ventodue

Agree - it is an interesting question. And while I claim no particular expertise in rabbit ecology, I'm with Chris that dry land is important - obviously, burrow-living rabbits will struggle to survive in land that gets regularly flooded. Other factors known to restrict rabbit populations are: 1. Grass height: Rabbits do best where the grass is already short, for example because it is already grazed, especially by sheep (or kangaroos, even .. :-) ) 2. Predation: Rabbits are heavily predated and this predation can restrict the growth of small populations. For example, one post-mixy study in Oz showed that the rabbit population failed to recover simply due to predation by feral cats - whose own population had coincidentally grown because of a decline in trapping. So, 2 possible reasons: lack of suitable ground and heavy predation. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are others ... Amicalement Craig

Excellent outcome - well done! Amicalement Craig

Not now, I don't think. Next year, remember to spray the copper sulphate early in the year BEFORE bud burst - the fungus that causes the affliction winters on the surface of the closed buds. P.s  For more, go here http://www.totalfrance.com/france/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64847&highlight= Amicalement Craig

My pleasure, Chris. Craig

[quote user="Gardian"]  Thanks very much for advice.  I'll get on to one of the people in the phone book tomorrow - there are several quite closeby.  Will let you know the outcome. [/quote] Hi Gardian, If the phone book doesn't work, there's a list of people who can help here (S.O.S. Essaim d'abeilles) -  hopefully there'll be someone near you: http://abeille.gudule.org/ (How do I know?  We had a swarm on a lamp-post here in Montpellier over the week-end.  Right in the middle of town, 15 metres off the ground, bees dropping onto the pavement, getting crushed.  Unfortunately, no-one could help, it being where it was; and the swarm, getting smaller all the time, finally disappeared after a couple of days.  Shame ...) Amicalement Craig

[quote user="vida "] Tomorrow, O.H is going to get some expanding foam to fill the hole in the wall....I can't got through this again. [/quote] I understand your anguish, Vida, but this really isn't the best response, you know ... [:)]  There is every chance the pair will attempt to raise a second brood, so blocking up a potential nest site - even if it is dangerous one - won't help at all.  It would be much better to hide or disguise it some more. Also, don't fret too much.  The reason some animals have a lot of offspring is because the mortality rate is naturally high.  Of those 11 youngsters, very few, if any, will have made it hrough to next year, anyway - otherwise, we'd all be suffering from a plague of Blue Tits! Also, if there were 3 young left in the nest, there was something going wrong anyway - possibly a shortage of food, but who knows? Amicalement Craig

[quote user="chris pp"] Well done Craig, that website must have taken some finding.[:D] [/quote] Better 'fess up - it wasn't all my own work [;-)]. Google is wonderful thing, n'est-ce pas? Amicalement Craig

[quote user="sweet 17"] Do you have a rocket launcher in Pas de Calais then?[/quote] You won't be the first if you do  .. [:)] http://www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/wizernes.html (Gulp!) Craig

First impressions are that it looks exactly like ... what it looks like. A snail shell.  (Just 'cos it's spiral doesn't mean it's come from the sea [:)] ) One family is Clausiliidae.  For more, go, for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausiliidae http://www.conchology.be/en/availableshells/searchresultsgallery.php?family=CLAUSILIIDAE&species=&locality=&Search=buscar HTH Craig

Don't forget Mutuelle des Motards.  As the name sugggests, they're specialist bike insurers, set up by bikers as a mutual, been going for 26 years ... Quotation available on line. http://www.amdm.fr/assurance-moto/ HTH Craig

[quote user="Hoddy"]The OP wanted to be able to buy online, Ventodue. The site you recommend doesn't seem to allow that. As for the best nuts being from Grenoble ........... Hoddy[/quote] Hmmm .. you're too easily deterred, if you don't mind me saying [:)] Look under Producteurs-expéditeur (ignore the 'volumes commercialisés en AOC supérieurs à 1 tonne' nonsense).   And then, for example, go http://www.produits-de-la-ferme.com/la_boutique.php. I'll even reproduce their order form for you ...  [IMG]http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr42/Ventodue/Walnuts.jpg[/IMG] Or  try e-mailing any one of the other suppliers ...

[quote user="chocccie"]I'm going to use some reclaimed mechanical terecotta type tile to roof a store room adjacent to a house.  Can anybody tell me the minimum pitch required please? [/quote] The primary determinant of the minimum roof pitch is the size of the roofing unit (then the amount of overlap, then the degree of exposure ...) So, going back to my college books [:)], I find: Plain tile, 265x165 - 35 degrees.  Single interlocking pantile, 380x260 - 22.5 degrees.  Double interlocking Roman tile, 420x380, 17.5 degrees. Slate, 430x380, 17.5 degrees. HTH Craig

Look at the website of the AOC Noix de Périgord http://www.noixduperigord.com/accueil.php  ... with a list of sellers here http://www.noixduperigord.com/site.php?page=partenaires (Altho' every one knows that the best walnuts come from Grenoble, of course [6] ) HTH Craig  

Hi WJT, [quote user="WJT"]  <snip> The large holes in the beams above in my photo are very recent.  As far as Capricorne, that is what the experts here that have come out to have a look called them but perhaps they are Longhorn beetles. [/quote] Just to clear up any remaining confusion: as Chris said, 'Capricorne' and 'Longhorn beetle' are the French and English names for a family of beetles of which there are several different species.  The species found in buildings is the HOUSE Longhorn beetle or Capricorne des MAISONS. [quote user="WJT"]  Sadly, we do have them in our oak beams.  Unfortunately I have seen numerous dead bodies after they exit our oak beams. [/quote] 1.  Are you SURE your beams are oak? 2.  Do you have any photos of the adult insects? [quote user="WJT"] Many of the French here say all old houses in Dordogne have them and not to worry because they don't eat the heart of oak because it is too hard. But they do eat all of the outer wood. [/quote] All of which is pretty much true!  Because the grubs live inside the timber, they are not easy to eradicate - surface treatment is largely a waste of time and money. [quote user="WJT"] I have since learned it was a big mistake because it just exposes even more of the Capricorne damage. [/quote] Not really - the damage was already there - it's just that now you can see it.  You didn't make it any worse. [quote user="WJT"] Perhaps now you may understand my concern about the appearance of perhaps new beasties eating at our wood.[/quote] Fret not.  A few carpenter or mason bees are nothing to be concerned about.  They don't do anything to wood or mortar that is already in good condition. HTH Craig

[quote user="Pads"]  <snip> What do you use Plaster of Paris for except broken arms and making models ? [/quote] 'cos it sets quick, can be used for fixing electrical back boxes in solid walls Amicalement Craig

Hi Val, Go here, http://www.ffve.org/content/view/81/2/ New system due to come in 15 June (date has been put back).  CT required every 5 years, starting either in 2009 or 2010 depending on your registration. HTH Craig

[quote user="Martinwatkins"] <snip> So it may be for the Montpellier case that either St Baudille (the main station) is not giving you enough digital signal strength to keep the receiver happy, or that your aerial is using (pointing at) one of the relays of St Baudille which has yet to be upgraded for digital. <snip> [/quote] Ta Martin.  People tell us that reception here in Montpellier is known not to be good - and, if the signal's coming all the way thru the hills from St Baudille, I can understand why!  It seems the way to go is a TNT /internet/phone deal; but we couldn't get our Orange TV box to work, so have stuck with a simple decoder.  We'll be moving shortly, anyways, and I guess I'll sort things out then :-) Amicalement Craig

Just to say 'thanks' for all the postings in reply to cheminot's original post.  I have the same situation here in Montpeliier and was fairly sure it was just down to an old aerial, so nice to have it confirmed. Amicalement Craig

Hi Norman NM [:)] Try asking this bunch ... http://bikeclubfrance.com/forum/index.php Amicalement Craig

[quote user="woolybanana"]So, before we can choose a fish, we have to read 1000 pages of statistics, of doubtful accuracy, by which time the bloody thing will be rotten.[/quote] Which takes us neatly back to the title of this thread: "Do you care where your food comes from ?"  Perhaps a developed version would be, "How much do you care where your food comes from?" (Also, you don't have to make it ferociously complicated - please see my posting on page 3.) [quote user="woolybanana"]Actually, the rise in price here means that the stuff is no longer being sold on the fish markets.[/quote] As it goes, you're pretty much in step with one line of thinking in current fishery management here, Woolybanana :-).  The line is: rising fuel costs + de-commissioning and ageing of boats  + reductions in state subsidies for new boats +  a reluctance of youngsters to go to sea will all contribute to a decline in fishing, an increase in fish prices and an increase in stocks. But who knows? Amicalement Craig

[quote user="Frenchie"] I think it was limande sole, so should be fine.. Thanks for your answer, very informative. I'll take even more care next time.. It was delicious by the way, cooked in the oven " à l'Indienne" .[/quote] Hi Frenchy, Glad to have been of help - and that the sole was good!  This whole, "What fish can I eat?", question is an absolute minefield.  The more you research, the more you realise how hard it is ...  Living in Montpellier, I need to find out more about the Mediterranean fisheries.  For example - as I'm sure you know! - we get Dorade = Gilt-head Sea Bream (Sparus aurata) here.  They swim into the étangs around this time of the year to feed on the crustaces which grow there during the summer.  They then swim back to the sea in the Autumn, which is when they have traditionally been caught at Sète ... But then you find out that it is also extensively fish-farmed (with all the environmental problems that involves!).  So the Dorade you buy in Sète could easily have come from ... Greece.  Here's a graph showing how this farming has exploded in the last few years: [IMG]http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr42/Ventodue/Sparusaurata.gif[/IMG] Amicalement Craig

[quote user="Frenchie"] At noon we're having "soles" , what's the situation of this delicious fish? ( from the market today early morning ) [/quote] Hi Frenchie, A simple question with a fiendishly complicated answer!  You have been warned ...  Are you ready ...? [:)] Factors to be considered are: Exactly which species is it - there are at least 2 Where the fish has come from and how the fish is caught. Dover Sole = 'Sole commune' (Solea solea) suffered badly from over-fishing off the British coast during the 80s and 90s, particularly in the Irish Sea and the Western Approaches.   Stocks have been recovering more recently, coincident with de-commissioning of vessels and reduction of days at sea.  However, the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) still says: "The stock is at risk of reduced reproductive capacity. The size of the spawning stock is above the limit level of 25,000 tonnes, but fishing mortality is too high. The stock is therefore at risk of being harvested unsustainably". http://www.ices.dk/marineworld/fishmap/ices/pdf/sole.pdf As for the population in the Bay of Biscay - i.e. probably where your fish in 79 come from - in 2007 ICES said: " Based on the most recent estimates, ICES classifies the stock as being at risk of reduced reproductive capacity.  The SSB (Spawning Stock Biomass  = The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population) has declined from the high levels of 1992-94 ..... Based on the most recent estimates of fishing mortality, ICES classifies the stock as being harvested unsustainably." http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2007/oct/sol-bisc.pdf The advice from MCS (Marine Conservation Society) is: "Avoid eating immature sole (less than 28cm) and fresh fish caught during the breeding season (April-June)." Lemon sole = 'Limande-sole' (Microstomus kitt) is an unregulated fishery, so facts are very hard to find.  But this is what MCS say: "Only stocks in Norwegian and North Seas are subject to mixed quota restrictions. <snip> Avoid eating immature fish (below 25 cm) and during its breeding period April-August." How the fish (either species) are caught - commercially, that is - is also important.  Sole are bottom-dwellers and are mainly caught using a bottom trawl.  This system of fishing causes considerable damage to the sea floor - up to 50% of all bottom-living sea life is destroyed (ICES).  Trawling is banned in some waters off New Zealand and the UN Secretary General reported in 2006 that 95 percent of damage to seamount ecosystems worldwide is caused by bottom trawling. Also, because bottom trawling is by nature non-selective, the discard levels can be truly horrendous.  Again, from ICES in 2008: "The mixed fisheries for flatfish are dominated by a mixed beam trawl fishery using 80 mm mesh in the southern North Sea where up to 80%  of all plaice caught are being discarded. Measures to reduce discarding in the mixed beam trawl fishery would greatly benefit the plaice stock and future yields.  However, this would result in a short-term loss of marketable sole." In France, sole is taken both as a by-catch of trawling for round-fish (cod, for example) and by gill-netting.  In your area: "The French fixed-net fishery for sole, taking place mainly in the spawning season, has increased from less than 5% of landings prior to 1985 to around 60% in recent years. This shift between the fleets has resulted in a change of the selection towards older fish. The landings of sole in the Bay of Biscay are subject to a TAC (Total Allowable Catch) regulation. Estimated landings have frequently exceeded TACs, in particular in the years 2002–2006." ICES. In 1974, sole landings in the Bay of Biscay were 2443 tonnes.  In 2006, it was 4514 tonnes.  The highest figures were in the mid '90s, peaking in 1994 at 7095 tonnes. (And these are the declared figures). So, is the European or French sole fishery being responsibly managed?  I'd say, on balance, probably not ... Amicalement Craig

[quote user="Patf"] Interesting thread - I've just read it right through. Is pollack the same as lieu noir? (Pollachius virens)? <snip> [/quote] Hi Patf, Yes.  It's also called Saithe or Coley in English.  The fishery is considered to be sustainable - for example, go http://www.fishonline.org/advice/eat/?item=13 HTH Craig

[quote user="Dog"] 1.2 million tons of Pollack were stolen from the sea the other year in Alaska - it may be considered sustainable???? But they also caught as a 'by product' many other endangered species. [/quote] Different species, Dog.  The one I referenced is Atlantic Pollock, Pollachius pollachius, the one you're talking about is Alaskan Pollock, Theragra chalcogramma. But you're absolutely right.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration  the population of Alaskan Pollock in 2008 was almost 50 percent lower than last year's survey levels. I quote from their press release of 20 November 2008 NOAA has released new scientific information showing a decline in the biomass that has the agency recommending a cut to the pollock catch for 2009 in the eastern Bering Sea. "Although the pollock biomass was well above average in the 1990s, our surveys show a substantial decline in recent years," said Doug DeMaster, science and research director for NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Amicalement Craig

[quote user="Frenchie"] http://www.intermarche.com/intermarcheetvous_metiers_endirectfilieres.aspx That s what I meant about Intermarché.  I buy local fish at the marché, or from Intermarché. [/quote] Thanks for the link, Frenchie. An interesting read.  I can see that Intermarché is trying to do something, but let's just take a closer look at the first 4 species which they specifically name in their "gamme de poissons « issus de pêche responsable » avec la légine, le sabre noir, la lingue bleue, la baudroie (ou lotte)". Here are examples of what can be found in half an hour on the web.  All the sources quoted are reputable, including government fishery research organisations.  French first, English second: Légine = Patagonian toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides Cela a entraîné une surexploitation de cette ressource halieutique. Des mesures de conservation ont été prises, mais une pêche illégale s'est développée dans de grandes proportions et une détermination criminelle rarement vue dans une activité économique comme la pêche. C'est ainsi plus de vingt navires qui ont été arraisonnés par la Marine nationale dans sa ZEE (Zone économique exclusive) depuis 1997. -------------------------------------- Illegal overfishing threatens the species in some areas as the fish is slow-growing and reaches maturity between ten and twelve years of age. The longline fishery has also been criticized for drowning thousands of seabirds such as albatrosses. In the last few years, the management of several fisheries has improved with increased patrolling for illegal vessels and stringent regulations for legal operators. Although overfishing and illegal 'pirate fishing' are still problems in places, the Marine Stewardship Council has certified the fishery in South Georgia for sustainable management. South Georgia has the largest toothfish fishery, with a TAC (Total Allowable Catch) of around 3000 tonnes per year, taken by approximately ten vessels. Illegal catches may be up to five times the legal catch limit. As a direct result some researchers have predicted a total collapse of the fishery within two to five years. The Patagonian toothfish lives in deep waters (from 300 to 3,500 metres) on seamounts and continental shelves around most sub-Antarctic islands, such as the exclusive economic zone of the French Southern Territories (Kerguelen Islands) ....  Because of poaching, the French Navy patrols the zone and has made numerous arrests and seizures. Australian Customs vessels have pursued illegal toothfishing ships up to 6100 kilometres at times.  Illegal fishing for toothfish in the Southern Ocean is hazardous not only for the fish themselves, but for other wildlife in and around the waters. According to The Antarctica Project, "It is common practice in the illegal fishery to dynamite the [Sperm and Killer] whales when they are discovered in the area where the fishing takes place" and "…hundreds of thousands of endangered albatrosses and petrels dive for the [fish] bait and become hooked and drowned."   Sabre noir  = Black scabbardfish, Aphanopus carbo La structure du stock est incertaine. Compte tenu de la baisse de l’abondance du stock perçue dans les zones nord, le CIEM recommande une réduction de l’exploitation à son niveau d’avant l’expansion de la pêcherie (1990-1996) dans les sous zones V, VI, VII et XII, ce qui correspond à des débarquements ne dépassant pas 3 500 t. ------------------------------------------------------ The Marine Conservation Society has rated the scabbardfish as a species vulnerable to overfishing. According to MCS, there is little information to indicate the fishery to be sustainable. Lingue bleue = Blue Ling, Molva dypterygia En 2008, quelle que soit la zone où elle est exploitée, l'espèce ne bénéficie pas de mesure de protection ni même d’objectif de gestion spécifique. Les experts, selon l'Ifremer, estimaient en 2006 qu'il fallait dans la plupart des cas stopper la pêche ciblant l'espèce, et quand elle est une prise accessoire, des fermetures temporaires (saisonnières) de pêche pourraient lui laisser le temps de commencer à reconstituer ses populations. ---------------------------------------------------- It appears that the stock is seriously depleted - ICES advises that there should be no directed fisheries for blue ling and that closed areas introduced to protect spawning aggregations should continue or expand where needed and capture of blue ling in mixed fisheries should be minimized. Historical overfishing in the Faroes and Iceland has shown that once this species is fished down in an area, it does not recover, even when fishing pressure is low. Baudroie = Angler or Monkfish, Lophius piscatorius Greenpeace a placé la baudroie sur sa liste rouge et recommande d'en cesser la consommation jusqu'à ce que sa survie soit assurée. En effet il s'agit d'une espèce à la croissance lente et parvenant tardivement à l’age adulte, vulnérable face à la surexploitation. ------------------------------------------------------ Based on the most recent estimate of the fishing mortality, ICES classifies the stock as being harvested outside safe biological limits. The combined area assessment indicates that the recent levels of fishing mortality have been well above the proposed precautionary level. The fish are exploited at an early age due to their size and shape, and are subject to considerable mortality prior to reaching maturity.     In summary, I suggest that, even if Intermarché itself is following sustainable fishing practices, it would appear that all 4 species remain susceptible to considerable over-expoitation.  Surely it would just be better to avoid?   P.s  The fifth species on Intermarché's list, Lieu noir = Pollack, Pollachius pollachius is NOT considered to be over-fished.  So there's some good news!    Amicalement   Craig