The country-side of Provence in summer is beautiful. The fields of pasture grass, sun flowers, lavenders and wheat compete for attention by putting on the most glaring show of colors and textures. It’s so beautiful that we forget that they are there for practical reasons - farming.

I have a garden and I try my best to keep it beautiful and bountiful. However, it has not been free from struggles. Lately, I’ve been dealing with a rodent problem.

As if the garden is up for claims, they’d be stepping right in, climbing up and down, picking the fruits, plucking the flowers and even chewing off plants to their hearts’ content.

I have been furious at the least, frustrated a lot of times and scared of them outnumbering us recently.

I have a small garden that is far from being up to par with what I saw in Provence in terms of both size and beauty. If I struggle this much with the rodent problem, I wonder how the farmers in Provence keep up with the pests.