The origin of our cottages – before and after
We live in a world of overkill, where sense of time is not respected anymore, where proximity seems only to be virtual: my husband and I needed to work together on a project with meaning:
- Bringing back time, reconnection to oneself and others,
- Bringing back simpleness that became a lost privilege,
- Allowing one to (re)discover little things to enjoy through activities to share together.
Connect people to one another, show and share my contacts and environment… this could be perceived as naive, but this is what my life philosophy is: re-learn how to take time to be in harmony with oneself, take care of oneself, share with others with kindness, simply to enjoy pleasant moments with them and celebrate life…
Since all of this is not that easy in our world, it is important to give yourself some time and to meet people that will help you in that way. I would be delighted to help you organize your stay as best as I can.
The first “help” we got for our project was the trust of Sophie, Nathalie and Virginie Petesch, who enabled us to rehabilitate their family house into living places. This is a generation story that we are proud to share through Sophie’s testimony that is filled with tradition, simplicity, authenticity… We are hoping to keep this spirit over time…
«What can we tell you about our story in Cusey?
We got this house from our paternal grandparents who bought it in 1922 (one century ago!), without the Baron’s house at that time. Our grandmother was born in Cusey, in a house located in the Rue Haute. Her father was a blacksmith, her mother was a midwife. They lived in this house during their retirement. Our grandmother stayed until 1968 and our grandfather until 1960. We have few memories of him, he was a distant and intimidating old man who, in order to avoid the bustle of a horde of kids, used to having a nap in the middle of his 4 beehives located in the small garden, against the “Baron’s wall” (nickname of the former owner) in the middle of our grandmother’s roses.
As we were kids, we spent most of our time there for the holidays. At that time, the everyday comfort was quite Spartan, especially during Spring breaks, a time of the year that still is cold in this region: cold water for the grooming, hot bricks in the bed and WC in the back of the barn… Fortunately for them, our kids enjoyed more comfort!
Our parents bought the “Baron’s” house and the land in 1968, in order to open the house on a space which did not exist in the original plot. Our mother lived there throughout her retirement, financing some work to maintain it.
We are delighted to know that this old house, a former post house, will begin a new chapter with you and we wish you a beautiful success story with your project for this year 2022 and the coming ones.”
Bees seem to have chosen to live here for several years in continuity to the beehives of the grandfather.
Indeed, a beehive formed naturally in the wall, at the top of the façade of the rental cottage “La Cour Intérieure”. Like every bee, they fly upwards, never towards the ground. They take off from the beehive, at a height of more than 5 meters.
Our bee-friends are not a danger at all for our guests as long as they are committed not to disturb them, trying to reach them. This could even be the occasion of a pedagogical activity, an observation place for you, sitting on a deckchair in the shadow of a magnolia in order to observe the buzzing traffic in the middle of the afternoon, when bees come back after their day of work!
They live independently and don’t have any access to the attic or the house. Without human intervention, bees create a shelter-beehive, also called a preservation beehive, maintaining the balance of our weakened ecosystem! If you want, a book (“Les Ruches Refuges” of Céline Locqueville) can be lent so that you can discover the wonderful world of Apis Mellifera bees! We can also let you be in touch with local beekeepers and, why not, participate with some of them (like Cecile Raffier) to internships dedicated to conventional beekeeping not far from out rental cottages!
After an internship dedicated to beekeeping in Yonne, we consider contributing to the preservation of bees in biodiversity and we are hoping to get a natural swarm of bees that we could place in a shelter-beehive, high up in the orchard of the “A Ciel Ouvert” rental cottage!
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Source Wikipedia in addition to Sophie’s very humble account :
- « Personnalité liée à la commune : L’Amiral Jean Petesch (1912-1971), pilote de l’aéronavale au passé glorieux lors du conflit 1939-1945 »
- La maison dite du « baron » correspond au gite « A ciel Ouvert » et la maison initiale (ancien relais de poste) à celle de « La Cour Intérieure ».
