I was wrong. We have not failed.
So at the Knit and Natter group last Thursday the conversation rolled itself round to cats chasing birds, cats catching birds, and then cats were left behind and birds were then discussed, ....... different types which live here, bird watching, etc.....
And then a light bulb moment happened in my head, after a friend mentioned that we must have a paradise for birds here on the farm, what with the grassland we have being able to feed them and the amount of trees to provide shelter for them also. Such a casual remark, and I thought of when we arrived, how devoid of life the farm was.........
September 2008: Back field, and back of house.
We arrived in June 2008
Eleven years on, and over 80 fruit trees have been planted providing flight corridors so little birds can fly safely between here and there. They can also help themselves the fruit harvests if we do not get to them soon enough. Our bird population has increased to such an extent that it is hardly ever silent here, someone is always chatting about something, this being brought to my attention when I am editing the footage for my YouTube videos because never is there silence in the background unless I am filming in the house.
We have been slow in keeping all the land cut and controlled, so we have lots of beautiful tall grasses in long swathes growing everywhere. While we feel that it looks untidy, thinking it should be mown short enough to be called a lawn, I have changed my mind after I saw a small bird feeding off of one of those grass heads. So we have short cut grass in places, and wild grass in other places.
Because the fields are not being heavily grazed, the cows now living in a new home elsewhere in France, the fields are looking more like meadows, with sprinkles of wild flowers here and there. And I was slow to cut the Courtyard grass, so it also grew a lot of meadow flowers as well, and then I couldn't cut it because it looked so pretty and it was smothered in bees.
My 'light bulb' moment opened my eyes to what we have actually achieved for the land, especially the birds, the small birds like the sparrows, the ones who sing and chatter. We have given Labartere a life it did not have. I actually think that that is more important now.
I have learnt to look at what we have rather than what I think we should have, and to work within our limitations and be satisfied with that rather than being dissatisfied because of unreal expectations of ourselves. We have made a difference here.
Bye for now,
Vx
12 comments:
This is wonderful! I think the birds, bees and wildlife are very much enjoying your gift to them! What a lovely place! Letting things go to the wild side a bit is a gift to mother earth. I am trying to do a small yard a favor in northern Wisconsin by letting nature take over. We bought the place 8years ago. I have planted trees and flowers where a boring grass lawn was, and the wildlife is returning. I love it.
There's no one to measure anyone's "success or failure" besides yourself and I say kudos to you, dear lady, whose glass is always half full! As you say, you've rejuvenated your land and brought back what was once lost to the wildlife and all the beauty around you.
We are in a similar position to you and have had similar thought, our dream has changed, but not the spirit of it.Our small holding , we moved here 20 years ago. We gave up on keeping animals, except for a few chickens . When we moved here ,the trees looked sick ,due to the large amount of assorted rubbish burnt here and all the chemicals to keep it tidy.
Now we are quite overgrown, the trees keep growing and growing , seedlings have flourished, bees and insects are everywhere.We see kingfishers, wild polecats, a big range of birds,and otters. We have concentrated on fruit and vegetable, mainly in poly tunnels (Wales can be wet and windy!) Good luck to you and your future care taking of the land.
It sounds like you have quite a refuge there! That's a much better way of thinking of it. -Jenn
I call things that happen to us in life - experiences (neither successes nor failures). In order to keep experiencing we need good health which could be achieved by controlling stress and nutrition. We can control nutrition as it is based on our inner will; much harder to control stress, as it is caused mostly by outer factors: partner, coworkers, neighbors, family members. Nothing really is easy, but with God's Help, we can manage to overcome difficulties.
Your smallholding in SW France is one of those one time experiences and it was worth every effort. I'm sure more great experiences will come your way. Just take care of the above two potential "killers".
STILL WATERS RUN DEEP, thankyou for stopping by and for your kind comment. I like a touch of wildness around the place, and at the moment there is plenty of that, and well done you for converting your yard into a more natural place, which is so much better for the soul. Vx
MAMA PEA, the same place but differently thought about, that is how I view the farm now! Hope your growing season has started picking up speed after the temperamental weather you have had.
WALKING IN BEAUTY...., it was so nice to read your comment, and to know that you have also been in the same position as we have, and that is having to rethink the future of the smallholding, so thanks for commenting.
I would love to have a polytunnel but the winds can get fierce here and we are worried in case the poly blows away. We are also concentrating on fruit and veg, still have a flock of sheep, and also chickens, and that, I think, will be all that we need to have.
JENN, it is surprising how a change of thinking can make such a difference to one's general state of mind, and yes, we do have a refuge both for us and the wildlife that live here, and for that I feel very blessed. Hope you and your family are well. Vx
DUTA, as ever, you have given me food for thought, but we are still on our smallholding, and still intend to be smallholders, we have not given up yet, just had a rethink as to what we need to do here. Adjustments to changing circumstances is what we have done, and I just needed to realise what we had here instead of feeling that we had failed. This I have now done. Vx
I got up at half five on Friday morning and couldn't believe what wildlife is walking about in the fields that are growing long grass. Sounds like yours are the same Vera.
Well done! I have a terrible time reconciling where we are with where I think we ¨should¨ be.
I also think you´re right that it´s actually more important you´ve achieved a corner of the world where the wildlife thrive than any lifestyle goals we may have.
Anyway, you´re a creative, hardworking, intelligent person and I´m sure there´s no lack of new projects and techniques to be explored and enjoyed. Looking forward to seeing them!
Onward.
Cheers
Vera, this is what my father has down as well at The Ranch. It is only looking at the work as a grand total that we can see what it was done. I would say you are doing is a form of stewardship of the land - it is a very important job indeed, and only ever done by those that actually care about the lands. What an amazing epiphany.
NORTHSIDER DAVE: How wonderful to have wildlife around us, but most of all, how wonderful to be able to appreciate it!
COCO: The stress we put on ourselves by having such high expectations of what we think we should be doing! So with that realisation has now come upon me, I am looking forward to seeing what happens next along the pathway of my life! Thanks for your kind words.
TOIRDHEALBHEACH BEUCAIL: I like the thought you gave me, that what we are doing is a form of 'stewardship' of the land. It is a wonderful feeling to have, and with it comes a letting go of the stress of trying to keep everything under control, but to have certain areas cultivated and the rest looked after, which means keeping the rampant weeds under control so that other wild flowers may flourish. Thanks.
What is an epiphany moment! You rock!!
12PAWS; thank you. Vx
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