What a difference a day makes!? Yesterday I was out in brilliant sunshine, it was sheltered and warm. Today it was like winter was attempting to return, though the sun shone on and off, it was also blowing a gale and it also decided to hail – horizontally!!! You can guess which I preferred, especially as some of the hail stones were the size of large peas and stung! Rule – don’t walk into the wind when in a hail storm!
Another day and another raised bog, this time Dogden Moss, and definitely considerably wilder, as it is situated in a hollow on Greenlaw Moor, and confined by the snaking form of the Bedshiel Kaims to the north. Like all good bogs it is rich in Sphagnum, which against the blue of the sky, produces bright green splashes of colour, against the drabber winter browns.
Looking East Along the Edge of Dogden Moss, Greenlaw Moor and Bedshiel Kaims – 17 April 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones 2012)
Today’s weather was raw and still in the throws of winter. Earlier there had also been snow and sleet showers, as well as the hail shower that had been witnessed, but, still the wildlife was making the most of the brighter sunny periods. On the drive onto the site, there had been the treat of a view of a pair Hares disappearing off into a nearby field. On the site itself, there was the accompanying haunting calls of a Curlew, the light continual trilling of Skylarks, and a single Lapwing displaying to a partner hidden amongst the tussocks. Then on the return journey, a pair of what seemed absolutely huge, Buzzards, were seen to alight in the top of a nearby tree, oblivious to the passing traffic.
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