It was a pleasant walk down memory lane last night to shoot some rabbits on my parents’ farm overlooking the Solway. I was brought up on these rough, tumbling acres overlooking Palnackie and Auchencairn, and for many years I did little else there but creep through the long grass in pursuit of rabbits. Now that… Continue reading

With the weight of work over the past fortnight, the Chayne has taken a back seat and I have been forced to miss much of the interest of midsummer. I headed up yesterday morning for a wander over the hill, slowing the car on the final approach to watch a feisty young roe buck standing… Continue reading

It was great to see so many readers of this blog over the weekend at the Scottish Game Fair at Scone – thanks to all who came in to the Heather Trust stand to say hello. I have dithered this way and that about the direction of this blog over the past few months, but… Continue reading

Having returned home last night from a long day on the road, I cycled up the hill hoping to hear a nightjar in the evening light. The air was warm along the road, and some pockets of delicious elder-scented stillness were actually hot. Foxgloves and ragged robin crowded the verge as a red sunset loomed over the hills to… Continue reading

The past week has seen some interesting new movements from the local roe, and I’ve been seeing immature bucks in all kinds of extraordinary places. I assume that these are young deer being jostled out of their homes by the advent of hormonal unrest in their seniors, and some of them have ended up in areas… Continue reading