Finally, after decades of silence – the Lescure lion roars again!

Almost three years ago, deep in the woods, we stumbled upon the hiding place of a lion and realised he must have been living a hurt life in the shadows for ages. We wanted nothing more than return him to his former majesty, and reunite him with his fellow predator at the spring faucet. Yet, despite appearing on our to-do list every day, he was always our lowest priority. After a long stay with a local blacksmith who didn’t consider him a priority either, we took the lion in to live with us in the château. He became increasingly silent to the extent of almost disappearing, but we excused his captivity by telling ourselves that at least he was sheltered from the elements. What can I say? There are only so many hours in a day.

Then this summer, came these times of drought. The lack of rain and supreme heat had us descending into the woods daily to worriedly check the water levels of the spring. It also drove us to look for jobs in the shadows, sheltered from the blazing sun.  Clever craftsman Ulysse started repairing the framework of the door above the spring, working fire and metal like a modern day Hephaistos. Thomas eased the metal door back in and I took care of cleaning and the finishing touches with anti-corrosion oil and a little paint.

And see, our lion is back where he belongs with his buddy.

Lescure is always full of noises at night and we now imagine a new sound rolling up to our beds: intense, primal and guttural. Terrifying? Not in the least. It’s just two big happy cats purring away.