The bilberry season is upon us but be aware that so is the midge season. And these moisty mornings are not good times for harvesting. Later in the day perhaps when the warmth lifts the cloud. But in truth the last few autumnal mornings have not been a good advertisement for summer on Blacka or even in the whole region. Each day there are wet boots to be dried out after the morning walk and trousers to be shoved in the airing cupboard. 
In fact the cattle were also met suddenly and unexpectedly in a dark area under the trees. Unlike the stags, they behaved as cows mostly do, unpredictably and vaguely alarming. This is not the right place for cows. A few minutes later a girl with a dog came on the same path. 
The media is full of the tragic case of the vet killed in Wensleydale and sundry advice in the form of Do's and Don'ts much of it frankly contradictory. Most of this is completely useless in the case of Blacka Moor as is the fatuous risk asessment produced by SWT. How can you stay away from cattle if the lie of the land and the vegetation mean that you can suddenly be confronted with cattle just a few feet away from you? The policy of cattle grazing is made even more irresponsible when those who have made the decision know very well that the presence of the cattle is utterly pointless. The claimed benefits for cattle being on the site have been gradually adjusted over the years until they are unrecognisable from the original claims. Now nobody is claiming that they will eat the young birch trees on the heather or trample and even eat the bracken. Now it's all vague nonsense about soil structure and nutrients. In fact farm machinery has had to be brought in to lay waste the natural vegetation and create grassy areas for them to graze!
It's now time to announce the winner of the Blacka Moor Singer of the World competition. This is held every two years in odd numbered years and is timed to run alongside the Cardiff Singer of the World. The chief differences are the al fresco location, and the competition being only open to males. The standard this year has been as high as ever with a strong showing once again from skylarks and visiting warblers.
Finally after much anguished deliberation the esteemed award goes to the Blackbird regularly to be heard from the bridleway just up from the bench near Lenny Hill. The judges were impressed with the relaxed melodic approach and unforced tone (qualities interestingly found also in the Czech bass who won the song prize at Cardiff).
In the short clip below the blackcap (who came second) can be heard singing from a flowering Elder with the winner also clearly audible.
We may all have a view on the final sentence:
Meanwhile the message of Mr Blunkett's alarming encounter with the cow is not to stay at home, only to remember that dogs and livestock never mix.
The area around the Peak District National Park is important to the experience of the National Park itself. Blacka is on the edge of the Peak District so visitors are more aware than many of the attractions of the rural fringe to the east. Some of it is so fine that it deserves to be designated as, say, an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The views towards Holmesfield with its church and green fields add considerably to one's enjoyment of Blacka and deserve a greater level of protection than did the area around Whitelow Lane now blighted with Fairthorn. I still await replies to my latest letters to the council on the subject of that monstrosity
Two stags were the first seen on Blacka for more than two weeks, quite a long gap. Occasional prints have been seen and there are two hinds probably present all the time. These were not far from the cattle. 
One munched happily on rowan leaves while the other was lying down in the bracken only his large velvet covered antlers visible.
The area where people go when they visit Stanage is the Edge and the area below the cliffs of the Edge. Note also that a public consultation several years ago at Stanage concluded that cattle would be inappropriate for Stanage because “cattle and recreation do not mix well” and a number of other reasons all of which are equally valid for Blacka. There has been a disagreement about cattle grazing at Blacka and there are strong arguments against it. One assumes that SWT and others think there are also very strong arguments in favour. The trouble is that they have not been prepared to put them up for scrutiny and examination by the RAG. Instead they have chosen to rely on broad statements that it has “worked” elsewhere and by misleading the public and being “economical with the truth”.
This notice has always said No Public Access. It is on Cattis Side Moor. It has now been painted over because the CRoW Act means people must be allowed to roam here. Nevertheless I've not seen anyone walking here, understandably as the popular area is Stanage itself. So no surprise members of the public have made no complaints!
It's much more fun spotting wild deer secretly enjoying the quiet landscape than watching tame animals in a parkland setting. I've been weeks looking for these hinds, morning after morning failing to see them while being fairly sure they were not far away. It's a question of patience and watching carefully.
Often people have asked where should I go and at what time of day to see them. The answer is always the same. I've found early mornings to be quite good but then I'm there more often at that time.
On the other hand I've seen them in the heat of a summer afternoon. And a wide expanse of bracken is often a good place to focus on as a head will come up to keep an eye on the intruder.
I wonder if it's part of the strategy to keep the public guessing and confused by changing these job names every so often. Keep moving and don't let your feet touch the ground has always been a recognised way of holding the pack at arms length, distancing you from the public who if you're not careful will start asking too many awkward questions.
Heavy rain in early June can bring a quick end to the blossoms. Rowan has suffered most but some trees in more sheltered places are still putting on a good show. Elsewhere the white has already given way to dull browns and the beginnings of the berries. Those petals brutally driven off the trees have in places found a new role in edging the paths
This is wild and semi wild landscape where human artifacts in the view obtrude far more than those places where the land is already much more obviously managed with fences and enclosures well established. There are many places from where you can look across Blacka Moor and see large tranches of natural vegetation and where evidence of man's interference is seen the materials used are natural. The impact of the power cables and their pernicious straight lines is a much more violent assault on the look of Blacka for this reason. It must take priority in any plans to use public money because of the uniqueness of Blacka's situation and history. Only this year, bizarrely at the height of the February snow, maintenance engineers arrived with a remit to cut down swathes of trees on Black for no other reason than that they might at some stage come into contact with the power cables. The result was a rape of the landscape with channels of treeless lanes created through the woods exposing the power lines shamelessly for all to see. In addition we have to put up with the debris being left around to remind us of the desecration and severed stumps everywhere. 
Could this be another case where a petition is called for ?
Cow Parsley's intricate tracery makes it a miracle singly and as so often seen en masse lining the edges of lanes and roads. Buttercup also is never given its due for its amazing depth of colour. 
............. you saw a farmer walking across a field?
