theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Shovel
Posted on December 5, 2023
Earlier this year we visited a vineyard in the Loire region. One of its interesting characteristics is that its ‘cellar’ is actually at, rather than below, ground level. The wine matures in vats (about the size of an old telephone box, for those of you old enough to remember such things), which are sunk into the floor.
Okay, it wasn’t exactly first-growth grand cru classé, but the rosé was perfectly quaffable.
As you’d hope, though, it was scrupulously clean, a condition no doubt aided by frequent applications of this well-worn shovel and brush.
Low Tech
Posted on February 19, 2021
Even with all the latest technology and machinery available to them, farmers’ work is hard. It’s difficult to imagine how tough it must have been when everything had to be done by hand with simple toools like these.
How to shear a sheep
Posted on November 7, 2018
Cee wants to see some images of tools this week. I spotted this in the Museum in Perigueux.
As the card states, it’s a pair of scissors for shearing sheep. They’ve been in the museum since 1914, but date from some time in the late 19th century at a guess. They are made of iron, no doubt by a village blacksmith.
Nowadays, sheep are sheared using electric clippers, which is obviously a lot quicker than this traditional method – although only a few years ago we watched our neighbour and his wife shearing one of their sheep with a pair quire similar to these.
Next year, the World Sheep-Shearing Championship (yes, there is such a thing) will be held in the nearby town of Le Dorat. I sense a major photo opportunity.
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