“À la Saint-Roch, les noisettes on croque”, or so the saying goes in Picardy/Wallonia. Today is the feast of Saint-Roch or Rochus as he’s known in nearby Halle, where a church is dedicated to him.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Forest and its sister, the Hallerbos, were contiguous, both part of the ancient 𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑎 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎, joined in the area of the Sept Fontaines/Zevenbronnen.
Today, although a particularly athletic squirrel may just be able to bridge the gap, the sisters are regarded as separate entities.
There is plenty of Hazel in the Forest, provider of nuts and coppice-wood through the centuries, often near the former religious houses. The Church and the Forest too are closely related, joined at the hip, so should you crack open some nuts or just spread some Nutella on bread, do so mindful of Saint-Roch, protector against plague and phylloxera, owner of a bread-carrying dog.
That being said, this continual dry, hot weather has taken its toll on this year’s crop. The nuts are small with little flesh of note.