Ceret - irrigation

After lunch today Mum and I walked up to the Capuchins convent and did a little sketching. We then followed the Balcon de Ceret path up behind the convent. Mum turned back and I carried on.

The swimming pool and large tree in the foreground of this picture, looking down on Ceret,
are in the garden of the place we rented 3 years ago.

The soil is very stoney and has quite a bit of clay in it. Even though it rained all
day yesterday it is bone dry today. This picture is of the soil of a cherry orchard.

Beside the path there are remnants of an irrigation system, channels to
take the water from the streams in the hills to the fields on the hillsides and in the valleys.
 Constructed with bricks,

cement tiles,

and stones held in place with cement but they are cracked and worn through so

now its PVC pipe held in place with whatever stones are handy. PVC runs everywhere. From tree
to tree in the cherry orchards and from tree to tree in the olive orchards. Only the vineyards are PVC free.

Down in the town there is a huge monument and fountain to the engineers that built a canal in the early 1900s from the River Tech to the 4 towns in this valley Reynes, Ceret, Mauriellas and St Jean Pla de Corts.

Monument and fountain

The engineers are all named. The population must have been very grateful.

It's called a canal d'arronsage and I was only able to find mention of it on a couple of history sites on the internet, in French. Using the translation options this is a canal for spray, watering, soaking and I take it to mean it is for gardens and agriculture.

The monument shows grape picking,

a farm labourer(?)

sheep and flowers.

There are large water channels running throughout the town and behind the gardens and vegetable plots. I will post pictures when the water starts running as right now they are dry. People are preparing there gardens, clearing and digging, now. I don't think they have to wait for the May 24 weekend to plant!