This time of the year in my little French village , the fields are filled with cows . There are certainly more cows than people – this is farming country .
My favourite cow-keepers are Monsieur and Madame Pepperpot . Not their real names of course but they are very petite and ancient . Lifelong farmers , they are too old to keep a large herd but like to keep their hand in , and have just three very spoiled , much loved black and white creatures called Marie- Antoinette , Blanche and Marguerite – all named after famous Queens of France .
I met them by accident as they live in a rather hidden part of the village , down a woodland pathway off the beaten track , though since there are just 150 residents , it ’ s hardly beaten anywhere around here . One early spring morning , a damp sort of day , mist hanging over the village like giant cobwebs , the dogs , instead of going our usual walking route , ran off down the wooded pathway and didn ’ t return when we called them . Following in their footsteps we encountered a very large cow eating the flowers in a tiny cottage garden . Our dogs loud barking did nothing to move the cow but out of the cottage came a tiny old lady with white hair tied in a bun . Together we heaved the cow back to its field at the back of their home .
Since then , we ’ ve become firm friends . Madame Pepperpot loves to cook – robust stews , pies , tarts and flammekueches – the local pizza . Eaten straight out of the oven , it burns your fingers a little but , she says that ’ s how it should be enjoyed . She is famous for her rice puddings made with milk from her queenly cows .
We often walk past her cottage these days and wave to her as she stands at her kitchen sink at the window which overlooks her little front garden . Always she has a big smile and will laugh as she watches our dogs run about , excited at the prospect of finding another cow . It makes me think of a quote by Victor Hugo “ laughter is sunshine , it chases winter from the human face ”.
Wishing you well from a tiny village in the middle of nowhere , rural northern France ,
Janine
Janine Marsh is the author of My Good Life in France : In Pursuit of the Rural Dream and My Four Seasons in France : A Year of the Good Life , available on Amazon .