Linen

for those who never wondered where that word was coming from!
the linen is textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. it grows relativeley well in Normandy and having grown up with that in the plains, I thought I shown some to the boys.
it grows up to knee hight, then they rip off the fibers and flatten it in rows as per the photos to allow the fibres to ret with the sun and rain, and preferably no wind!

this is extremely weather dependant and a real demanding plant if the farners want a good harvest. they have machines to rip off and machines to flip over so the retting can happen on each side.

then they harvest it into round balls.