Amongst the various objectives I have for the Chayne, encouraging roe deer is a major goal. I love watching these animals almost as much as I love eating them, and the prospect of having some on the farm is really exciting. Since I began to clear out the woodcock strip last year, a single doe Continue reading

After an idle summer, my ferrets are looking forward to getting stuck into their winter work, spreading chaos and heartache amongst Dumfries and Galloway’s rabbit population. The farm where we had such fun ferreting last year continued to carry a strong stock of rabbits long after the informal season closed, and I was hopeful that Continue reading

At a time of year when buzzards are at their most conspicuous, the added bonus of a free meal really brings them to the forefront. Driving home from work this evening, I came across three buzzards in a field of freshly cut silage, all bowing their heads together in a small party. Pulling over, I Continue reading

You can’t fail to miss the changing seasons on the Chayne. By comparison to the icy silence of January and February, the undergrowth is now alive with sound and movement. While I rant and rave against midgies, the wave of insect life has brought some fairly spectacular beasties to bear on the farm, and common Continue reading

Just thought that it would be worth including this incredibly lucky photograph, which I took this evening through my car window. The jay flickered over the road infront of me on my way back from work on the coast, and he stopped for a second in the branches of an ash tree before vanishing again. Continue reading

Over the past two years, I have learned a great deal about moorland ecosystems. Everything is irrevocably linked together by mutually dependent relationships, and food chains are extremely complicated. With the exception of top predators and generalists, if one species gets out of hand, mechanisms will click into place to redress the balance and supress Continue reading

Meadowsweet is one of the most fantastic flowering plants in Britain, and having only been introduced to it for the first time last year, I now see that it is also one of the most common. The hedges and verges across Galloway are decorated with creamy sprays of flowers, and the soft smell of sweet Continue reading

Everyone likes wagtails, and I thought that a picture of a recently fledged youngster might find an appreciative audience on this blog. The little bugger was fluttering around a pile of old rylock sheep net as I drove up to it, and it gave me a defiant glance before buzzing away up the hill on Continue reading

Driving back from the Scone Game Fair last night, I headed down a little back road through an area of good grouse country a few miles north of the Chayne. It was just beginning to get dark and a single delicate shape cruised down over an area of rough grass below the road. Slowing the Continue reading

Having concentrated so hard on the hill for the past few months, I thought that it was about time that I looked further afield for a change. As much as I love the heather, it’s nice to take a break and see Galloway from a different perspective, so with this in mind, I headed down Continue reading