Tag Archives: Nature

From Sunshine to Hedgehog Havens: Behind the Scenes of a Greener La Maison Louverie

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While the Dordogne sun is finally warming the soil and our terrace is calling for apéros, we’re still very much in “behind the scenes” mode at La Maison Louverie. This year, that means taking real, practical steps to make your holiday home more comfortable and more sustainable for the long term.

Part 2: Super double glazed windows, Less Energy Waste

This week we completed part 2 of our “making Louverie more eco‑friendly” with installing five new windows certified NF–FCBA ACOTHERM n°87.1 A3 E7B VA2 Uw: 1.6 incl. Periglass 25 S2 CEKAl 627.

In normal-people terms, that means:

  • Periglass 25: Brand + thickness (25 mm total glass unit).
  • S2: Safety glass class 2 – tempered or laminated for impact resistance.
  • CEKAl: French CEKAL certification mark (since 1989) guaranteeing:
    • Thermal performance (low U-value, good insulation).
    • Air/water/wind tightness (matches your NF-FCBA A3 E7B VA2 ratings).
    • Durability + quality controls on manufacturing.​
  • The Uw 1.6 value describes the overall insulation of the window; the lower this number, the better it keeps heat in.
  • 627: Internal product/reference code (thickness combo or spec variant).

In layman terms: High-quality French-certified double/triple glazing – safe, insulated, storm-proof. -Energy sufficient-

Planting a Future Park: 28 New Trees

Just as the sun started warming the ground – and just before the rain returned – we went outside with spades and muddy boots and planted 28 new trees.

Among them:

  • 14 walnut trees
  • 1 fig tree
  • 1 small pine
  • And a mix of other young trees to add variety and shade

We planted them outside the main fenced garden, with the idea of slowly creating a park‑like environment around La Maison Louverie. This will take time, of course, but each sapling is a small promise for more shade, more birds, more colour, and more life in the years to come.

Why Our Field “Chaos” Is on Purpose

If you look closely, behind the fence and further away from the property, you’ll notice something we don’t do: we don’t burn our heaps of garden waste.

Instead of sending weeds, branches and cuttings up in smoke, we:

  • Create piles of branches and green waste in selected corners.
  • Let them slowly break down and create their own micro‑climate.
  • Allow moisture to stay in the ground longer, which is very welcome in dry periods.

These piles:

  • Become a beautiful feeding and shelter area for the new trees as the material decomposes.
  • Offer a safe haven for small wildlife: hedgehogs, rabbits, insects and many other small creatures that share the land with us.

It may look a little like chaos at first glance, but nature rarely grows in straight lines. Out of this “chaos” comes a quieter kind of order – and a healthier ecosystem around the house.

Sunshine on the Roof: Our Solar Panels in Numbers

On the roof, our 32 solar panels continue to work away quietly whenever the Dordogne sun shines.

So far, they have helped us save around 2243 kg of CO₂ emissions, which is roughly equal to 90,733 km driven in a small car – kilometres powered by sunshine instead of fossil fuels. (If you’re curious, we share more about this under the “Sustainability” menu on our website.) It’s not perfect, and we are still learning, but every kilowatt-hour of solar power is one more step in the right direction.

When You Can Experience It All: 2026 Dates

When you stay at La Maison Louverie, you don’t have to choose between comfort and caring for the planet. The better windows mean a cosier house, the solar panels quietly turn Dordogne sunshine into electricity, and the “wild” corners in our field give hedgehogs and other small animals a safe place to live. You can simply enjoy your holiday, knowing that your stay supports gentle choices for this little corner of France.

If you’d like to see all this for yourself – here are the weeks we still have available in April, May and June, plus the post‑19 September period and our favorite month, October:

  • April: From 17 till the 27th
  • May: From the 10th till the 14th – the 17th till the 24th
  • June: From the 20th till the 24th – and the 29th till the 4th of July
  • From 19 September onwards:
  • October Our most beautiful month: soft light, warm days, cool nights)

You can always find the most up‑to‑date availability on our website: www.lamaisonlouverie.com

How to survive the winter in the Dordogne

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Sometimes we feel completely closed off from the world here in the southwestern part of France. January is the month of – 50 Shades of Grey -. Some complain about it, but I love it. I think there is a reason why nature takes a nap when it’s cold and boring outside. It needs rest after that really busy season of hot summer that rolls in the beautiful long season of autumn. There are no 3 months straight spring, summer, autumn, or winter. And here in the forgotten world of January and the Dordogne, there is just a small nook that is registered for winter. Yes, it snows. And yes, it’s definitely cold, especially at night. But no other homecoming to the Dordogne than sniffing those smells like a haunting dog on a Sunday; all those roaring wood stoves and fireplaces with burning French oak.

If you arrive in the dark, you feel like Elon Musk built a Starfleet to Mars and you missed that ship. There will be no life -other than crossing deer, badgers, and foxes, that also had no desire to leave planet Earth-, and there will be no light; all shutters, blinds, curtains, everything that can cover up the proof of life is hidden. No sound; French people tend to stay at home in the winter evenings, drinking their homemade red wines. No terrace is occupied, and most of the restaurants have also adjusted to the hibernation of men and closed for the season. The rolling fog, coming from the Dordogne River or the Vezere when the water is warmer than the outside temperature takes over the outer banks, the valleys, and will climb up onto the hills. Leaving every sound dampened. And the world is silent.

In the morning when the world decides it’s time for a beautiful day, the sun will come out late. And after a frosty night, it can only be described as magical. Driving down the hill, direction the artist of bread and croissants in the nearby village, the river is waking up. The fog will leave the trees covered in a white breakable coat against a blue sky. Stepping into the bakery I am first in line because there are no tourists and well, the rest of the inhabitants also crawled back under the rock where their ancestors the Cromagnon came from, ages ago. They also survived winter. In their caves. With a fire to keep them warm. Nothing has changed much. We still live in, under, and in between stone walls. We changed however the open fireplace into a more efficient wood burner. I still gather wood daily, also no change there.

So if you ever decide to come to this part of the world. This gentle side of life, in winter, in our 50 Shades of Grey. Be prepared for some true peace and quiet. Smell the Dordogne fog, enjoy those calm wind-free days and drink that red wine in front of that roaring, but contained fire. Have a walk in the mossy green forests and don’t forget to bring a camera. It’s easy to survive winter, just embrace the slow steps in this nook of the year. This is how you survive winter in the Dordogne