A rainy day on the plateau...       At last it rained, and autumn rain is a very good thing. Water infiltrating into the soil stimulates the development of seeds, the activity of roots and small animals living in the humus. The successive periods of cold and humidity are necessary for germination. Under our feet, in the dark, spring is already preparing itself. « It rained », I said, and our plateau of Bouloc is filled with water. This water is going to slowly infiltrate throughout the thickness of the soil. Even when the soil looks crackled, when the heat of summer dries out the last herbs, you can still find running water there. Wild life will find there the wells which are necessary for its survival. The plants, they settled themselves according to their need of water and their tolerance of drought. Noticeable is the alternation of open spaces, woodland and spaces covered with shrubs. The soils’ ability to retain water or not is highly dependant of that mosaic. In this way, the whole of the plateau and its hillsides can house a beautiful diversity of landscape, which permits in its turn the settling and maintenance of a fauna which, itself, is also diversified. Man also used these reserves. They remade these wells into washing or watering places. The well of St. Caprais is an example of this. In a more recent period sheltered collecting points have been made out of concrete cubes. Whatever the period, one always finds these installations on the hillsides of the plateau. So this large dome of rocks and soil which completely fills itself with water coming down as rain, functions around the year as a reservoir for water. Fresh water, which, in the years to come, will become a commodity of prime economic and social interest, because we finally start to realise that it is not inexhaustible. It is in the heart of the plateau of Bouloc that the opening of a very large quarry is foreseen, a quarry which will irreversibly disturb this ecosystem.