Tilting at Windmills

Scenes from a Sunday drive in the Minervois last October.

Leaving the historic village of Minerve, we drove out of the valley up to high ground above the vineyards and woodlands.

The land became stony and dry, plants had adapted to their surroundings and, as we went higher, took on a rather ethereal look in shades of grey.

There were tussocks of lavender, the purple flowers already dried on their stems, and they rubbed off easily into ones hands yielding that amazing fragrance impossible not to recognize.

The windmill stood alone and silent on the top of the hill and, as we walked up to it, the feeling of stepping back in time surrounded us.

This is a 'tower mill'. Built with a fixed body of solid stone, only the top cap turns around to make the sails face the wind. This is done with the tail pole which you can see on the right.
Windmills ground grain for flour, animal feed and crushed oil seeds to make essential lighting oil before petroleum.

Of the thousands of windmills once operative across France, many still remain, a few are operational. Towards the end of the 19th century, the naturally powered stone-grinding mills began to be rapidly abandoned. Forced out of business by new technology, massive new mills in industrial cities were powered by coal-fired steam engines which could run day and night. Many were in ports where cheap coal and supplies of imported grain from newly opened farming regions like America and Russia were easily accessible. Flour was delivered all over France using the network of railways and canals, rather than the horse and cart.

This windmill was not abandoned, there was even an occupant when we opened the unlocked door.....a large rat scuttled across the floor, eeeeek!!!!

Not being familiar with the interior workings of a windmill, we were surprised to find this amazing carved horse's head which was apparently part of the mechanism for the grinding stones. How we wished a French miller had been available to show us how everything worked!

A proud rooster weather vane surveyed the surrounding countryside from it's perch. During war time, because of their location on hilltops, windmills made ideal lookout posts. Some have now been refitted as vacation rentals and must be fun to stay in if you enjoy windy hilltops with stunning views.
Returning to the flat land brought more vistas of the vineyards stretching for miles in every direction. The grapes had just been harvested, the green leaves were starting to turn red and gold........within another two weeks we noticed a huge change in the color of the landscape.