Bog Myrtle & Peat

Dumfries and Galloway is one of the last places in Britain with a healthy population of red squirrels. Grey squirrels are resident in Glasgow and Edinburgh and virus carrying greys are sweeping up from England, but our local reds seem blissfully unconcerned. They disappeared to their dreys over the course of the winter, but now the trees have started quivering again with tiny red shapes.

Three squirrels live in the windbreak above the farm buildings at the Chayne, and when I paid a visit this morning, I watched two of them scuttling to and fro along the top of a dry stone wall. Thankfully, I had my new camera with me and was able to creep up on them as they played. The last week has brought with it enormous progress as the winter melts into the spring, but it has been so mild and dry recently that much of the plant life has been left behind. Here’s hoping that rain will soon be on the way.