A storm came through last night which, when combined with rotten land management practices here in Tucany (deep plowing on steep hills without shelter belts, break strips, or cover crops), and very poor bridge construction, has wiped out all the bridges in the area. As a consequence, the wife and I are going to leave for the Rome airport tomorrow afternoon, as I don't want to drive through the mountains, in the dark, on these narrow, twisting roads. I'm driving a stick too, and only for the second time in 30 years.
This is not the first time bridges in this area have all washed out. Apparently what will follow is a year of argument about who should pay for the bridge repair (i.e., nothing will be done for a year) followed by slap-dash construction, which will fail with the next big storm or two.
As you can see in the last picture, at top, I am treating it all rather philosophically!
Tuscany is a beautiful place, but soil conservation is abysmal. The local rivers are running thick with soil and mud from a relatively modest amount of rain.
Protect your soil; God's not making too much more of that!
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