Before leaving for the day, I take a little walk up the steep hill from Pierlo's house.
Then I go up to the neighbor's barn with Marion to check on the progress of the new horse. Marion has a "routine" for feeding and watering that will help her be in command before she mounts her new companion.
Jules joins us a few minutes later for the "training" session.
Then we are off for another day at Dominique's where we I meet her new Wwoofers. To the left are Suzi (Scotish) and Emily (English). They are room mates at University and I will get to know them better during the coming days.
To the right of Joe is Rico, who arrived Saturday evening at Pierlo's after having spent a few months hitchhiking back to this area from Switzerland. He is a musician and was taking a few months to "retool" as well as to write some music. He is part of a folk music group and they will be starting up again soon. He is a former Wwoofer here at Pierlo's and he has come back to visit and work for about a week on his way home to la Vendée (one of the French departments).
You-Tube video of the first concert of his group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_DStwLquhs
(There are other videos of his group on this page if you want more.)
Rico and his group play their music for free. They ask only for a place to sleep, food, and gas for their vehicle to get to the concert. They play for nursing homes and children's groups as well as any other places where they are invited. The first night he was there, Ana and Joe stayed up late talking with him but as usual, I wanted some time alone. I eventually joined the group in the evening on other occasions. I was very impressed with Rico's gentleness and his way of life. We talked of many things, especially how he viewed schooling as a youngster. As he grew older, he felt he had perhaps missed the chance to learn many things in his youth, but now he writes music and likes learning from Pierlo how to build these "alternate" straw structures. We are all glad to have Rico join us.
To Rico's right is Marion who has just finished a degree in Architecture. I later learned that her school does not provide internships or really any information about building straw houses. So she decided to do some Wwoofing in various places in France where Wwoofers are invited to participate in building this kind of house. She already has quite a lot of experience and was of course interested in sharing this with Pierlo and Dominique. She usually left the top of the chantier after everyone was already at the table for lunch and was one of the first to leave after lunch to go back to work. I seemed to never have a chance to talk to her more about her experiences but simply heard snatches of some of the stories she told about other sites.
To the left of Pierlo is Vivian, who, I found later, is taking advantage of a government program to "make a professional change." He was a truck driver and decided he might like this kind of construction work but he must check in once a month with his "counsellor" in Paris to be eligible to receive this government aid. Having to run off periodically naturally cramps his style but for now he is willing to comply with these rules to have a bit of financial aid. Aid is given according to how many "working" weeks (periods) one has put in on a job (I suppose a bit like the US government programs). Vivian's aid, however, I believe is going to be a year and a half, considerably longer than what we have in the States for the unemployed.
Whether you are smoker or a non-smoker, I find it interesting to look at and compare the laws and the follow-up given to laws in the U.S. as well as in France. There is a note and a French government web site at the end of this blog.
To the left of Pierlo is Patrick, Dominque's husband. In Pierlo's family, it is Sandrine who has the "regular" job while Pierlo takes charge of the Wwoofers (in terms of the correspondence and "hiring" and the daily work, while Sandrine's job can sometimes be done at home and sometimes in an office. Of course she is the chief gardener as well as the one who does the cooking for the evening meal as well.
In the case of Dominique and Patrick, Patrick is the one who continues to work in a "conventional" job while Dominque learns from Pierlo how to build the house for Dominique and her family. But when Patrick is on vacation, he acts as shopper for requests that come from the Wwoofers who will be doing the cooking as well as chores such as going to get sawdust or wood or tools or anything that might be needed on the worksite. He is a also a fantastic photographer (much better than I - with a much better camera) and he also knows how to do some manipulating in Adobe. Each day during his vacation, he takes pictures during the morning and by afternoon, they are in the file rolling by on the computer screen as one entered the log cabin. Patrick is quiet in contrast to Dominque ebullience but I guess it is often said that opposites attract.
And so the work teams are formed. Most of us start in the garden as there is not as much to do (I think) on the house right away. As the day goes on, many are moved to working on the house.
Here Emily has some lettuce to transplant.
And here come Suzi and Joe with more plants to transplant.
Dominique shows everyone where she wants the new transplants. She wants the new lettuce plants put near the older plants. Actually, when the lettuce is harvested, the base is left and often grows a new "head." I wish that could happen for me!
There is not much "pressure" this first day as people stop a bit to get to know one another. Later in our time here, that pace will change as there will be a big event in the building of this house putting us on a schedule that must be followed. Of course, there is a rhythm that is established according to what kind of work is needed at any particular time and the number of Wwoofers that are in the "workforce." As one becomes a "part of the family," so to speak, this rhythm becomes an integral part of the experience, something that grows more a part of each person the longer she stays. People coming and leaving also affect the group dynamics as is always the case when groups of any kind are formed to work together.
Here are some tomatoes that should be bigger. As time goes on, it is pretty obvious that the tomato crop this year will not be very large. But, this is true in all of France this summer.
And this is Emile, Dominique's son, the baker. He will be leaving in October for Strasbourg for a 3-year internship and now after work he gets ready to do some biking.
From now on I'm going to feel rather inadequate to explain exactly what is going on in terms of the house. For some reason, I didn't ask our crew at the end of each day exactly what the work consisted of. In the next picture I see that Rico is taking off the black plastic. In some of the later pictures, I notice that some of the plastic has been left under the screws and in other places, it has been removed. Perhaps someone of the Wwoofers will give me some more exact feedback.
Emile take very good care of his bike.
Here Dominique is setting me up to do some measuring and then some cutting.
It is quite hot on this day and everyone needs some water as they work.
Ok. I'm ready to cut but now it's time to get lunch so I don't get too much done.
Suzi is getting some general instructions from Dominque on today's menu. As time goes on, we all know where to find the supplies (in benches by the kitchen table) as well as what the garden has to offer and we are encouraged to use our creativity to make lunch - sometimes for as many as 18 people.
I remember much mirth at mealtime, but as I am uploading and writing now, I find most everyone looks really tired. No wonder! It's hot today and it has been a long morning.
Ana LOVES raw beets!
No, I don't nap, but Annalise didn't take the green chair today so I'm going to try it out.
It has been decided since lunch was a bit later than usual, there will be a choice as to whether to work in the afternoon or not. Dominique has told her people about a water hole not too far away in a river so she finds one of her bathing suits to lend me. As she is looking, she invites me in to check out the inside of the yurt. It looks really comfortable, not at all like camping. I think those ribbons are her daughter Marguerite's prizes for horse shows she has been in. We haven't yet met her yet as she has been away in a show.
Well, someone is having a leisurely day! Reminds me of a cat I once had (or many cats), named Fugazi.
Not everyone quits work early. These three stay and perhaps Marion, the architect, as well, although I don't see her here.
The rest of us start out with some general instructions on how to reach the river. First impediment is below!
We finally get by the hay cart, but then we stop to ask for directions. I'm wondering if we are really on the right track!
We finally make it but instead of parking on the other side, we park at the first place we see. So we must cross some treacherous slippery rocks. Joe comes to my rescue and we finally make it to the other side.
Again I decide that the area is too slippery in the water and decide to do the documentation, rather than participate in the swimming. I very much enjoy everyone else having a cool swim.
Wild flowers along the river bank.
Now here's something different! I notice a fish by the side of the river and it seems to me it is just breathing its last as I approach. But Joe, taking that to be the case for sure, decides he is going to take the little fellow home and cook him. My first thought was - FOOD POISONING! But Joe won't hear of it; just sticks to the idea that this fish (though we weren't sure what kind it was) is going to be his dinner.
Suzi finds a harmless souvenir - the wing of a dragonfly (I seem to remember).
As the rest continue to enjoy the cool water, I take a little walk through the trees along the river. There is no place the water is deeper, but I find this beautiful tree.
On the way home to our straw house, I take a few more pictures of the area.
"How do you do this?" muses Joe. "Don't know. You are on your own," is my response.
Hack, hack. The only good thing is that there is no "fishy" smell probably bearing out the fact that this little guy actually died in front of me and perhaps not of a disease he could pass along to the eater.
Wow! Looks at all those eggs!
Into the pan it goes.
Joe offers to share his prize, and both Pierlo and Ana have a taste but I just don't feel comfortable about it. No one reports ill effects so I guess I am being too cautious. Pielo tells us it is a trout.
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______ Smoking ban in France
When I was a student in France, smoking existed in all public spaces. Like the States, France took measure to protect those who don't smoke. Since 2008, smoking has been banned in cafés and restaurants, clubs, bars, etc. Any smoker caught flaunting the ban can be fined up to 45 euros, while those who turn a blind eye to smokers on their premises can be fined up to 750 euros. Like other laws in France, though a survey indicates that 70% of the population is against smoking, these smoking laws are not always enforced.
The government website below promises questions and answers, but I wasn't able to find answers to the questions.
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