Kergoalec Pears: Photograph by Will Tenney

Kergoalec Pears

In rural France, nearly every farm has a name which uniquely becomes its address. In Brittany, most farm names begin with Ker-, meaning “place of”. There is Kerandruc, Kerambris, Kerangall, and so on. We have some friends who live on an old farm called Kergoalec which means Place of the Kestrel (a small bird of prey). One wall of their stone barn is covered with ivy which turns red in the late September sun. Ripening pears hang pendulously in front of the wall, soaking up the afternoon warmth and becoming sweeter and sweeter. The only sound I hear is the buzzing of bees and some birds in a nearby copse.