"Mmmmm. Think we had better not park right here, blocks the view of that trap. We'll swing Sadie round, aha, just about here will do us nicely eh Tanya!"
We were in the 'Sologne' area below the Loire river and on the way to join the Cher river, our route toward the Massif Central area of France with its Gorges and mountains as opposed to flat river plains, our home for the last couple of weeks.
The French Rough Guide says of the Sologne region: 'It's worth passing through by bike on a fine day, but there is little to see otherwise'. To be fair it does say more but that seems to be the authors general opinion. I'm finding the rough guide only marginally useful anyway as its main focus is on towns, cities, architecture, history and museums. The simple joys, beauty and pleasures of aloneness, solitude, peace and 'at oneness' with France's emptiness is not even on the menu of such guides.
So once again a conveniant, and with wide verges, lane invited us along to seek out a spot for the night. Sat nav had been earlier routed to take us to an Aire for the night but the requirement to take on water and empty 'the Telford' (toilet) had already been dealt with. Earlier in the day I had spotted an unlisted Aire with a brand new 'Junior relaise' on a recently laid out concrete base. These are specific little machines which for a small fee or 'jeton' (token) give you water and facility to empty waste water and, 'the Telford'. We parked up Sadie and walked up to 'La Poste' to buy a token.
Into 'La Poste' we walk and stand meekly just inside the door and watch the heated and rapid verbal exchange of French disagreement between the young, attractive lady behind the counter and an older man. Young attractive lady had a bodily stance clearly saying; 'that's pish, away with you and let me get on with ma job!' Older man was edging backwards in defeated but defiant retreat through a second door. After a few minutes of this battle of wills and extreme rapid fire of all French verbal language guns the older man finally retreated completely. Young attractive lady behind the counter quickly turned and welcomed me with a beaming smile, a "Bonjour monsieur" and a change of bodily stance indicating what went before was common, normal and now firmly in the deleted forever bin. Most amusing.
She was very helpful and capable. With not a word of English spoken I was correctly informed the 'Aire' was not yet in service but water and toilet facilities were available at, 'le petit maison a cote d'etang dans le garer voiture'. Sadie was duly reversed up to the said toilet block in the car park by the lake and we availed ourselves of the open, clean and working facilities
That is why we were now parked securely in this lovely quiet and isolated little spot just up the road from Chatre-sur-Cher, the original sat nav destination.
Tanya and I set off for a walk and quickly discovered why there was a trap set within view of the track. The area was a mixture of ponds, scrub and woodland plus agriculture. It was alive with all sorts of game and wildlife. Ducks and all manner of game birds. Deer, water voles and one pond brimming so full of big fat trout I swear I could have scooped one out with my bare hands. Oh! And the biggest Heron I have ever seen. The trap I had noticed as we drove in was of a size to catch something like Mink or ..... Otter. Certainly a posibility with such an easy fish food supply available.
The reason I moved Sadie when I caught sight of the trap has nothing to do with my years spent on the fringes of agriculture but all to do with my career as a counsellor. One of my clients, during the time we worked together educated me into many of the intricate details of a gamekeepers life and work.
That is what I remembered as I spotted the trap. Always set your traps where as many as possible can be viewed from a distance or at least without regularly having to leave a human scent. Hence at eight o clock the following morning, just as I was getting up, a car swings round behind Sadie, driver checks the trap with his binoculars, sees it has not been triggered so drives off again without giving Sadie a second glance.
Little did he know I had placed a small twig under the balance plate of the trap the night before so Mr slippery wet and probably furry wildlife could have his bit of apple bait and not get nobbled. "naughty, naughty, but such fun!!"
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