Located just south of Angoulême, the grounds of an agricultural high school with its vineyards, fields of corn, ancient former falconry where The Calm One has presented interactive science displays, and shop selling products grown/made on the premises is becoming a favourite place of ours to visit. Also our tootling around in Zoe The Electric Car usually brings cries of solidarity from the younger generation which in turn brings a smile to our faces. This little jaunt marks our resuming nature walks since we stopped this past autumn. Yay, spring is around the corner! Late winter is a great time to spy mistletoe way up in the bare trees. How fitting is the Navajo name for them: basket on high.
Death by Mistletoe? Mistletoe species grow on a wide range of host trees, some of which experience side effects including reduced growth, stunting, and loss of infested outer branches. A heavy infestation may also kill the host plant. (Wikipedia) Their berries are eaten by birds and their sticky seeds dispersed via avian beaks. They also do explosive seed dispersal on their own accord. Mistletoe species are not fully parasitic, hence they are referred to as hemiparasites since they do have leaves for photosynthesis. A particular tree (see below photo) caught my attention because at first it appeared to be an evergreen tree pruned a la nuage (in the style of clouds). It turned out to be a dead tree probably killed by a mammoth mistletoe invasion. Though the commercial wood industry may not be so fond of mistletoe, a symbiotic relationship exists between it and various species of insects, mammals, and birds: Like people, the butterflies of these species use mistletoe for courtship rituals. After courting and mating in the mistletoe high in the canopy, the adults leave their eggs behind in the mistletoe. The adults of all three species drink nectar from the mistletoe flowers.
Seen in the above photo are lots of high voltage wires. On one of the concrete pylons was a plaque decrying any communion with said wires, regardless where they may be, including on the ground, or you will be zapped. No idea what the emphatic No. 10 means, but can't help thinking that some British denizens of a certain London street address could relate to potential danger hovering about them.
Deciduous trees let in sunlight, enough for this solitary dandelion with its young, edible leaves to flourish.
A small part of the fencing resembled to me—a former student who studied nursing way back in the previous century in a sprawling public New York City medical centre—a dismantled hospital bed, adding an unexpected aesthetic touch.
Some trees are showing signs of waking up from their wintry sleep, the peach tree with tiny buds flushed with pink in our garden, and this conical lovely, suffused with gold.
Besides grapes, corn is also grown which feeds the school's milk cows. The seeds are coated with red pepper so as to deter birds from gobbling them up before they can sprout. Chez nous, in our potager, we resort to covering individual beds with horticultural fleece to protect a newly sown crop from birds. Since the corn will be planted late April/beginning of May, what is this nicely green field?
It is just tufts of grass taking advantage of the marks left by the combine harvester. The dry stalks from last season can be seen.
On our way back, we passed several narrow lanes off our trail's right. I have to wonder if they allow access to thickets so materials can be collected to make the woven wood fencings seen nearby.
As we approached where Zoe the Electric Car was parked, we caught a glimpse of the turreted falconry and low farming buildings.
À la prochaine!
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L'Oisellerie
Death by Mistletoe? Mistletoe species grow on a wide range of host trees, some of which experience side effects including reduced growth, stunting, and loss of infested outer branches. A heavy infestation may also kill the host plant. (Wikipedia) Their berries are eaten by birds and their sticky seeds dispersed via avian beaks. They also do explosive seed dispersal on their own accord. Mistletoe species are not fully parasitic, hence they are referred to as hemiparasites since they do have leaves for photosynthesis. A particular tree (see below photo) caught my attention because at first it appeared to be an evergreen tree pruned a la nuage (in the style of clouds). It turned out to be a dead tree probably killed by a mammoth mistletoe invasion. Though the commercial wood industry may not be so fond of mistletoe, a symbiotic relationship exists between it and various species of insects, mammals, and birds: Like people, the butterflies of these species use mistletoe for courtship rituals. After courting and mating in the mistletoe high in the canopy, the adults leave their eggs behind in the mistletoe. The adults of all three species drink nectar from the mistletoe flowers.
Seen in the above photo are lots of high voltage wires. On one of the concrete pylons was a plaque decrying any communion with said wires, regardless where they may be, including on the ground, or you will be zapped. No idea what the emphatic No. 10 means, but can't help thinking that some British denizens of a certain London street address could relate to potential danger hovering about them.
Deciduous trees let in sunlight, enough for this solitary dandelion with its young, edible leaves to flourish.
A small part of the fencing resembled to me—a former student who studied nursing way back in the previous century in a sprawling public New York City medical centre—a dismantled hospital bed, adding an unexpected aesthetic touch.
Some trees are showing signs of waking up from their wintry sleep, the peach tree with tiny buds flushed with pink in our garden, and this conical lovely, suffused with gold.
Besides grapes, corn is also grown which feeds the school's milk cows. The seeds are coated with red pepper so as to deter birds from gobbling them up before they can sprout. Chez nous, in our potager, we resort to covering individual beds with horticultural fleece to protect a newly sown crop from birds. Since the corn will be planted late April/beginning of May, what is this nicely green field?
It is just tufts of grass taking advantage of the marks left by the combine harvester. The dry stalks from last season can be seen.
On our way back, we passed several narrow lanes off our trail's right. I have to wonder if they allow access to thickets so materials can be collected to make the woven wood fencings seen nearby.
As we approached where Zoe the Electric Car was parked, we caught a glimpse of the turreted falconry and low farming buildings.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
L'Oisellerie
