Further along our way, we went through the enormous walnut grove that is part of the great estate called Mirandol which belongs to one of the great families around here, the LeGrands. The LeGrands also own a bunch of property in the town including an incredibly ugly former restaurant just on the town square. In addition, they have a million bright yellow canoes and kayaks stored at Mirandol on the outskirts of town as well as in a vacant lot they own in town where years and years of vines and weeds have entangled the canoes and their large carriers they are stacked in. The business used to include guided trips to Africa and all the canoes bear the name of the enterprise, Safaraid. Anyone's guess why they don't just get rid of them all.
Walnut orchards are common around here and include an experimental orchard run by the government in nearby Juillac. They are now sold on a world market and are subject to the vicissitudes of growers in South America, the taste of consumers in the US, etc. In the old days, say 1600 to 1920, walnuts were a really big deal in these parts. They were the primary source of oil for lamps. Much of the bread was made from walnut flour. You can see all kinds of armoires, fine entry doors, staircases etc made of this European Walnut which is in general far lighter in color than American Black Walnut.
