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Marvellous Aspen
Having let off some steam about my most hated tree species (below), it’s worth mentioning that I have a new favourite tree species. I planted a wide selection of native trees in an experimental plot last spring to see what does well on the Chayne. Without a doubt, aspen has shown itself to be a… Continue reading
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Wholesale Destruction
I lost my temper on Saturday, and I took it out on some sitka spruces. For three years, I’ve been experimenting with ways of making mature sitkas a little more amenable to black grouse. My experiments have been based in a five hundred yard long windbreak which, at its widest, is just over thirty yards.… Continue reading
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Nocturnal Journey
In my role as an indulgent and dependable boyfriend, I’m often called upon to do things that are, frankly, quite irritating. This evening, I was called to pick up my girlfriend from a party in the town – when you’ve spent a day filling the woodshed and killing sitka spruce trees (a favourite pastime of… Continue reading
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Out and About
The partridges are doing extremely well in their game cover, and I’ve now trickled half of them out into the field of bolted radishes and turnips. They are extremely loyal to their pen, and can be found within a few feet of where I let them out every day. I spent an hour this afternoon… Continue reading
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Happy Birthday
According to the paperwork, Scoop is one year old today. To celebrate, I took her for a morning’s fox walk along the south march of the farm, but what with the showers last night, the rushes looked rather wet and uninviting. If I were a fox, I would have chosen somewhere drier to lie up… Continue reading
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“Stepping Up For Nature”
Again, my hereditary loyalty to farmers is being tested. I don’t want to stir the pot too briskly, but having just spent ten minutes reading a press release from the RSPB website, I feel sufficient steam coming out of my ears to pass comment on an ongoing initiative to help farmers manage their land to… Continue reading
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Gun Packs
Since posting yesterday about walked up fox shooting, I’ve had a few comments and emails about the idea of getting a gun pack up onto the hill for a day’s fox shooting. Rather than respond to them all individually, I thought I’d write a seperate post on the subject. The idea of a gun pack… Continue reading
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I Love It When A Plan Comes Together
Having explained my new strategy for walked up fox shooting yesterday, I have some pleasure in reporting that it works like a treat. I can’t believe that I only got my first dog last autumn. Scoop is totally indispensible, and if she continues in this rich form of fox finding, I won’t mind if she… Continue reading
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White Chins
The blind blackcock is coming out of his moult more everyday. It’s interesting that he’s got some really prominent white feathers on his neck, and there is almost an entire collar underneath his chin. This seems to be a characteristic of birds coming out of the moult, and I’ve seen them as late as November.… Continue reading
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New Tactics
When I started to deal with foxes on the Chayne, I came up against a series of brick walls. The hill is a particularly awkward spot to keep on top of predators, and the fact that I’ve killed so few over the past three or four years says as much about the nature of the… Continue reading
About
“Shout on, Morgan. You’ll be nothing tomorrow”
Swn y galon fach yn torri, 1952
Also at: https://andtheyellowale.substack.com
Bog Myrtle & Peat 