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A chilly victory
When I got my ferrets in July, my main motivation was to use them bolt rabbits for shooting. As the autumn came on and I started to get interested in nets, the idea of shooting slipped away a little bit and I began to concentrate on catching rabbits the traditional way. Realising that it had… Continue reading
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Stock related setbacks
Coming to understand that sheep have an important part to play in modern moorland management has been vital to my project, but I must say that it’s sometimes hard to swallow. Of all the small fenced off areas I have set aside for tree planting, sacrificial crops and heather experiments, the sheep have resented some… Continue reading
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End of the season
I just thought it’d be worth commemorating the fact that the red and black grouse shooting seasons end today. For the first time in several years, I didn’t shoot a single grouse this season, but thanks to this blog and the many people I’ve met while writing about Britain’s uplands, I’ve seen more birds this… Continue reading
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All change
Less than twenty four hours after abandoning the Chayne as a hopeless cause because of the weather, the hillsides have totally emptied themselves of snow. My first reaction on looking out of my bedroom window this morning over the green fields was that I shouldn’t have sprung my traps. Any significant change in the weather… Continue reading
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Putting the project on ice
The snow has outstayed its welcome. It has been lying on the Chayne for almost three weeks, and successive waves of thawing and freezing have meant that the last two miles of farm track are now utterly impassible to even the most determined 4×4. Taking an executive decision yesterday, I walked in and sprung all… Continue reading
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Hare(s) for certain
Despite the fact that I have been surveying the Chayne for wildlife over the past year, I have never seen any actual evidence of hares until quite recently. Discovering some small round droppings in the heather laboratory got me thinking, but it was only when the snow fell and continued to fall over the past… Continue reading
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Chill factor
Unlike the rest of Britain, Dumfries and Galloway appears to be avoiding the worst of the snow, but we’re making up for it by having serious sub zero temperatures at night to keep hold of what little dusting we had last week. The Chayne is starting to look quite treacherous for an old Rover, and… Continue reading
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Photo evidence at last!
Despite the fact that this blog is grandly named “working for grouse”, I must admit that there is an appallingly small number of red grouse on the Chayne. Spring counts revealed less than twenty birds, and given that the majority of my work on the farm is carried out in the absence of dogs, I… Continue reading
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Snowy revelations
The Chayne had its first proper dusting of snow last night, and what a world of secrets the white blanket has revealed. Heading up to the farm this morning, I flushed more than half a dozen snipe from the roadsides. They fluttered away from the car, then crash landed into thicker cover a few yards… Continue reading
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A Perfect Morning
With the sun still nothing more than a distant glimmer behind the Solway Firth, I headed off this morning for a date with the local wigeon. My alarm was set for 5:55am, and as I sat up in bed, I was delighted to see frost curling up against the window. There is no real advantage… 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 