At the slightest vibration, the frogs lazing at the edge of the pond jump into the water, before taking refuge under a layer of mud. Along a dirt path, a lizard pokes its nose out, then quickly disappears into the tall grass. At water level, dragonflies and damselflies twirl. Measuring up to 10 centimeters in length, with two or four wings, they display their bright colors, royal blue, forest green, scarlet red.
The Mercury damselflies are a magnet to the eye: these thin metal-blue stems, with black spots whose shape recalls a Gallic helmet, cultivate their balance, their legs clasping a piece of grass. Here and there flutter two insects tied to each other, in the middle of mating. The walker continues on his way, accompanied by pretty white butterflies.
In the middle of summer, the natural region of La Bassée, a floodplain that extends its 30,000 hectares on both banks of the Seine, between Montereau-Fault-Yonne (Seine-et-Marne) and Romilly-sur-Seine (Aube), has the appearance of an immense jungle. The shades of green echo each other. Umbelliferous plants, these fairly common plants that open onto corollas of white flowers, stretch into the air. Closer to the ground, oregano shoots, recognizable by their small pink flowers, carpet entire meadows. In an environment dense with vines, branches and brambles, narrow paths lead to half-hidden ponds. The bits of dead wood, bindweed and nettle bushes form a backdrop of strange creatures.
Nature is never silent. The informed walker recognizes the insistent stridulation of the kingfisher. On a bank, herons open their wings in a muffled rustling. Ducks sail on a pond while a bird of prey, gliding, surveys the scene. At dawn, or at sunset, foxes sometimes show themselves, as well as hedgehogs, even a marten, while thousands of insects – grasshoppers, crickets, beetles – buzz in all directions. Honesty obliges to mention the good-sized mosquitoes, determined to devour human blood, which are kept away with the help of a powerful repellent.
Although these landscapes with their exuberant flora and fauna are located in the Ile-de-France region, La Bassée displays none of the signs of urbanity that usually characterize the peri-urban countryside of the most densely populated region of the country. No benches welcoming well-behaved dog walkers, no barbecue fumes, no lawnmower engines, no signs touting future real estate developments. Only a few fishermen, who cast their lines early in the morning, are dozing, a large bob on their head, next to their cooler.
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