Trees big and small

Yesterday I mentioned the vineyard plots down the hill to the north of our house. The lowest plot is planted in Chardonnay grapes, and the one above it in either Gamay or Cabernet Franc. (I'm not very good at identifying the different varietals.) Callie likes to walk down there, and we do so every other day.

A lot of the woods around here are made up of smallish trees. I used to think most trees in France were fairly small because we are so far north. Now I understand it's because so many of the woods are managed by the local people. Trees are harvested for firewood, or now pellets, on a regular schedule. When the oaks reach a medium size, they're cut down and sawed into logs. New ones grow up fairly quickly. I've seen the process repeated in many places around the vineyard.

The big tree above is one that got a way. It and a couple of other trees around it have grown to an impressive size, as you can see. Other enormous trees around here include pines, cedars, and other conifers. There are tall poplars, linden trees, and cottonwood trees too. One of the tallest trees in the area is the big Deodar or Himalyan cedar in our yard, which you'll see in many of our photos (here near the house, and here, on the right).

There are a lot of small fruit trees all around us too — apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, and figs grow in abundance. The tree in the photo above is a néflier. It grows to as tall as 6 meters, about 20 feet, and in English is called a medlar tree. The fruit is called a nèfle or medlar and is harvested after the first freeze in autumn to be eaten raw or made into jelly. Medlars have been cultivated in Asia Minor and southeastern Europe for three thousand years. I've never tasted one myself. This tree is in the neighbors' yard and the neighbors harvest the medlars as soon as there has been a cold snap in October or November.