theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Lambing Time
Posted on September 8, 2022
Out here in rural France, we’re surrounded by nature of course. That doesn’t mean it’s all idyllic, but it’s hard to take a walk during lambing time in spring and not feel, at least for a minute or two, that all’s well with the world.
Looming Menace
Posted on June 12, 2022
It must be said that the monochrome version of this image of a huge pile of hay bales covered in black plastic does have a lot more impact than the colour original.
Fauchage
Posted on April 22, 2022
Two or three times a year the local mairie sends out one of its fleet of tractors to cut the grass and trim the hedges that bound most of the minor roads in the commune – including the one that passes through our little hamlet. This is known as the ‘fauchage’ – not to be confused with ‘chauffage’, whch means heating.
These guys don’t take any prisoners and there’s no room to pass them, so you just have to get out of the way as best you can.
Self-catering
Posted on November 19, 2021
A century and more ago, there were no school canteens – at least not in little village schools like this one in Montrol-Sénard. Pupils brought their hot lunches from home and kept them warm on the stove in the middle of the classroom.
‘This Is The Place’
Posted on November 11, 2021
The Fun Foto theme for this week is a particularly interesting one: ‘future nostalgic’. For this, we are invited to select an image from our archives that we knew when we captured it we would enjoy looking at again in the future.
So here is the very first time we laid eyes on the house where we have now lived for over nine years. This was back in October 2004. We followed the agent (pictured on the right) in our own car and turned the little corner off the ‘main’ road through the hamlet that we call Tranquility Base.
Madame ‘got it’ straight away. I just saw a tumbledown money pit. It turned out we were both right, but now neither of us would want to live anywhere else.
Shooting A drive-By
Posted on September 29, 2021
Even in the depths of the countryside (i.e just up the road in Asnieres-sur-Blour), where few tourists ever venture, the locals sometimes can’t resist dressing up in ‘archetypal’ clothes – beret and red neckerchief – and parading up and down the street in their lovingly cared-for old tractors.
Shepherds’ Delight
Posted on August 25, 2021
Last week for the Fun Foto Challenge we had the theme of ‘Here Comes The Sun’. This prompted me to post an image of dawn breaking in our little part of the world.
This week, the topic is ‘Tomorrow’, which gave me the idea of posting an image of a sunset holding out the promise of a pleasant day to come. As the old saw has it: ‘red sky at night, shepherds’ delight’.
This photo was also taken outside the back of our house, although obviously this time facing west rather than east.
(And before you say it, I am fully aware of the fundamental futility of having a gate that you can just walk around. But it does add interest to the image.)
Daybreak On The Land
Posted on August 18, 2021
A dramatic sunrise on a misty November morning in the French countryside.
Wherever the road leads
Posted on July 16, 2021
Wherever The Road Leads
Posted on May 21, 2021
Cee’s Black & White Challenge for this week is to show places to walk or hike. Out here in the French countryside the ‘proper’ roads are few and far between, but there are many mysterious-looking tracks, used only for farmers’ access, that are well worth exploring on a country walk.
In this case, I particularly liked the strong shadows of the trees across the path, which look almost like railway sleepers as they recede into the distance .
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