Scenes from the French countryside

We've been driving around the Perigord for a week now and it's time to show you some of the countryside we've seen. Everywhere things are tidy and well-kept and very green. 

Farming is the primary industry once the tourists have gone home. As for crops, we've seen a lot of vineyards, plus corn and sunflowers past their prime, but lots of fields are now plowed over. Also there are a lot orchards, mainly with walnut trees.

The cows look so happy and healthy that they could all be in advertisements.  

Many homes offer table de hotes or chambre de hotes, a dinner or a room, and the biggest draw appears to the regional food: duck, pate de fois gras and walnuts.

The roads are narrow but in excellent condition and there's very little traffic. Drivers are for the most part considerate.

There are many woodlots with planted trees and we see them also being chopped down to create big piles of wood. our theory is that thsi wood may be used to make charcoal; it,s certainly not cut to firepace or stove size.

It's hard to take photos from the car but I've tried to capture a range of the darling farm houses and little villages we passed by. It's all so pretty with the golden stone and the painted shutters.

I can't edit photos on my iPad so the real slide show will have to wait until I get home.

Tonight's our last night in this little cottage so we're packing up for the next leg of our trip: Provence.