Châlons-en-Champagne (butterfly & mating seasons have started)

As we've had to keep ourselves to ourselves for the first week back, we haven’t been socialising, just going out to get some exercise by walking Buddy.  The lovely spring weather has been a boon though with plenty of butterflies on the wing.  Karen had the first sightings when she was out with Buddy on Sunday and saw four male brimstones.  These overwinter as adults, hibernating in places like trunks of trees, and are usually the first to be seen in the spring.  As they are bright yellow, they are also very noticeable which probably adds to the chance that they are often the first species to be seen.  Although we have seen many more during the week, we only came across a couple of females: these are a lot lighter, more a pale green lemony colour.  During the week we have also seen other species that have emerged from hibernation as adults: small tortoiseshell, comma, peacock and red admiral.

Comma on the right bank of the river Marne

Red Admiral in the Grand Jard

It’s amazing how fresh the butterflies have looked considering they hatched from their chrysalises last summer before overwintering as butterflies.  We also saw a holly blue around the boat which was very early for that species.  Holly blues overwinter as chrysalises rather than adults and the warm sun must have encouraged our specimen to emerge early.

In order to keep our distance from other people, we have been walking through the Grand Jard, the park next to our mooring, crossing the canal latéral à la Marne by a footbridge (passerelle) and then through the Jard Anglais, a smaller park, to join the river Marne and walk away from the town.  Very few people venture along here so we are happy letting Buddy off to have a good run along the riverside.  He seems to love sand, although when he rolls in it having been in the water, he needs a good brush down before getting back on the boat.  After a while we branch off across the fields of the flood plain over to the canal which we follow back to the parks and the boat.  This time last year the flood plain was still covered in water but this year the water has already receded leaving just a few pools in the hollows.

Looking back to Châlons-en-Champagne – this time last year this was still a lake

Sometimes we cut across the Grand Jard to the Petit Jard on the banks of the canal de Nau, one of the three canals in Châlons-en-Champagne.  At the far end the canal disappears into a tunnel running under the marketplace.  The portal is quite impressive as it was originally one of the fortified town gates but is now known as the château du Marché due to its location by the marketplace.

Château du Marché at the far end of the Petit Jard

The passerelle crossing the canal that links the Grand Jard with the Jard Anglais has been in need of renovation for some time.  We have often remarked to each other how it would improve the area if it was restored and were pleased to see renovation works started this week.  It does mean the passerelle cannot be used during the works which aren’t due for completion until the end of May at a cost of €320,000.  There had been some wrangling between the town council and VNF as the council wanted to close the canal for a week or so during the works.  VNF, understandably, were against this as the canal is used commercially and the council have now agreed to crane the bridge out while it is restored.

Restoration works have begun

Looking under the passerelle, the Grand Jard lies to the right with the cathedral in the distance and our port below.  In the summer the banks are turned into the Châlons-en-Champagne plage with all the usual accoutrements of pop-up bars and restaurants for parents to relax in while they watch their children in canoes and pedalos or playing on the temporarily imported beach.  

The gothic cathedral of Saint-Étienne with the port to the left

Last year steps were built from the park up to the cathedral and watching the construction work kept us amused during confinement.  From the distance they now look very white and upon closer inspection the white area is actually a dedication to Léon Bourgeois who was granted the Nobel peace prize a hundred years ago in 1920.  He has several links with the town including the fact that his wife was born there.

The dedication to Léon Bourgeois

Not so obvious when not face on

The approach to containing Covid in France is different to that taken in England.  A third lockdown or reconfinement has so far been avoided by the instigation of a 6pm to 6am curfew.  With the lighter evenings and being an hour ahead the evenings are rather uncanny.  The parks are bustling with people all day, exercising, having picnics etc. but then at six on the dot everyone miraculously disappears.  Unlike in England, nearly everybody wears masks outside but what we hadn’t realised is that people are actively encouraged to wear surgical masks.  Consequently, very few homemade masks are seen, and we felt most conspicuous wearing ours when we first got back.

When the curfew comes in we are reminded of last year when the parks were closed for three months and the wildlife had free rein.  The ducks, geese and swans built their nests along the banks in places they would normally avoid due to the closeness of people.  The young herons from the heronry on the island opposite us were also taught to fish along the same banks without fear of being disturbed by humans. 

The safe island opposite our mooring

When we arrived on Saturday, we counted eight pairs of Canada geese searching out and laying claim to their nesting sites.  Each day more have flown in and by Thursday, there were 14 pairs.  Swans seem to have cottoned on to the fact they won’t be so safe on the public banks either and have already started nest building on the island; there is one pair right in front of the boat giving us a great view of progress.     

Buddy seems to be extremely happy to be back on board and spends most of the day laying on the pontoon.  He does wander down the other end every once in a while, on the hopeful hunt for food from other boaters.  They all know not to feed him titbits, but it doesn’t deter him, and he is ever hopeful.

Buddy in his happy spot

Of course, Buddy doesn’t have to keep his eye on the Covid situation, which is not looking on improving at the moment in France, probably because of the reluctance to have another reconfinement.  We need to keep a weather eye on what is happening as it seems increasingly likely that local lockdowns will be used.  Although, typically French, the ones already in place in the south have started as weekend lockdowns only 😉

We have also decided that we will probably get moving once we have replaced the washing machine which you may remember seems to be irreparably broken.  On this and our previous boat we had slimline appliances at only 50cm wide.  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer manufacturers make these and, like all things non-standard, they are more expensive.  When I first looked at replacing it before we came back to England for Christmas, they were about €380; the cheapest supplier I can find now is charging €180 more than that.  I tried to order one online, but neither of the suppliers (Darty & Cdiscount) would take online payments as our cards are not registered to our French address.  This means a trip to the local Darty when we come out of isolation but hopefully a new one will delivered to us a few days later and then we can set sail!

Before I sign off, I’ll include a few pictures of the spectacle we caught on Thursday evening whilst taking Buddy for his final walk of the day.  We were walking towards the passerelle when we spied a crane lined up over it…

…we assumed it was being positioned ready for lifting the span out the next day.  All of a sudden, we realised it was being lifted there and then:

It was soon winging its way across the canal…

…and then down into its resting place where it will be restored.