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The best seat in the house
Six weeks ago, I missed a chance at a nice buck on the back of the hill. The fog was swirling around me when I spotted him, striding through the heather. I tried an ambush, but it was hopeless. I left the hill that morning buzzing with ideas for how to outwit him, but it… Continue reading
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Dirty work
I hope that I am a sportsman. Many cruel people have done nasty things to animals in the history of country sports, but I always like to think that when I kill, I do so quickly and humanely. There is no pleasure in shooting if the quarry is not instantly killed, and I learned from… Continue reading
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A gruesome larder
The more I learn about crows, the more I am convinced that, when the bomb drops, they will be the only survivors. It is amazing how clever they are, and setting out to destroy them on the Chayne increasingly feels like a lost cause. It is almost as if they have a sixth sense for… Continue reading
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An emperor moth
Walking through the rough grass above the new wood, I came across one of the most fantastic moths I have ever seen. He was lounging on a mixed tuft of purple moor grass and cross leaved heather, and when I tried to scoop him up for a photograph, he sprayed my hand with a runny,… Continue reading
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Home sweet home
It was great fun to head up north and have a look about, but how things were going at the Chayne was always on my mind when I was away. I now have so many little irons in the fire across the farm that I have been on tenterhooks to see how they have all… Continue reading
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Looking for ptarmigan
Having met the grouse keeper at the Thrumster Estate near Wick, I felt as though I could happily return to Galloway with a head full of new advice and encouragement. I was given hints on everything from drainage to grit, and even had a diagram drawn for me illustrating how best to catch the stoat… Continue reading
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Clash of the Titans
Black grouse aren’t the only birds who lek in the spring. Off in the distant pine forests of the highlands, some of the most fantastic birds in the British Isles are displaying for territories and mates with as much vigour and fury as any blackcock south of the central belt. I am currently on a… Continue reading
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Under supervision
I don’t think I put enough thought into planting up the new wood. I took six ten foot silver birches from a friend and planted them on the higher, drier ground. Four of them promptly died. I then put six five foot larches on the lower ground where standing water gushes through the soil. They… Continue reading
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An invisible enemy
Much is made in gamekeeping literature about the damage caused by stoats and weasels. Weasels are so small that they are only really a problem around extremely young grouse chicks, but stoats are more than capable of wreaking serious damage on groundnesting bird populations, and learning how to tackle these slippery customers is now a… Continue reading
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Planting and planting and planting
I am starting to get bored of planting. It’s a good thing that the season for it is almost over and there are thousands of other things to do instead. The Chayne suffers from the fact that it only has one tiny wood, so scattering single trees and stands of a few dozen across 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 