Bog Myrtle & Peat

When we talk of dusk, we speak of a simple thing; the filler between day and night. In reality, the gradation between these two states is more like a flip-book; a thousand pictures blurring past to cast the illusion of  one. In amongst all these flickering images, there is a point when things start to happen. You can… Continue reading

I must correct a woeful omission from a recent post describing a very cold afternoon on a snowbound hill last week. I don’t know how I forgot to mention them at the time because their constant presence was a defining feature of the day, but I was delighted and amazed by the amount of wrens… Continue reading

After several years of being totally uncontactable, my wife gave me an iPhone for Christmas. It’s an amazing thing, and the mind boggles at just how good it might be if Dumfries and Galloway had access to mobile internet. Even without internet, there’s no denying that it is a very convenient little thing, and I have been taking dozens… Continue reading

There was no snow on the low ground, but the little heifers were definitely cold when I went out to look them before dawn this morning. The wind was in the North and the hills ran in an unbroken white ring all around and over the Solway to the Lakes. When I was offered the… Continue reading

Now that they have been on site for a week, the galloway calves have settled down and are starting to establish some kind of rhythm. It was a sensible idea to put them in with some older cows, and to begin with they   established themselves as a separate group operating within the pecking order of… Continue reading

This blog has been a really useful tool over the past six years, and it has served all kinds of purposes, from therapeutic diary to creative outlet. Now and again, I have reviewed good products I’ve come across and the resulting output has been quite well received. I’m not one to spread bad reviews unless really… Continue reading

It is with huge delight and excitement that I can finally announce the arrival of my cows, which came down off the hills this morning in a biting cold Northerly wind. A massive, full-size cattle float opened its doors and four muddy little beasts stepped out into the spitting rain. We brought some older cows down to meet… Continue reading

Fascinating to find a surprising amount of wild cranberries on the hill this afternoon while heading out for a walk in the rain. Some areas of moss were studded with dozens of little red berries, and I ate handfuls of them as I walked. They are much tastier than blaeberries, and they had a sharp, pleasantly… Continue reading

The subject of agriculture has crept into the blog over the past few months, so with the New Year still fresh in the memory, now is a good moment to clarify precisely why I am sinking a considerable dollop of cash, effort and time into some questionably profitable animals. During the course of the past four years working… Continue reading

I had a flick through Working for Grouse while I was away in Cornwall, and I’m always surprised by the quantity of material I end up posting. I suspect that most of my regular readers have established some kind of filter system by which they can pick and choose the articles they’re interested in, and… Continue reading