18th October, Last day in St Alban de Varese

The seasons are changing quickly here now. 
The harvesting has been done, the trees are changing colour, the chimneys are smoking, the firewood for the winter is collected, the summer gear has been removed from the shops and the hedges are trimmed and trees have been pruned. The mushroom foragers will be out this weekend looking for la trompette noir and the pied de mouton as we have had a beautiful sunny day of around 20° today after a week of overcast skies and light rain.

What looks like gum trees pruned to an inch of their lives

To-morrow, Saturday 19th, we leave our village of the last 6 weeks and move south to Sablet en Provence about 30 kms NE of Avignon (who remembers the song, "sur le pont d'Avignon"?) and today was our last opportunity to see what was happening in the Le Jardin du Bois-Marquis which we blogged about on 10th September - what colours are the trees displaying six weeks after our initial visit?
 There is a distinct difference in the garden as would be expected, after all this is what happens in Autumn, but some of these trees are new to us and we did not know what to expect. Perhaps in a few more days or weeks the change will be more dramatic, but enjoy some of what we saw today.

 While on the nature thing, we have been intrigued  by a small house type construction at the entrance to our village and the surrounding villages and towns since we arrived - we have uncovered its secret and wonder if it should not be a candidate for the "Bloody Good French Ideas" series. 
We are told the Rhône Government was concerned about the demise of natural habitats for little French bugs, insects, bees and the like and the loss of the role they play in pollinating and spreading goodness throughout the region. They now sponsor the establishment of these houses for such creatures.

Insect / bee house