The Barbegal Mills

The Barbegal aqueduct and mills are situated in Fontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône, near Arles. Often hailed as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world," it has 16 overshot water wheels, where the outflow of one wheel propells the successive wheel, making it the largest ancient mill complex on record.

The mills are at a junction of two aqueducts that were integral to Arles' water supply. The aqueducts merge just north of the mill complex, and were regulated by a sluice controlling the water's flow to the mills.

The aqueducts where they cross the D82.

You can see the modern road.

We were there on a stinking hot day at the end of June last year. We parked in the official car park by the aqueducts that fed the mills, and followed them up quite a steep hill. That in itself was quite a build up, and leads to a channel cut through the top of the hill.

Walking uphill alongside the aqueducts

The channel cut through the hilltop

The mills are arranged in two parallel sets of eight, progressing down the hillside, each with its own waterwheel. You can see remnants of masonry either side of the water channels and massive foundations of the individual mills. It operated from the start of the 2nd century to the close of the 3rd century, and could grind an estimated at 4.5 tons of flour per day.

Looking downhill at the ruins of the mills

Although all is now in ruins it's quite easy to see how it worked, and artists impressions of how the mill looked at it peak abound.

I'm not sure I'd travel all the way to Arles to see it, but it's not that far from the Pont du Gard.

Traffic Calming in Etableau

Etableau is a hamlet with a very large ruined chateau, close to le Grand Pressigny. The road from Preuilly to le Grand Pressigny passing through Etableau is narrow, lined with houses on both sides, and always has cars parked on one side.

Not long after we moved to France a 30km/h speed limit was introduced where the road passes the houses, and a year or two later an electronic speed sign was erected. It can feel a bit sketchy driving through the hamlet because people still drive too fast for the view they have of the road ahead.

Yesterday I was driving to le Grand Pressigny and noticed that between Monday afternoon and Thursday morning temporary chicanes have been installed at each end of the hamlet. If these are successful in slowing traffic down no doubt they will be recreated in concrete.

Approaching from le Grand Pressigny 

Departing towards Preuilly-sur-Claise 

Lamb Curry and Weird Rice

That's not it's official title - officially it's gosht anna palak nu shaak. 

It's a recipe I found in The Guardian a couple of years ago but hadn't cooked before now. I followed the recipe faithfully except for a couple of things: I didn't add salt to the curry sauce, I used chard instead of baby spinach (didn't have any) and I used ordinary white rice, not basmati. The lamb was a couple of bags of trimmings that came with the side of lamb we buy every year, and is perfect for this sort of dish.

It's a super easy recipe, even if it reads a bit complicated. The level of spice was spot on, and the rice actually cooked fully and wasn't just hard pellets. I'm not usually a fan of any sort of rice cooked in a frying pan, but this was good.

It even looked ok on a plate - most unusual for me.

Rare Adders Tongue Fern in the Orchard

Adder's Tongue Fern Ophioglossum vulgatum (Fr. Langue de serpent). 

Five years ago I could hardly believe my eyes! A rare and protected fern suddenly appeared in the orchard. I had no idea where it had come from and I'd never seen it before anywhere, despite spending lots of time with botanists and seeing many rare and protected plants here. 

This year I'm thrilled to see that the Adder's Tongue is everywhere in the orchard, stretching in a broad band from north-east, where the original station is, to south-west, up under the sour cherries. I've never seen so many individual plants of it.

I'm told that it is a plant whose presence indicates well managed meadow and old meadow. It is widespread but scattered in lowland France, and not common. Here in Centre-Val de Loire it is rare and protected, considered threatened, but it is the sort of plant that is prone to being under-recorded because it is small, has a short season above ground, and not showy. In the Brenne the fern is recorded along roadsides and grasslands on poor soil, often in places that get both very wet and very dry in the course of the year. The species is a ZNIEFF determinant (meaning that its presence indicates a site of interest ecologically). It is at risk when land is drained, when grassland is modified ('improved' or urbanised) or is abandoned and mowing for hay ceases. The population is in strong regression because of all these things.

 

My serious botanist friends ask me every year if the Ophioglosse has reappeared. This year I sent them all an email to let them know.

Lichen Outing to the Chateau de Brou

Here are some photos from the Botamyco37 outing to the Chateau de Brou yesterday. We were focusing on lichen, but there were some interesting insects too. As ever, Marie-Claude did a great job of organising and providing expert field teaching.

Patrick, Marie-Christine and me in action. Photo courtesy of Louisette Chaslon.

Violet Oil Beetle Meloe violaceus (Fr. Meloe violet), mating. Male is below, female above. He is eating a buttercup stem, one of their favourite foods. These beetles are the object of some conservation concern as their numbers are declining.

 

Marie-Claude, left, introducing us to the startling white lichen called Sporodophoron cretaceum, almost entirely restricted to oak trunks, and identifiable because it reacts by turning yellow when potassium is applied.

Many lichenologists favourite little lichen, the uncommon Goldeneye Teloschistes chrysophthalmus (Fr. Œil d’or). It is always found on twigs, and likes being in the wind. It is very sensitive to pollution, so has been in decline in Europe for decades.

Trox sp, a hide beetle that I was lucky to see. They are uncommon, and live in birds nests, eating dessicated organic matter. I think it is quite rare to see one trundling about in the open, and I had to ask for help in identifying it (many thanks Philippe Zorgati).

 

Variospora aurantia a lichen of limestone, which we found on the stones of the chateau itself. It can be distinguished from its lookalike and very common cousin V. flavescens by looking at the lobes of the thallus (ie the wavy outer edge of the lichen). V. aurantia has flattened lobes, a bit like spatulas; V. flavescens has rounded lobes, a bit like fingers.

 

Black Shield lichen Tephromela atra var calcarea, something of an old friend for me, as I remember learning this one on a previous outing led by Marie-Claude. This variety is very common on limestone, but there is another variety that grows on flint, and another one that grows on tree bark.

 

A mating pair of the fever fly Dilophus antipedalis. These are in the family Bibionidae, and typically there is sexual dimorphism like this, with females being larger and having long heads with small eyes. Males have large eyes and are smaller. This pair were just a few millimetres long.

Me trying to photograph the flies. Photo courtesy of Louisette Chaslon.

 

We don't often have somewhere so grand for the outing leader to do their introduction. We are very grateful to the Chateau's owners for allowing us access.

Dark-edged Bee Fly Bombylius major (Fr. Grand Bombyle), female, which was lurking around a Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceata colony, waiting its chance to lay eggs in the bees' nests.

Touraine Asparagus

Steamed green asparagus.

At the end of April and the beginning of May, asparagus is the flagship product on people's plates at home and in restaurants. This year, because of the weather, producers are expecting a bumper crop.

Locally produced white asparagus at the market.

The epitome of seasonal produce, asparagus features on the shelves between April and June. In Indre et Loire one finds Touraine asparagus, especially grown around Bourgueil and Richelieu. The label 'Coeur de Touraine' is the most prized, only held by 17 producers around Richelieu, who produce between 200 and 250 tonnes per annum, depending on the year, with 90% white asparagus and the rest green.

Locally produced green asparagus at the market.

Did you know that whether white, green or purple it is all the same plant? The colour depends on the method of cultivation. White asparagus grows underground, with out seeing the sun's rays. Purple asparagus is the same variety as the white, but the tip emerges from the soil to see the sun, which gives it the purple colour. Finally, the green grows entirely in the fresh air. 

White asparagus from Braslou, near Richelieu.

Personally I never buy asparagus from the supermarket, always from a local producer who I can trust to have cut the stems no more than 24 hours before bringing his asparagus to market. According to my asparagus producer of preference, asparagus in the supermarket has been cut about three weeks before it hits the shelves, due to how the supermarket supply chains work. This means it has lost moisture and its sugars have converted to starches, meaning it is a less tasty, tougher vegetable.