Many people see the first signs of spring in a blossoming flower, a warm breeze or a longer evening. Not us. The first smack of spring is visible in the trees - or lack thereof.
Somewhere, a long, long time ago, hacking off tree limbs in early spring became an intrical part of the French way of life. According to 'L'atelier vert', this practice of severely cutting back the tree limbs started as a practical solution to meet the needs for firewood. I guess at some point, people started getting used to the bald tree look and then eventually decided they liked it. It makes me wonder what things exist in American culture that others might find...well, ugly.
The hackety-hack technique is actually called 'pollarding'. (Betcha learned a new word there - I certainly did). Here are some examples of tree-pollarding in our neighborhood, taken on our walk last weekend.
Some of the older trees bear the scars of this annual ritual.
Oh, and one more French sign of spring: the local boulistes come out of hibernation.
6 comments:
shoot, those guys are hardcore! I saw a bunch of them playing boules during Christmastime, bundled up with sketchy-looking flasks nearby.
So weird! Though Americans do prune their bushes/greenery into the shapes of animals sometimes, so...
It looks awful! Poor charred trees, they dont even look like they have life left in them :'(
Any chance of you doing the tag?
A-Available?
B-Best friend:
C-Cake or Pie:
D-Drink of choice:
E-Essential thing used everyday:
F-Favorite color:
G-Gummi bears or worms:
H-Hometown:
I-Indulgence:
J-January or February:
K-Kids and names:
L-Life is incomplete without:
M-Marriage date:
N-Number of siblings:
O-Oranges or apples:
P-Phobias:
Q-Quote:
R-Reason to smile:
S-Season:
T-Tag three people:
U-Unknown fact about me:
V-Vegetable you do not like:
W-Worst habit:
X-rays you have had:
Y-Your favourite food:
Z-Zodiac
Waiting to see your answers soon, en francais, j'espere! :)
They look horrible! I've got an American ritual that looks pretty bad: trailers! Do they have those in France?
Hi J & K,
Oh, those poor trees! Hopefully it won't be too long until they get their new leaves. I'll send some Georgia Spring weather over to you! Hope you have a nice Easter!!
Smiles...Bebe :)
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