Concerning geology...       Before strolling over the hillsides and plateaus of Bouloc just following where fate takes us, it seems wise to me to start with a more general presentation. Looking at a geological map, one could imagine that a big wave of lime came to a halt her and died. It came from the north-west, from what today is called the Lot and rolled in successive waves towards the south-west as far as Gasques and Goudourville at the borders of the Garonne, on some places overflowing the Barguelonne. The series of limestone hillsides dominating the valleys constitute the originality of this part of Tarn et Garonne, which has been named “Pays des Serres” and “Quercy Blanc”: the “Serres” being the relief formed by its hillsides, and “Blanc” (white) being their colour. Seen from afar and with a quick and casual glance, one only sees rocks and a poor vegetation on a sparse, nearly absent soil. But the natural environments made up by the limestone hillsides are among the most remarkable of our country. Nearly a quarter of the nationally protected animal species are living in them and further nearly a third of the total of higher plants found in France. That is why in most of our regions these limestone hillsides has been given such a status that their conservation is guaranteed. But why not in the Midi-Pyrenees ? The reason for that is simple, apart from the famous sites, the rest of the region remained unknown. This lost time is being made up for, because the updating of the regional natural inventory is in progress. The preliminary results show a richness in species comparable to that of other departments which are well known for their natural environment. So these hillsides, which towards the south-west break up in ever smaller islands, host an original flora and fauna wherever present in the department. But it should be known that the number of species diminishes with a decrease of the available surface. We can thus evaluate the importance of great hillsides like the one of Bouloc, which serves as a kind of “species reservoir”. Furthermore, the plateau of Bouloc is directly connected with the plateaus of the Lot, thus forming a kind of junction for the exchange of species. This “bridge” of limestone has allowed (and still does) the migration and settling of plant- and animal species from the south, migrating between regions : as well between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean as from the plateaus of the Lot and the hillsides of the Gers. Of course this migration also takes places in the opposite direction. Nowadays perhaps the most important. Did you know that those “wild” places which very often lay alongside the hillsides, represent the remains of human activity during centuries gone by. In those days, live was rough and the least piece of soil was exploited. It was during these periods that plants and animals have profited of these places, conquered by men on forest and brushwood, to settle there until today. The decrease of the agriculture surface allows a progressive return of the forest, giving up cultivated land, divided up by hedges and small walls, which are so favourable for accommodating a rich wildlife. They tend to become embarrassing as we do not know how to appreciate them. Often they become uncontrolled junk yards. Yet, they are essential to the attraction of our region because a large vegetal and animal diversity is living in them. Nowadays, we only start to realise the importance of this diversity. Nature, as we learned, is capable of accommodating to human activities, at least if we do not sterilise the earth, as a quarry will do.