-”Dad, there are baby birds stuck in the drain and the cat keeps looking at them!!”
-“Can anyone help me find the sheep, I haven’t seen in the last few days..
-”I have been attacked by the cockerel!”
-”The skeptic tank is overflowing with pooh!!! Arggggghhhhh!!!!”
-”Guys, we had to rescue your cat, perched 10m high in the tree this morning!!!!”

These articles are here to share with you the stories of our life in a bi-lingual Eco-lieu, in the countryside of Ardèche : it is fun, crazy, fascinating, heart warming, heart breaking and clearly, brings us all.. un petit grain de folie !

I hope that you will enjoy the mini adventures that we live here every day. Bon voyage !

Bird rescue
This is the end of the summer and the birds are chirping all around us. As I am listening to their songs, it reminds me a wonderful moment that I’d like to share with you:
A few of years ago, Ed, the boys and I went off to the forest with the tractor to cut some wood for the stove. It was a chill but sunny day, we were all geared up and ready to go.. Here is the story :
We start the engine of the tractor and head to the area where we can find dead wood. First we chainsaw the standing dead trees, then we load them onto the trailer and go back down to our house with the tractor to chop it into stove size pieces.
As we finished the job, we were about to restart the tractor in order to park it back in the tunnel when we noticed a bit of straw sticking out of the bonet. Strange.. we open the bonnet and with complete amazement appear 5 tiny open birds mouths, asking frantically for food! My godness, these birds were by the engine the whole time we went off with the tractor and the engine on, and they are still alive! Of course, it didn’t take a second before Will and Elio decided to pick up the nest, set it in a wooden box, put up a light and these 5 little chirping fluffy things would become our house mates for a month!
I have to say, they were absolutely gorgeous. We fed them, gave them water and attention, and here we go, we became their new parents. In fact, baby birds form attachments and learn behaviors from the first moving object it sees, which is usually its parent. If a human rescues a baby bird and provides care, the bird may imprint on the human, seeing them as a parent figure.
A few weeks later, we had birds flying in the house and of course pooping everywhere they were going, that was less fun. We took care of them until (coming along with a joyful tear in the eye), they flew back into the wild. Isn’t it just like being a parent?
It turned out that they were robins. Life is strong, yet fragile.. being so close reminds us everyday to take care of life, in any form or shape ;)
NB : I recommend watching the documentary Life on our planet - David Attenborough

Toilettes sèches
I am just coming back from the presentations given by the participants of the permaculutre design course led by A. .. and St.. Participants have spent 2 weeks learning about permaculture design principles and were asked to apply what they learnt on site, on several case studies. The results are really interesting and I am very grateful that they racketed their brain for our projects, especially the one dealing with dry toilets. Do we transform all the current water toilets into dry toilets? or do we keep some water toilets, how do we manage them? See, the whole discussion around these bloody toilets is the how. How am I going to poo? Am I going to be comfortable pooing in a bucket? Probably not, and certainly not if it’s stincky.
As St. said very well, if you have stinky dry toilets, that won’t be good PR for encouraging using them! I don’t mean to be rude when I say ‘bloody things’, but it has been a debate within the group for sevaral years now and I think that we are all tired of it.
You see, traditional flush toilets consume a lot of water, typically between 3 to 7 liters per flush. Dry toilets or low-flow-toilets reduce or eliminate the need for water, conserving a valuable resource : water. Now, who wants a fly attracting stinky toilet where you need to have practiced high level Wim Hoff apnée in order to survive the experience, and on top of that, have to empty the buckets every 5 mintues? No thank you! In fact, our clients would say the same thing!
But, what if we have low consumption toilets or very pleasant and well designed dry toilets? Providing a lovely experience on the throne smelling of roses with relaxing music and coming with it, saving water and reduce pollution, that’s a win win!
So, the question is How? How do we proceed, how do we transition slowly, how do we respect everyone’s need and find the best system to encourage people toward this ?
Well, I’d love to give you the answer now, unfortunately, I don’t have it, but I know that we will work on it, so I’ll let you know then.

Ecureuil
Les feuilles du noisettier à côté de la terrace bougent dans tous les sens.. on prend notre petit dej tranquilles mais ces bruits attirent notre attention. En regardant mieux, on aperçoit un magnifique écureuil roux qui cherche les belles noisettes croquantes pour stocker pendant l’hiver. C’est incroyable comme il est agile ! La tête en bas, les pattes accrochées à la branche, il tire une belle noisette pour l’emmener avec lui. Il est très beau, son ventre est blanc comme neige et le reste de son poil renvoit des couleuts de feuilles d’automne. Un sifflement lointain nous interpelle, ça vient du ciel, une buse peut-être ? Notre ami l’écureuil s’arrête, ne bouge plus.. il rest immobile et devient invisible à son prédadeur. Quelques minutes plus tard, il s’enfuit. On reprend nos discussions avec de la gratitude pour cette nature qui nous accueille de bon matin, autour de notre café.

Compost
Today I had the joy of working on the garden compost with Shelby. When I say joy, I really mean it. I give this precision because I am renowned for not being good with smelly things. But, here, there was just the lovely smell of soil and hay.
So, we started with piling hay mixed with mycelium. Apparently, the combination improves the decomposition. Shelby gave me a detailed explanation about bacteria break down the organic material. This is as far as I can remember, sorry, but in a nutshell, it reminded me of the bacteria in our stomach and the enzymes, breaking down our food with each element inside our guts working as a team in a joyful symphony.
Going back to the compost, we added the waste from the buckwheat which is a mix of leftover buckweat seeds and ambrose. Raph mentioned that this mix of buckweat and ambrose can get very hot when it sets in a compost, to the point where it could trigger a hay fire. So we took special care in the way we prepared the layers of the compost. When I put my hand in the pile of that mix of buckweat and Ambrose contained in the trailer, I could not believe how hot that was! Honestly, in the cold winter days, I could see myself swimming in it just to enjoy the warmth, specially since we don’t have any bath here!
Anyway, after a little bit of research, I found that compost piles can generate heat as microorganisms break down organic matter. If the pile becomes too compacted or if there is insufficient moisture, it can lead to overheat.
So, in order to minimise the risk of fire in compost, it's important to maintain proper aeration, moisture levels and regularly turning the compost can help manage temperature and ensure decomposition.
There we are, adding a layer of soil on top, then another layer of hay and finally, some dead leaves. A beautiful lasagna ready to cook!
It was a lovely moment to share together, under the drizzling light rain, chatting and “layering” away with that wonderful feeling that the summer is slowly giving away to autumn and we’ll soon be enjoying the joy of a warm cup of tea by the wooden stove.

Bramble
I have a new hobby: brambles. After a couple of days at the office, staring at the computer for hours on end, I regenerate by cutting brambles in the garden. I get a great feeling of achievement when I cut what seems like a tiny piece of bramble, but then, when I pull it, it’s actually half the bush gone. Yeahhhhh!!! I got you!!
It empties my mind and takes me to ‘living the moment land’. I don’t wear gloves and have to be extra careful not to get stung by their weapon like thorns. So every step is calming me down (unless I get a thorn in my thumb and I start swearing), I don’t think about much.. Best trainer to learn patience and mindfulness.
While I cut through the jungle of brambles, people pass by and say hello, then I continue with my task. Sometimes I see young participants enjoying their training course. I notice how the young visitors love staying at Lavenant, living off berries and wild grapes, sleeping in tents and dancing in the rain.. and guess what? They still looking incredibly young and beautiful after a 2 week course in complete immersion in the wild. These days are over for me, after a few days living like the characters in Jack London’s books, I look like 122 years old Jeanne Calment before she died.
Not only do I seem to age at the speed of light overnight, but my voice breaks during my sleep. As I wake up in the tent and start speaking a couple of words, I sound like my dad!
Anyway, here I am, cutting away my brambles in a peaceful manner like granny would, soaking up the beauty of Lavenant and its constant buzzing life. It is wonderful to see how many people enjoy the site and get inspired, it always makes me smile. And by the way, Jeanne Calment was beautiful as an old woman, with a lovely and kind light in her eyes. The kind of light that only women of an age can have.. because they know ;)

Fire Stove
Le feu crépite derrière moi, les bûches sonnent et les braises pétillent dans un son sourd et réconfortant. Dehors, la pluie tombe sur le plancher de la terrasse. Les gouttes tombent de la toile qui nous abrite habituellement du soleil d’été. Les lames de bois subissent ces gouttes qui s’acharnent sur la même flaque. Le miroir liquide ondule à chaque impact de goutte qu’il reçoit.
Les gouttes tombent de façon rythmée, on imagine presque la musique que la pluie pourrait composer sur ce plancher, accompagnée des basses en fond sonore qui proviennent du poêle qui continue de vrombir dans mon dos. Le vent qui souffle dans les arbres ajoute ses notes dramatiques. Une symphonie des éléments, une symphonie des contrastes.. Antonio Vivaldi l’avait si bien traduit en composant cette oeuvre aussi puissante qu’envoûtante : Les quatre saisons. Eau, flamme, humidité, chaleur, ombre, lumière.. je suis entourée par les contrastes et les éléments, je suis les saisons, je suis bien.

Campagne d’automne
L’air nous entoure, nous suit, nous inspire parfois. C’est lui qui pousse les nuages sombres et les fait courir à une vitesse phénoménale. Il chasse les lourds nuages comme si ils n’étaient qu’une légère fumée.
C’est l’air qui fait valser les feuilles sous nos yeux et réussit à faire frémir les feuilles du plus grand arbre du domaine : l’immense tilleul. Même ce colosse semble trembler de tout son corps. Il malmène les petits arbres, qui luttent contre son jeu. Mais il apporte aussi cette danse magnifique et synchronisée des arbres qui jouent de leurs branches et nous offrent ce beau spectacle.
Je suis derrière la baie vitrée, au chaud, comme une observatrice de mère nature. Je vois le vert vibrant de l’herbe, les touches de jaune dans les buissons, le roux du tilleul, le blanc coton du ciel, les poins jaunes vifs des derniers pissenlits de l’été, le jaune et gris paille qui s’hérisse des bacs et puis enfin, le bleu pâle et timide qui vient, à l’instant, d’apparaitre au dessus de moi, le ciel vient de s’ouvrir, pour laisser entrevoir sa grande part de mystère.. l’espoir.