Squelch

Rarely do the paths get as utterly soggy as they are now, even on Blacka Hill. What they would be like if the cattle had been on the moor doesn't bear thinking about. As it is the main routes have still not recovered from the cattle being here last year. The problem is that they use paths unlike the deer who tend to keep to the heather, and several of the paths were seriously widened in 2007 and will take some years to get back to normal.

The cattle are meanwhile still in the pasture land. Not having seen them during the mist and gloom of recent mornings we had wondered if they had been removed. The reason for them being there is hard to understand as neither conservation nor recreation targets are being met by their presence. Sheep could not be seen today - they could have been all lying down in a sheltered hollow, or they could have been taken off for the fat lamb sales.

A walk through the pasture revealed many fungi still there. Verdigris Mushroom were plentiful as were the edible Meadow Waxcaps....







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and others unidentified.