Open Thread - Homesteading in France
Fall in Rural France: The Hunt
In rural Pacific Northwest, we knew a lot of hunters. Some went to Central Oregon. Others went to the coast. Most ate the animals, usually Deer or Elk, they shot.
In rural France hunting is around us many times of the year. The historical tie to proud shared ownership of forests, woodlands and pastures is the freeing of hunting lands for use not by the titled but use by everyone. The hunting traditions live to this day.
The animals hunted here are Sanglier (Wild Boar), and Deer (Cerf, Chevrette - Chevreuil) of several types, rabbit and Hare (Lapin, and, Lievre) and birds.
Owning guns is not a casual affair. One must study and take a written test as well as a field test. Going to a gun shop is like going into a vault: a person must show a valid license for gun ownership, and go into a locked area that is heavily gated.
But many rural residents own shotguns or long-rifles. Hunting is seasonal and the area is specific as to species and numbers based on sustainability of the regional populations of animals.
There are apparently horse mounted hunts with dogs, but mostly in the forests around large estates, many in the Loire valley. This is one from Burgundy...
[video:https://youtu.be/1MJmaRZagJA]
The rest are on foot and hunt with dogs. Usually there are two groups of hunters: one with the dogs and horns to drive the animal toward a shooter positioned on a stand, platform or the high side of a hill.
This time of year they are hunting in our area on Sundays and Tuesdays. Both Sangliers and Chevreuils. We don't take Teddy out before noon (midi) as he looks too much like game (gros gibiers). So we hear gun shots and horns weekly now. We have been around this hunting close to home for quite a few years. We have seen hunting parties on roadways and in progress to or from the hunting grounds. They wear bright orange safety vests and put many portable signs out on the roadways so you know to be looking for activity.
The use of valveless horns is wide-spread and signals other hunters and dogs what is going on or what to do. Many villages in Burgundy have their own horn band, and may have a uniform to wear in parades or concerts.
The sound of harmonized horns or call and response is thrilling. The smaller groups of ten or fifteen horn players gives a real sense of what these players can do.
On Commence (we begin):
[video:https://youtu.be/Too-Ab3z_yo]
[video:https://youtu.be/r8d9N8kvrHE]
Remember The Chicken Dance? We have Le ban Bourgogne: a regional song. It's fun.
[video:https://youtu.be/2Q6ST9Y-Sfs]
Comments
Good morning...
It is deer season here, and a number of hunters are around. Less than there used to be. Seems hunting is becoming less popular over time. After deer season (end of January) it will be time for turkey season. There are plenty of both around.
My departed neighbor explained all the game we now see didn't exist in the 30's during the depression. He claimed even rabbits and squirrels were rare to see and over hunted. People were hungry.
I consider all the wildlife a resource that could be harvested if SHTF.
Got the last bed and a half of sweet potatoes harvested and curing, and the first harvest sorted and stored in the pantry. Glad to have that done!
Now need to get a load of horse manure on the old beds mellowing for next spring. Hope to get that done next week.
Hope all is well on your lovely homestead!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
We've got our two stoves running: the large one for most
of the house and a small Jøtul for the office and douche Italienne on the north end of the house.
We are still harvesting lettuce, mesclun, radishes and waiting on carrots. Cleaning up around here and making sure things are organized for winter. The big bed is much like what you are describing. I need to add a bit more compost, then the topsoil and wheat straw.
Should the SHTF this part of France is pretty close to self-sustainable.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
yes, lots of lettuce here too
Cabbage, broccoli, and greens all look good too. Sunday AM may be freezing, but all those crops will cruise through. Will cover the lettuce Sat PM.
Take care and enjoy your home grown veggies!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Bonjour
Sounds like the French have a more civilized approach to hunting than here. Most states have the DEM (dept. of enviro management) do the permitting and enforcement of wild game / fishing laws.
They are way understaffed. Most true sportsmen practice sustainable harvesting of wildlife, but there are many yahoos that do not. Oh, well.
Thanks for the knewes from your region!
Je te remercie. It's interesting how hard it is to get into
something like a driver's license or a gun permit. But once a person has it, it seems to be fairly easy going.
There has been long traditions and contention on hunting and especially trapping birds. The idea that a king would eat a pie with lots of little song birds is not fiction.
France, Italy, Malta and others have vertical nets to trap birds. Horrible practice. Not quitting the 'sport' fast enough, but people are suitably upset by the whole thing that only the older people do some of the worst things.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
So many people in France own guns, yet hardly a
mass murder occurs......things that make me say Hmmmmmmm.
I hope you all enjoy this video for IMO it's a must watch
This video is somewhat on point because of.....
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U2UoR-oB1M&t=337s]
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
That used to be what they said
about Canada. They have as many guns per person as the US. But not the violence.
Not sure if it's the same now in these crazy times.
Thanks for the video.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I read four or five years ago
that the number of households with guns in the US had declined over time. The difference was that formerly there were lots of rural households that would have a rifle and/or shotgun for hunting small game, but almost never a handgun. People would rarely get shot. Now there are lots of pistols and owners primed to "defend" themselves.
Interesting videos!
This is hunting country. I thinking hunting licenses are getting more expensive, as are fishing licenses, but to go after wild boar doesn't require one.
If you go over your deer limit, or commit any infraction of the license, it is a felony.
Plentiful edibles such as raccoon, and squirrels, do not require permits.
If SHTF, a good shot will be ok.
Most hunters around here eat what they kill. However, I dislike hearing how much fun they had doing it. Especially the trophy hunter pals I have that go to Africa, tell stories about their kills, display their skins and horns, then say, the only reason they did it was to feed villagers.
We have organized fox hunts. I have a hunting horn I picked up at a consignment store that I hang on the wall in my office. Seems they hunt, but do not kill the fox. Now, if the pack of hounds do...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hey there OTC, I love the
horns and the way they are used to tell other hunters what is going on and to guide the dogs.
When we fished we processed every bit of our catch. There were trophy fishers but they are a separate group and most of us had nothing to do with them.
I forgot that we see Fox here and there are Badgers as well. Our Tekel, Teddy,is a natural hunter. His breed is highly sought to work with another like him to herd a Boar towards a hunter.
Thanks for the glimpse into your neck of the woods.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
My dogs were always coon hounds
or Beagles and Bassets. But they will hunt any critter!
Take care of your doggie, and enjoy the sound of horns and hounds!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Thanks DM, great glimpse at a slice of local culture.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Thanks. I enjoy the things we
have discovered that are different from what we did or knew in the US,then writing about them and sharing with everyone here.
Bon weekend.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.