life goals

Hello Peeps it is such a beautiful day outside that I thought I would write something. Anyone living near me on this day will understand what I am saying.
So we are on release or rather limited release from confinement. Not that things have changed much at all for us. Gavin has still gone out to see the sheep and pigs I have still gone out to the markets or on delivery and have seen people at a distance from behind my mask. Alice has been at home and done her schoolwork, read, cooked, helped out, walked, watched A LOT of telly and not had a really awful time I don't think.

I am relatively calm today. We are having a new water heater fitted  which is super duper economic. And hopefully will save us a whole load of money. With the gorgeous weather it is nice to have the doors wide open and the electricity and water off for a bit. All the super dry dogs and cats are in the living room around my feet not at all fed up with the fact that someone is in their house making noise with a drill. And the dogs are not cross that Gavin has not taken them to stare at the sheep yet.

During the last couple of months I have driven a few miles as far north as Saint Mathieu and south as Marmande. Jumilhac la Grande to the east and Jonzac to the west. But.... "here I am stuck in the middle with you"..... name that tune? answers on a postcard.

Top of the hill

Bottom of the hill

As you can see from the above. if you don't solve the problem at the top of the hill, then the problem at the bottom of the hill will never be solved. 

....sorry, I get distracted easily at the moment.... anyhow what I was going to say was the countryside is very beautiful and varied and I have seen many a Chateau I never new existed. But I have become extremely aware, once again, of how much work needs to be done with education about soil erosion and how to prevent it. And have come close to tears at seeing how some of the farming is carried out in my little corner of the planet. I will reiterate soil is a finite resource if we don't make it. To make soil you need to have active micro flora and fauna in a soil. To acheive that you need to have actively growing things on the soil all the time if at all possible. Bare soil is bad. Too much grass cutting of lawns is bad. The first because soil blows and runs away with rain and wind, and also burns away under the hot sun, releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Effectively it dies.
Too much lawn cutting stops root regeneration underground reducing organic matter, leaves the soil to bake in the hot sun and grass will no longer absorb carbon from the atmosphere if it is not actively vegetatively (meaning leafily) growing. There is nothing wrong with a bit of untidyness in a garden or a farm it allows nature a moment to live longer. Stop measuring neat lines and trimmed everything to be the norm. Fluffy and rugged around the edges is the goal. We have to let nature "take back control" ( my apologies for the quote but it seemed appropriate).
Without soil there is nothing. No internet, no holidays, no chocolate, no wine, no people, just a whole heap of pandemic.

Take care of the planet people and it will take care of you.
Be careful out there
Helen :) xx