And the forest, like trees, branches out into multiple hedges which are stretched out over the plateau. The composition of these hedges lends itself to nourish those flocks of small birds which fly away on our approach. We only see blackish cracked berries. Let us remember that, not so long ago, they were red and chubby and lit the foliages of autumn.

Whatever their appearance now, finches, goldfinches, buntings, greenfinches, blackbirds and thrushes treat themselves on them, they can survive winter thanks to this basket of old fruits.
It is known that certain trees do not lose their leaves in autumn, they remain quite green and filled, when the others exhibit their branches to all the winds. But there is an original one in the whole. Its leaves dry out in October, as it should be when one is a deciduous tree. However instead of releasing them with the first cold wind as do the others, this one keeps them. We already know this individual, it abounds on these grounds, it concerns our pubescent oak. Present in the forest, and present in the hedges, it is him the painter of the ochre which we can see the whole winter. It is said that the pubescent oak has a foliage marcescent. It will give up its old leaves when the buds open, in March.
While waiting for these leaves small insects shelter there, for which again birds will come to gather. These have the finer beak of the insectivores, tits, robins, warblers, kinglets, troglodytes.
Apart from the oak, we find the trees and the shrubs which accompany it in the forest. In a few meters hardly, we recognize several of these species. The difference it is that they are tangled up and mixed. Creepers complicate this fray: the clematis, in winter it is noticed by its seeds coated with a soft layer; the bramble, whose spines discourage every crossing.
This diversity constitutes one of the great characteristics of the pastoral hedge. The light arrives from all sides, with all the nuances of shade and of light, there is thus for each chlorophyllian sensitivity.
At present, it is only a heap of hooked and twisted branches. But in a few weeks, this puny skeleton will become a perfumed cloud. The thorns of the sloe or hawthorn will disappear under corymbs of white flowers. In a few days these clouds will bring back the taste of beautiful days to our grey memories.
And the smells, they will be accompanied by the unrestrained music of the pollen gathering insects. The perfume of the Sainte-Lucie cherry tree will already be that of honey. Flowering will follow, with their orchestra of colour of insects and birds, then the hedge will prepare the fruits for the next autumn and winter. Because the hedge is generous and far-sighted in protecting, sheltering, and nourishing the generations of insects, birds and their offspring.
The mammals and reptiles, they also benefit from this generous and protective place to live in. Everyone finds there what it wants. Everyone is eating, but also eating everyone. Thus, the field mouse attracted by the fruit that has fallen on the ground is eaten by the fox, the buzzard or the grass snake.
It is not just a shelter. The hedge makes up a communication network, by which the animals circulate, and so do seeds of plants and spores of mushrooms or ferns clinging to their hairs or their legs. The hedges are the Internet of the wild world.
But this network lost much of its national cover. Several thousands of kilometres, (one estimates its length at 500 000 kilometres), were torn away during the last forty years. Although being man made, the hedge was not appropriate any more for the evolution of the cultivation methods. Some damage was necessary to realize that it was a remarkable invention with multiple applications. We were unaware of it.
We have just seen the importance of the hedge in the constitution and the maintenance of the diversity of the living species. The hedge offers other advantages as well. It protects against erosion. The rain, on an inclined ground, washes away the fertile surface layer of soil. Thus the agricultural output drops. The hedge protects from the wind. Winds cause the following damage: the stalks of cereals lying on the ground, the fall of fruit in orchards, and bad pollinations. If the hedge "is well built" it can protect from 15 to 20 times its height. Example: a hedge of 15 metres high protects a zone up to 300 to 500 metres deep.
But the hedge does more than acting as a shield. It reduces the thermal differences, limits the perspiration of the crop plants and the evaporation of soil. The plants exhausting themselves less, grow better, and make a perfect descent which expresses itself by fine fruit, and beautiful seeds. That is well, it is what one seeks. In addition, the output is increased by 6% to 20%, in spite of the small loss of surface which this hedge represents. In the shelter of a hedge, the grass is finer also, and pushes better. The cows appreciate that, it constitutes the happiness of the cows. And a satisfied cow, becomes larger, produces more milk, gets sick less often.
The hedge not only absorbs atmospheric CO2, the gas which causes the greenhouse effect, but also the excessive nitrates from the ground. Apart from that, it also filters running water. Lastly, the hedge can provide wood: timber and firewood, traditional or shredded wood, intended for the use in modern heaters. In spring, while walking along the hedges, among the songs of birds, we can imagine all these eyes observing us, hiding in the branches.
We are knocked back by the smells. During summer, at the hot hours, the shade of the shrubs and trees will bring us a fresher air, an invitation to rest. In autumn, we will prepare jams or liquors of wild fruit; in winter we will discover a scintillating setting of white frost laying on the ground of the plateau. It is the rhythm of the seasons, which one forgets elsewhere, that one finds so well marked here, on this territory which knew to preserve its hedges. One does not want to see time to a stop in an yawning hole, one simply wants life to continue...
For everyone and everything...