Summer living.

The little stream has just about dried out in the heat. Barely enough flow to provide Sophie with her morning drink. The mud on either side of the stream bed freshly churned up by recent visitors - deer, civet and wild boar tracks aplenty. Sophie is lost in a reverie of scents.

Back in the village the heat seems to have finished off the carp in the fish pond. A dozen or so dead carcasses float listlessly on the surface. The high temperatures have taken the oxygen out of the water.  Nearer to home the bigger, moorhen, pond also seems to be suffering. The water level the lowest I've ever seen it. The frogs , noisily abundant three weeks ago, have all gone. This water shortage is becoming an issue for wildlife as well as humans.

After that a quick detour to the bakers for a croissant and something for lunch. Today we opt for a chocolate covered 'Artisan'. 

The pace of summer living in heat drenched France profonde is slow.

 Whoever knew making mobile homes was so complicated ? :https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-manufactured