Bog Myrtle & Peat

It turns out that I’ve been writing this blog for ten years; ten long years of grouse, curlews and hill farming in Galloway. That’s a fair piece of work, but to me it represents a decent chunk of my life between the ages of 24 and 34. People who know me will understand that I… Continue reading

They say it’s colder in a thaw. Doesn’t make much sense to me, but when the ice finally rose and the land slumped back to mud, the chill of it almost cut me in half. A dank mist rose up from the marsh and ran to the yard like nausea. Cows were lost in drifts… Continue reading

He crows in the prickle of stars and the morning. He crows in the willows and the smoke-blown dawn where the cattle have lain and left the marks of their lying in the frost. The smell of his nightsoil hangs in the rushes and he crows. The sound comes to me like a pang of… Continue reading

In writing about the conflict between moorland and forestry in Galloway, it was interesting to see how people reacted to the idea of woodland expansion. Moorland is often described as “wasted land”; places which have been ruined by agriculture or fieldsports. As controversy around grouse shooting has swelled into a tempest, many have begun to… Continue reading

I’m getting ahead of myself, but today there was a note of spring. It rang in the birks and ran among the whins like a shiver. Great tits sang as if the work was something new to them, and I realise again that their tiny tune is a fine marker of change; the song which… Continue reading

A haystack turns grey as the winter goes by. If it’s been wet, some of the outer bales will blacken. But look inside and it’s silvery green with the heaped scent of summer grass. Shreds of beautiful hay trickle through your fingers like sand, even on a day without daylight. We’re at the back of… Continue reading

When it comes to woodland expansion, there are some grand and ambitious goals being set by the Scottish Government. Foresters have now committed to create 12,000 Ha of new woodland every year – (an area the size of Manchester) – and perhaps inevitably, the thrust of these new trees will come in the form of… Continue reading

Given that this blog is now approaching its tenth birthday, it makes sense to revisit some of the work undertaken during the last decade. It turns out that I’ve covered a good deal of ground, although some of it has not gone according to plan. One of my first acts on the hill was to… Continue reading

I was chuffed to take on new work for the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project over Christmas. I’ve been interested in this project since it began, and it’s been fascinating to see how the work has progressed across the Southern Uplands during the last few years. It’s now my role (until March) to make… Continue reading

The tractor’s bellied, and that’s given us work for a week in the rain and driving snow. Perhaps the trailer was too full, and maybe the ground was wetter than we knew – but here’s a fitting finale to the final drills of turnips – work that went on too long and rediscovered the meaning… Continue reading