so many...
      then we had 44 in shade and 33 in the longère...
      you two were fully ensconced then, weren't you?
      Did you measure your temperatures then?

      But, yes, we do seem to get some extremes of temperature...
      I think that this might be the only valley where hot air sinks??

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    7. We arrived in Saint-Aignan in early June 2003, and yes we were here through the whole canicule. August was the worst. I remember we got the Peugeot in early August, and for a couple of weeks we would go out for afternoon drives just to spend time in the air-conditioned vehicle. The thermometer in the car read 40 or 41 on many of those days.

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  2. 27 degrees Celsius is over 80 F. Our low temp., 18 degrees C, is about 65 F. Something is wrong with your thermometer.

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    1. BTW, it's 33ºC in our loft right now.

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    2. And there is nothing wrong with our thermometers...
      plural... they can't all be wrong!!
      No, Ken, we are in an oven down here...
      and it has reached you today...
      here it is cloudy and cool... 25.6 Selsey Bills as I type!
      I am about to melt holes in a very large, black tarp before the cloud passes over!!
      Or gets burnt off!

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  3. Ken, really enjoy your photo tours through the country. Always a welcome relief for anyone (me) stuck in a big city. Well done!

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  4. I love rolling countryside

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