A
plethora of flowers carpet the chalk hills of the Quercy in
the Spring. The 'causse' is the characteristic landscape of
this area. It is a plateau scrubland of scrub oaks, scrub
junipers and coarse grasses. Below the surface of the chalk
broods the truffle: a mystical, temperamental fungus that
is happy only with august rains. On the surface, ablaze, the
flowers rage defiantly against the dry cricket rasping grass.
Poppies, Meadow Clary and Ox Eye Daisies are the more obvious
ones. Catananche and Globularia are two lesser known examples
of piercing blue beauty. Wild Flax, Saxifrage and Milkwort
are examples of those smaller flowers that cluster and carpet
pockets of this arid land with astonishing results.
Orchids
are in abundance with some thirty different varieties. They
start as Early Purples and Early Spiders and finish as Lizards
with spiralling chameleon tongues. Bees and Wasps come in-between
with many others like the extraordinary origami-style Serapiae.
Deer
abound as often as the hare and if the dog gets them up there
is a spectacle as beautiful as on a Kenyan safari. Wild Boar
are primarily nocturnal but evidence of spore is on every
trail. Red Squirrels bound around especially in the autumn
months gathering in Nutkin fashion the walnuts and chestnuts
of the woods we walk through.
Hoopoes,
Golden Orioles and sometimes Bee Eaters can be spotted especially
in Spring. Nightingales sing in the verdurous glooms and winding
mossy ways day and night, night and day. The whirring of Nightjars
and the haunting call of Stone Curlews can be heard at dusk.
The flight of the Wood Lark is a lovely sight in Spring as
well as the jingling song of the Cirl Buntings. Bird lovers
should think of May as a month to come walking.
Sprays
of Blues and Clouded Yellows rise like confetti from the overf
low of spring cisterns as you walk past. Purple Emperors and
Lesser Purple Emperors can be spotted as well as the more
common Black Veined Whites, Green Hairstreaks, abundant Fritillaries
and other Nymphalidae. June is (and maybe early September)
the better month for the Lepidopterists. All sorts of beautiful
Crickets, Dragonflies and Beetles can be seen and the Dung
Beetle takes you back to Ancient Egyptian times rolling his
sun over the face of the Earth.
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