Back in Léran and a clean-up around the lake.

   I've written before about how a group of volunteers occasionally gets together to hack back an overgrown hiking trail or free up the tiny canal that once irrigated the chateau's vegetable garden. This time, the morning after we got back from Paris, we met up at 8:30 for coffee and croissants, and the distribution of black and yellow garbage bags.
   Maps were handed out and carloads of us set off to pick up any rubbish that had been left over the summer. Misty and golden, it was the most glorious of autumn mornings. Once we'd arrived at our designated area, we set off.

The water level is low at this time of year so you can see the stumps of the tress that were cut when this valley was deliberately flooded.

Finds included a tire, a wheel, two bras, one pair of knickers, a washing line (which suggested that the lingerie was less the product of lakeside orgies and more likely due to a gust or two), numerous bottle caps--Heineken mostly--wine bottles, beer bottles, and lots of paper towel and tissue half-buried in the woods. We didn't want to think about that too closely but were glad we'd all worn work gloves. But, given the hundreds and hundreds who come here each summer to camp or picnic, there was surprisingly little rubbish to get rid of.
   Back in Léran, we all met up at 12:30 for an apero, followed by a long lunch, the traditional conclusion to a clean-up operation--except that this time we shared a found bottle of wine, which we named "Chateau du Lac".

A Stroll to the Lake

  Léran is a terrific village to live in and one of the things we love here is having a lake within walking distance. Maybe a kilometre away? I've never measured the distance and besides, the stroll along a country road is the kind where you're continually pausing to look at, this time of year, sunflowers and butterflies. 

   It may look real but Montbel is actually an artificial lake constructed to stop the flooding that used to wreak havoc on this area. At the end of a hot, dry summer the water level drops so you can see the stumps of the trees that once grew in this valley.

  Sand is trucked in to our local "beach". On Tuesday, around lunchtime, a family was unpacking a picnic. First items out of the hamper: a baguette and a can of foie gras. It's inspired us to roast a chicken sometime soon for our own lakeside meal. 

   What you see in the photo is only one small part of Montbel which extends further than the eye can see. The tour du lac, a trail we've taken only once, measures 16 km.

   Across the water are dark, cool forests and the peaks of the Pyrenees. Around you, trees provide a nice bit of shade on a mid-30s day. A restaurant overlooks the lake, a good spot for a cold beer if you've forgotten to bring your own.

   Power boats are forbidden so the only sound from the turquoise water is the occasional "plop" as a fisherman casts his line in the hopes of landing a fat trout.