A walk in the country

This past Sunday we were invited to go for a walk in the country. Not exactly a hike we were told by Michele and Roland, but a stroll through the countryside with a few of their friends; Jean-Luc, Petra, Patrice, Martine, Agnes, Jean-Rene, Charlie, Rene, and Monique. That is fine by George and I, we are always game for doing different things and exploring. But I have to say we got more than we bargained for yesterday. It was truly a fascinating walk.

It was suggested to wear something bright since hunting season just started. So, what is in season? Wild boar, deer, rabbits, really anything that moves it sounded like. Not more than 10 minutes into our walk we heard BANG, BANG. I felt a little better realizing the guns were shotguns, not rifles, the shots were a good distance away. 

And so our walk continued, but no less than five minutes after Michele said, "we could see a wild boar today"...Holy Moses, a boar ran across the field we were walking. Wow, they're fast and very powerful looking, or perhaps just scared because the ammunition was flying. We counted our lucky stars that Mr. Boar didn't run in our direction, because we have been told - you don't want to come face to face with a boar. 

Evidence of wild boar searching for food, they
make quite a mess in the forest and fields

Well that was enough excitement for one day, but there's more.

To our incredible surprise our walk took us past a hermit's home built into solid rock, dating to the 11th century. I don't know much about this site other than the hermit was religious based. It is amazing what you can discover in unexpected places.

Hermit's home

Hermit's home

Hermit's home

A trough to gather water. There was a hole about 5 inches from the bottom
of the square hole in the rock to allow water to flow to a lower reservoir.

A walk in the French countryside wouldn't be complete without passing a castle. And sure enough we did, but this is not common in our area. The property included several horses and a large pond - Absolutely beautiful!

Castle front gate - we knocked, but no one was home 

Picnicking midway:

American Douglas Fir (non-native to France) planted 70-80 years ago.
It's helpful when a forester is along on the walk. We have also seen Sequoia
trees in our travels in France, which are also, non-native.

Hmmmm, which way should we go?

A future moth.

The cows were skillfully called to the edge of the fence by Patrice, in French of course.

What is profound to us is the small, so very small world we live in. Through conversation with Petra, we came to learn that she has a friend living in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, which happens to be my hometown area.

George and I enjoyed the day immensely, but especially the fellowship and laughter throughout the day.