In addition to Carpe Diem, “Be Prepared,” in beautiful Provence

By Jo Anne Wilson
Sun international correspondent
SAIGNON, France — Greetings from Southern France . . . land of lavender, honey and heat! For the second year in a row this region is experiencing extremely high temperatures and no rain. Intense heat and low humidity create an oven-like atmosphere. My days are devoted primarily to being the guardienne of some local vacation properties. I take care of the five stone cottages on the Domaine de Claparèdes, a restored lavender farm outside of Saignon, the grounds and two swimming pools. I also watch the owner’s house and small stone Cabanon. So far we’ve had a broken window, a pulled out pool gate, a non-functioning hot water heater, and a melted down light fixture. I’ve had a slam dunk introduction to the various repair services.

I interact with hard-working service people as well as the couples and families who are here for holiday (we say vacation). It makes me think of how much this area has in common with Leelanau County. Life goes on at two levels. There are those who come for days or weeks to relax and enjoy, completely absorbed in having a good time. Also, there are those who live and work here. Like the workers in Leelanau, most workers here find great satisfaction in the beauty of the area that surrounds them, more than in the wages. Others, I suspect, stay because they were born and raised here and they do what they can to make a modest living.
July and August are fiercely busy. The French have a very strict government policy on vacations: 35-hour workweeks and four to six weeks of vacation. Everyone has time off. Many of the tourists I see are French. They come to Provence the way people from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and southern Michigan come to Leelanau. Others arrive from elsewhere on the European Continent as well as the U.K. There are also a few Americans around (usually detectible by white sneakers and loud voices — why do we Americans talk louder than the rest of the world?)
I’m meeting a sizeable group of English speaking expatriates for whom this area is home. Temporarily, I’m housed with Meg and Stephen Parker. Meg’s a Brit and Stephen an American. They’ve renovated what was a tumbled down old farmhouse into a lovely stone provençal home. The house is on the side of a hill overlooking a splendid vineyard with mountains and lavender fields in the background. I’ve been here four weeks and the view still stuns me. I’m in one of two apartments on the lower level of the house. There’s a terrace just outside the door. From dawn ‘til after sunset I am treated to a view that makes me feel as if I’m watching a travelogue on the big screen. With morning coffee or evening wine I stare, and still cannot quite believe such beauty.
I must add, however, that along with the beauty and the charm goes a huge assortment of bugs. The little old Michigan mosquito pales to the variety and abundance of provençal insects. These days with temperatures in the 90s, the chirping and humming of the cicadas is almost deafening and borderline annoying. I’m learning about jumping spiders, wasps, hornets, scorpions and other bizarre and grotesque looking beetles. The beetles are harmless, if the mere sight of them doesn’t cause cardiac arrest. And unless you’re allergic to bee stings, there’s no need to worry. They’re too busy with lavender nectar to bother with human flesh. With acres of purple blossoms, they’re consumed with gathering pollen. Talk about bee heaven. The most delicious honey is sold at local farms and in the markets. Ask Mary Rokos at Bittersweet to tell you about our visit to the honey farmer last fall. Wine tasting has nothing on honey tasting. Yummy and sticky!
Most of the lavender has been harvested. Today I passed two big farm carts, stacked high with tied up bunches of harvested flowers. These will be taken to local factories and processed into oil. There’s a distillery just outside Saignon and I can see the smoke from its chimney across the valley. Some lavender oil has medicinal purposes; it’s good for skin irritations such as bee stings.
Speaking of bee stings (I do seem to be dwelling on bugs, don’t I?), yesterday I stopped at the pharmacy. A pharmacy here can be like a walk-in-clinic in the States and pharmacists are much like our physician’s assistants. I went for advice on medicine for my allergies. (I refuse to think I might be allergic to lavender.) In addition to the recommended allergy tablets, I also bought a small venom extractor. Meg says she and Stephen carry one when they hike in the countryside, in case of snakebite. “SNAKES, I YELPED! “ Meg quickly assured me they also work for bee, wasp and hornet, or spider bites, which I’m far more likely to get than a snakebite.
So from sniffles to snake bites, I am all set. Meg has invited me to go hiking with a group of friends and their dogs. We leave tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. and the venom extractor is already in my backpack. Not that I plan to need it you understand, however, to Sun readers who already know my motto: Carpe Diem, let me also add: Be Prepared.
P.S. Several of you have asked about the name of this village. It looks like Saigon, but it’s Saignon, and pronounced say-nyoh.