tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50994975656455049902012-03-06T21:27:17.595ZBlacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.comBlogger15531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-59021449067689990732012-03-05T16:30:00.004Z2012-03-06T06:06:34.835Z

Tesco's empire building is visible along the A621 Abbeydale/Baslow Road and similar things are happening along the A625 Ecclesall Road. Stages along the route towards Totley have a Tesco convenience store or a Giant Superstore or there's a planning application awaiting approval. Where will it stop? Meanwhile on the A625 a planning application is in at Parkhead for a Tesco store, a new Sainsbury's

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-79524919328663413872012-03-03T11:58:00.003Z2012-03-03T12:12:46.187Z

Further to the content of the last post. I said it would be unthinkable to have no deer on Blacka after ten years or so of looking out for them and sometimes being lucky enough to see them. It would also be unthinkable to have the deer 'managed' in any way by the managers. The whole fascination with the deer is that they are wild and free. Managing them would ruin their appeal. Every time there

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-19841314685537456112012-03-02T19:19:00.008Z2012-03-02T21:48:41.413Z

We don’t see deer every day. As shy creatures they often favour those parts less frequently visited. So it may be only once in 5 days or more averaged over the year. And many times we’ve had to wait several weeks, all the time wondering if something had happened to them. But it’s now got to the point where Blacka is unthinkable without them and the knowledge that the place is truly theirs not

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-25932461358554471892012-03-01T16:29:00.010Z2012-03-01T20:17:13.721Z

Coltsfoot is usually the first wild flower to make an impression. Here it is, away from the serious nature reserve stuff getting on very well in land adjoining the car park amid the litter. It wins no prizes but has more luck than the flowers that try to survive in the nature reserve. Bog Asphodel, for example, received no respect from the managers of the wildlife trust. It was they who were

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-52521175941049625102012-02-29T16:03:00.006Z2012-03-05T13:48:31.975Z

It's only to be expected when you see people who are employed by a wildlife organisation bent on controlling things that you question the motivation. After all wild does mean not controlled - i.e. left to its own devices. Those who use the word 'wild' and who then proceed to cultivate must expect a high degree of scrutiny. Yet they do not like it when you question what they do. If a doctor made

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-70449434457794898912012-02-28T18:35:00.006Z2012-03-01T16:07:41.336Z

It's now pretty clear that the Partners about to produce the Sheffield Moors Master Scam have resolved the Stakeholder Question in the way one guessed they would.The injunction put upon them by the South West Community Assembly to view all the Sheffield citizens as stakeholders simply necessitates a little sleight of hand. So in previous consultations you have ordinary members of the public and

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-55794525396362182352012-02-28T11:57:00.004Z2012-02-28T12:45:56.221Z

Some people do insist on asking awkward questions. Something should be done about them. The Sheffield Moors Partnership meeting last Wednesday gave rise to a few. Is the 'Master Plan' going to constrain the freedom of participants in ongoing consultation groups when they are involved in discussions around a new management plan?If not then what's the point of the S.M.P.?Another one:How much money

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-73712129765644538012012-02-23T16:13:00.013Z2012-03-01T16:13:44.203Z

Too early by a few weeks for antlers to fall but from a distance one of the nine stags here looked as if he might have jumped the gun. It only became obvious when the picture was carefully examined that he was an immature beast with rudimentary headgear.The older stags are still finding their antlers of use. Either to show off a superb profile.Or to while away the longer and milder afternoon with

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-41906129731352739722012-02-23T13:20:00.003Z2012-02-23T22:31:19.495Z

The Sheffield Moors Partnership meeting last night was certainly, as anticipated here, another Post-It note exercise. As it happened I estimate that only Level One Post-It Note Writing skills were required rather than Level Three which I suggested previously. The reading was tougher, possibly Level 5 and would have challenged even those who sailed through Key Stage One SATS. This was mainly

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-77685818826197330572012-02-18T19:34:00.003Z2012-02-20T10:19:07.491Z

There are to be three public meetings billed as "Capturing Your Ideas" which we are told will lead to the formation of the Sheffield Moors Master Plan.The first is at Totley Rise Methodist Church on Wednesday 22nd Feb at 18.45.Details here.If you wish to attend you need to book.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-42418247356926431522012-02-18T16:40:00.007Z2012-02-20T21:12:48.845Z

Woodland management gets grants from organisations such as Natural England and the Forestry Commission. This is part of the system of managing our countryside that keeps the wildlife and conservation charities going. If we didn't do this they will say everything would go wrong. We managers are necessary. Nature can't be trusted. One such example on Blacka is called 'glade creation'. In this spot

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-27877029252262368872012-02-16T14:35:00.004Z2012-02-16T19:16:19.666Z

Most people know there's a fair chance of seeing deer on Blacka now and, after all, animals of their size should be easy to spot. Yet days and weeks can go by when they are elsewhere or well hidden in secluded parts. Even when they are present, though, many people still fail to see them. That has much to do with the habit deer have of remaining still amid taller plants and trees. And they do

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-63479830799114770072012-02-15T11:35:00.004Z2012-02-15T11:45:15.747Z

My comments in the previous post "Leg Cocking" are not the only criticisms made of the way the wildlife trusts go about stamping their brand label on woodland. Mark Fisher writes of the way Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are damaging the character of woods near Grassington insistently practising a'humanisation' of the experience.While the wood no longer has the burden of a productive purpose, the

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-24051158134441572982012-02-14T11:59:00.007Z2012-02-14T16:50:04.929Z

The piles of cut wood referred to in this post form a purpose that is not always understood by walkers in the countryside. There are scores of them in woods near the car park. Everywhere that Sheffield Wildlife Trust works doing their woodland management you can be sure to see piles of logs. They are left there, first of all rather untidy then later a group collect them into a neat pile. It is,

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-18187703407601526672012-02-14T10:20:00.005Z2012-02-14T14:48:51.883Z

Not a day for love among the deer population whatever the calendar says. The stags are more interested in standing around in groups grooming. It’s the coats that they pay attention to.When milder weather comes the thick stuff that helped protect them in the cold nights may feel a bit too much of a good thing. Some of those standing around today may look very different shortly as the first antlers

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-20118826373571154072012-02-11T10:31:00.016Z2012-02-13T10:33:06.878Z

It's an unlikely spot for enchantment but when places are allowed to go wild it happens more often than might be expected. This woodland is surrounded by rhododendron but in the middle the trees are native and as full of character as anything on Blacka. It is close to a major road and despite the useful deadening of the noise, courtesy of the rhododendron, the sound of traffic never quite goes

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-2427283442866533492012-02-09T13:02:00.008Z2012-02-11T10:30:56.446Z

Ugliness brings down everything to its own level. It's the blot on the landscape and the rotten apple in the barrel. And industrial scale ugliness is as bad as it gets. The trouble is that everything that's done nowadays gets done as an industrial project, the humanity, if there ever was any, is squeezed out of it, and the result is a tainted experience because efficiency is the driver rather

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-48174441124119163862012-02-09T11:41:00.008Z2012-02-14T15:00:31.056Z

The sign saying "Walkers only in winter" could be misinterpreted. Pedants might conclude that nobody is allowed to walk in summer but it's OK in winter. Its true purpose is to say that those who ride bikes and horses should not go this way in winter. Even pedantic interpretations do chime with the way quite ordinary minds work. For example the chip-on-the-shoulder mountain bikers (and such do

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-86015466072922129192012-02-08T17:28:00.005Z2012-02-08T17:42:46.306Z

Those who wait for the bus at Piper House should know by now that they have more likelihood here of being badly treated than at any other stop in Sheffield. They could in fact be swept through the wall behind them and deposited into the woods below along with the bus stop itself and any bollards that aren't paying careful attention. In recent years the bus stop has been knocked through the wall

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-76371016230326838512012-02-07T20:00:00.010Z2012-02-29T10:18:10.251Z

What is the difference between a public consultation and a stakeholder consultation? When managers use words like stakeholder what exactly do they mean? How do you tell a stakeholder from a member of the public? The truth is that it’s a very convenient term for managers who can make it mean more or less what they want – so it has to be categorized as a weasel word, one that implies more than it

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-42616649030735512622012-02-06T13:57:00.003Z2012-02-06T14:02:07.000Z

Snow dominating the view below while heather is mostly brown and snowless up above.Quite the reverse of normal expectations. The leggy heather shrubs are like trees in this respect. Their roughness shrugs off the snow while the smooth cropped surfaces of the pastures in the lower land remain white over.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-29904035274088029022012-02-03T22:36:00.003Z2012-02-03T22:45:35.367Z

No place can look better on days like this. Cold clear air and almost no breeze with the sheltered spaces flooded in warming sunlight and wild animals relaxed and basking. Tall unprescribed shrubs are an essential element as is the bronzed bracken showing that it can be a scenic delight at this time of year. Few days in July and August come close.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-73452048989637200302012-02-03T16:14:00.013Z2012-02-13T10:45:51.701Z

Of the many sins and failings of the wildlife trusts, one that rankles more than most is that they have striven to make it seem acceptable to 'bash' wildlife. Tomorrow on Blacka Moor SWT's Department of Community Engagement (or something) is hoping to gather a party of volunteers together to do some 'birch bashing' and its attendant activity 'coppicing', bashing by an only slightly less offensive

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-54053596915918625762012-02-03T13:54:00.005Z2012-02-03T14:15:59.308Z

The minutes of the Sheffield Moors Partnership Steering Group meeting of 2nd November can now be read at this link.I'm told that future minutes of this Steering Group will be made available on the SMP website (just started). Whether this would have happened if we had not sent in several Freedom of Information requests I can't say. The question that's begged of course is - now demands for

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-85035570457275555262012-02-03T10:38:00.003Z2012-02-03T10:45:08.826Z

For the largest stag at least, the barbed wire is no challenge. He simply eased himself over the fence. I've often wondered how much consideration they give to the land on the other side, its rockiness, the vegetation etc. before committing themselves. But that's from the perspective of an ageing human who treads carefully everywhere now. As a child such risks were bread and butter.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-21816977620158556452012-01-31T21:33:00.016Z2012-02-14T14:58:05.146Z

Perhaps it was just a distorted nightmare vision brought on by shuddering word associations: the Sheffield Moors Partnership's 'Masterplanning Process' creating Lebensraum for the master race. Would that master race turn out to be the woolly mowers or are they now so out of favour and being forcibly replaced by the bovine defecators? Or is it indeed the race of empire-building managers themselves

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-80201427085078926842012-01-29T14:50:00.003Z2012-01-29T15:03:33.887Z

A good scrap here. Predictable posturings from the grouse shooting lobby of course who need shaking up every so often. And if this is true of the Scottish moors what about Burbage and other sites closer to home?

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-87129970540379901862012-01-28T12:17:00.005Z2012-01-28T12:27:41.705Z

Impressive the headgear may be, but the warm scarf is more useful when winter does come. Badgers would find meagre pickings and might wish they had stayed in bed.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-16471414729895723862012-01-26T16:31:00.003Z2012-01-26T16:38:14.365Z

Previously avoided because of the intrusion of the hated power line a whole new area becomes available for the painter and photographer. This is as clear an argument as you could get for the supremacy of a natural feeling in the landscape.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-77139728369478107412012-01-25T13:21:00.000Z2012-01-26T16:23:47.710Z

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-84668501099050665582012-01-24T16:34:00.008Z2012-01-26T10:30:13.095Z

There's not much that's as boring as a grouse moor. So the twigs of small shrubby birch and rowan that push up through the heather are a welcome addition bringing some variety. Though it has to be said that those who claim (falsely)to speak for wildlife do not like these natural and wilder intrusions in the artificiality they promote. The small trees are there because for many years sheep have

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-83660089914946949832012-01-19T12:07:00.002Z2012-01-19T12:11:09.827Z

Now we've got rid of the power lines the next target is to remove the barbed wire; unless, that is, the long term plan is to turn much of the local moorland into a prison camp theme- park for wildlife.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-84620283737979441942012-01-14T11:43:00.005Z2012-01-19T17:17:36.292Z

Saturdays, from experience, are often when the weather breaks down after we’ve all been working indoors during the week aware of glorious sunshine outside. In recent months my impression is that it’s sometimes been the other way round. A cold start with white frost, a great sunrise, little or no wind and a cloudless sky is what we need in January to fend off the seasonal depression tendency. Even

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-44035148695666951602012-01-13T15:03:00.015Z2012-01-15T07:08:29.402Z

When Sheffield Wildlife Trust sprayed the bracken on this part of Blacka Moor in August last year they must have known that the spray they were using, Asulam, was about to be banned by the European Union; that ban came into force on January 1st. From what I’ve seen the result of bracken spraying is unattractive and should not be continued. Bracken, as I’ve written before, is a problem in areas

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-31805288188630175812012-01-13T14:35:00.007Z2012-01-16T13:58:55.472Z

The relentless rise in illicit mountain biking activity is set to cause significant and increasing damage to some of our favourite places in times to come and has already done so. There seems to be a total absence of responsible authority prepared to intervene to stop or limit the harm being caused. We pay more money each year to public servants who inside the system cannot act with the

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-86518185852149181482012-01-12T10:04:00.013Z2012-01-29T14:24:49.452Z

Practicality in clothing revolves around weather and temperature. Thick clothes for cold spells and so on. Deer put on lots of extra layers at the first signs of cold weather. Lately they've not been needed. So the scruffy appearance could mean a moult. Alternatively it could mean simple wear and tear from movement through wilder parts of the woods. It's unlikely to be a human-inspired fad such

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-36192963629422721092012-01-07T15:47:00.008Z2012-01-07T16:15:13.658Z

While it's true that many people walk over Blacka and rarely if ever see the deer, those who look carefully get to know where the likely places are. They are large animals and it's not like the process of tracking down small mammals, reptiles, or even badgers. Nevertheless deer prefer to stay hidden if they can which is why they like the woodland and the woodland edge.The penetrating winds this

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-59992238666715143612012-01-06T16:51:00.012Z2012-01-22T15:44:26.880Z

Sheffield Moors Partnership claims to exist to ensure a unified approach across the whole of the moorland to the west of Sheffield. It is supposed to be doing this through a plan - a 'Master Plan', no less. One of the reasons for scepticism about this is that the Eastern Moors Partnership, a core member of SMP has gone ahead with its own plans irrespective and only months before the supposed

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-78249884706901648572012-01-06T10:40:00.003Z2012-01-06T10:49:55.486Z

With no cows and the power line all but gone Blacka Moor has a cleaner feel to it. It's as if all those reminders of flawed human interventions are distanced and all is more natural. We don't need to go far to see evidence that those things are still around but for the moment, this morning's fresher colder air coincided with plentiful evidence of what there is to gain from a less managed

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-55399748702220036022012-01-05T12:59:00.001Z2012-01-09T13:00:21.879Z

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-34086778214986980322012-01-04T20:02:00.005Z2012-01-04T20:14:15.157Z

It was to be expected that SWT would want to publicise the removal of the power lines. I don’t wish to be mean to them, they are quite capable of being their own worst enemies. And in this case they are careful not to claim all credit for the project. But I can’t help remembering the RAG meeting when I first raised the idea of looking into the undergrounding. It was met with indifference by SWT

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-5809525655639158352012-01-02T10:34:00.006Z2012-01-07T16:29:17.375Z

A mild January 1st and a mistle thrush was singing in the new year. Several big stags were in the woods.Today was colder and brighter with a fine sunrise and a dusting of snow but the mistle was still at it. Several prints to be seen includinga a fox.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-11707327097429081132012-01-02T06:52:00.006Z2012-01-07T14:15:07.932Z

What do we mean by the word natural in the context of landscape and countryside and in particular the landscape of the moors around Sheffield? Those who want to lead us by the nose are fond of trying to use words in their own fashion and define them as suits their purpose. We’ve had plenty of evidence of this already from Sheffield Moors Partnership for instance in their use of words like ‘wild’

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-69374879119664887502011-12-31T14:37:00.006Z2012-01-02T18:55:53.933Z

A ruminative pose for one reflecting on the end of one year and the beginning of another.It doesn’t feel right to start a new year in a spirit of bleak expectations, especially this one. Dickens bicentenary is in February and to be celebrated, but the prospect is bleak for those who deplore the spread of manageritis across the local countryside. Not that we’ve yet come across Magwitch in

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-36737581064616005302011-12-28T16:02:00.003Z2011-12-29T07:11:57.307Z

It’s wise to use these days between Christmas and New Year for total relaxation. And those who’ve had a busy and sometimes stressful time during October should use the time to remove themselves from family contacts and recover a sense of repose. There are too many pressures and responsibilities bearing on us all these days. Surrounded by the deep and thick cover that Blacka provides well there's

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-77801536796135923492011-12-25T20:06:00.004Z2011-12-25T20:20:35.328Z

Back in view and good to see today.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-44184483468411033482011-12-23T12:36:00.008Z2011-12-23T13:02:33.722Z

I like the sentence referring to a wilder looking landscape. Wouldn't it be nice if SWT genuinely thought that was worthwhile? They might then remove the other intrusive blots on the landscape starting with their own trademark barbed wire. Instead of which they are planning even more farm style intervention, starting with a Farm Environment Plan as designated by Unnatural England leading to

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-56270086108912532242011-12-23T12:20:00.003Z2011-12-23T12:29:31.360Z

Usually the City of Sheffield erects a large Christmas Tree near the Town Hall. It's to be found somewhere in the above picture. If I had the cash I would give a prize - Spot the Ball fashion.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-31234743397750913252011-12-21T12:52:00.005Z2011-12-22T10:18:29.438Z

More awareness was raised but not much transparency demonstrated at the SW CA meeting on Thursday. Sheffield Moors Partnership (I still can’t believe it exists or is even proposed) gave a brief presentation accompanied by two papers in the assembly’s bundle prepared by officers for the meeting. These contained recommendations that the assembly should “welcome and support the Sheffield moors

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-74428282823044698262011-12-21T10:40:00.007Z2011-12-23T12:33:46.303Z

Being free spirits there's no predicting when and where you will meet the deer. They have their own ideas. Several weeks went by at the end of November until just three days ago with no sight of them. This morning they were out of the woods early as if welcoming the higher temperatures. A small herd of five, two of them less than a year old, allowed us to get close . The pattern is getting to be

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-60038976516471089732011-12-19T13:46:00.003Z2011-12-19T13:57:35.125Z

This morning there were four and they looked to be older ones. Not easy to get any kind of photo at that time in trees as well. But as we came along the path the biggest one sailed effortlessly over the barbed wire. There is such grace about the manouevre that it stays in the mind long afterwards. How do they do it? There's no predicting how uneven the ground is under the shrubs on the other side

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-60936998700557208672011-12-18T17:10:00.004Z2011-12-18T17:17:16.095Z

Half an hour before sunrise on Sunday is quiet enough. The click turned out to be two young stags jousting just visible through the trees. The other one of the three raised the alarm and rushed off. An hour later they were found wandering above the upper path.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-60514272435103417202011-12-16T17:13:00.005Z2011-12-16T17:24:46.268Z

Breakfast is served between 8.30 and 9.00. Delays can occur due to weather conditions. Management can accept no responsibility...etc...

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-40004709175992485672011-12-14T14:12:00.004Z2011-12-14T14:19:41.324Z

Those who walk over Blacka with eyes open (not to be taken for granted) will notice that here there is a difference. What we did see, an intrusive straight line across the centre of the view, has gone and the picture shows the scene only hours after its disappearance.Fears that vehicles would be brought onto the moor have proved groundless. The poles have been sawn off.The cable proves to be more

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-18412218041499293102011-12-13T12:55:00.003Z2011-12-13T13:07:57.845Z

A recent post referred to the article on the Self Willed Land website, Forests, Rocks and Torrents. Torrents are an experience of wild nature that can inspire. If that is what appeals then we can offer a modest experience now, welcome after the months of dry weather. There are of course certain problems in getting close as the slopes are slippery with dead leaves and rocks that rarely see

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-74694856253157567312011-12-13T12:47:00.003Z2011-12-13T12:54:32.812Z

Leaving it a bit late in the season to make a show, this specimen looks like Sulphur Tuft, but I plump for Brick Cap, Hypholoma sublateritium. Good to see as there's little around, but not to be eaten, and that goes for anything that has any resemblance to Sulphur Tuft

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-35337050628047499092011-12-13T10:43:00.003Z2011-12-13T10:47:18.740Z

Here's a job that could be enjoyable and, in this case at least, you can do it out in the peace and quiet of the countryside.And no vehicles or ladders deemed to be necessary so far here so let's hope this is the way things will go.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-36071883664993560362011-12-12T12:18:00.006Z2011-12-16T23:28:02.936Z

As the sun rises in the south east, on the opposite side the moon looks down on what could be the last week of the power line at this point. Now you see it....This section may take longer to remove and the mess created could be dreadful. The easy bit has been done with work accessible from the hard track below Stony Ridge. Even so we certainly know they've been here.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-82388097065756704702011-12-12T12:03:00.004Z2011-12-12T19:14:30.754Z

Some more information about the Sheffield Moors Partnership has now come to light.A consultation of a kind will be held next year albeit not the kind which will satisfy those who think consultations should be meaningful with opportunities to discuss and consider seriously the important issues. They’ve been working away, as consultation designers do, trying to come up with a process which will

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-91032654304027530312011-12-10T14:53:00.005Z2011-12-11T12:10:05.391Z

Mark Fisher is consistently the most thought-provoking writer on landscape and conservation matters and his regular series of articles on his Self-Willed Land website display a deep understanding of and identification with genuine natural landscapes and their wildlife and considerable knowledge and expertise of ecosystems here and abroad. In writing about this he always hits home in a penetrating

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-68459101423956478052011-12-08T12:57:00.003Z2011-12-08T13:05:01.541Z

There was something not quite normal about the extended season of dry weather. So it was in way comforting to hear the roar of water pouring over the rocks.The YEDL people were back after the snow though again only sitting in vans with engines running reading papers. We didn't stay to see what time they start work.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-73245401031946176412011-12-06T16:20:00.005Z2011-12-06T19:04:01.805Z

What is it about paths going through woods? Whatever it may be snow enhances it and sun on snow more so. Though the spectacle of fallen beech leaves is past bronze and gold remain as a low slanting sunlight reaches parts not usually lit up. Ferns and small beech picked out like this are more decorative than any city centre Christmas tree.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-38515881915102518532011-12-06T07:57:00.006Z2011-12-06T08:11:23.438Z

More normal weather but the paths are taking more than a normal bashing. Two things are responsible for this being worse than necessary. Neither of them should be happening. One is mountain biking on paths including a concessionary bridleway that SWT ‘closes’ in winter but does not enforce the closure, simply puts up one of its trademark A4 laminated sheets and then goes back to the office.The

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-59242360423302455362011-12-05T11:59:00.004Z2011-12-06T12:20:32.975Z

The scarcity of frost and heavy rain has helped bracken to stay upright in its dead bronzed state into December. Only a week ago it was standing tall. Today’s wet snow will make a difference; it’s usually been forced down before this. There are large areas of bracken on Blacka and generally people don’t like it, seeing it as something undesirable and alien intruding onto the land. It’s rarely

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-80369950389853225132011-12-03T06:01:00.005Z2011-12-03T06:43:58.129Z

Opinions expressed here on the bureaucracy of landscape designations and directives from the EU and elsewhere are definitely not from an anti-nature or anti-wildlife perspective but from a desire to see more landscape untrammelled by management’s self-serving preoccupations. Not so Mr George Osborne, who this week said: "We will make sure that gold-plating of EU rules on things like habitats

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-25139087882780542662011-12-01T13:53:00.006Z2011-12-01T14:03:29.444Z

Do you or did you work in a sector? A lot of talk by politicians about sectors lately, usually public and private. Much of the comment seems to be highly questionable but that subject’s not what this blog is for. Another sector talked about is the charities sector which takes us closer to home. Charities are promoting themselves as managers of Blacka and surrounding spaces, though, as I’ve

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-39123067709693455582011-11-30T12:39:00.004Z2011-11-30T12:50:43.411Z

The latest news is the much awaited beginning of the power line removal. Several YEDL vehicles this morning were positioning themselves as the sun came round the woods. Will this be a good opportunity for spectators? We are taking bets on how long this will take. They can't afford to go slowly on the cable removal for reasons reported before. But the poles could take longer. The other question is

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-36293704753250490042011-11-29T15:17:00.003Z2011-11-29T15:48:24.342Z

In yesterday’s Guardian once more the issue of farm subsidies is raised, making the point I’ve often made about wildlife charities and their reliance on handouts from these subsidies that keep them tied in to managing our landscapes as boring farm land. Among the top blaggers are some voluntary bodies. The RSPB gets £4.8m, the National Trust £8m, the various wildlife trusts a total of £8.5m. I

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-82162300418809736462011-11-24T14:08:00.014Z2011-11-28T12:43:43.553Z

Now on first sight I thought this interesting attachment to one of the many Sheffield Wildlife Trust papers pinned to gates around the moor meant something like “No Cowpats Here, Thank You”. Doubtless the person responsible thought it amusing. It is. But following a little research I think that there could be more to it:When buying men’s socks over the internet you may come across this.An

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-3333358763845752352011-11-23T11:51:00.007Z2011-11-23T12:09:19.286Z

Seeing them through the mist standing by choice in the middle of a very large patch of thick bracken, with head down most of the time, it makes sense to believe that there is more to bracken as a habitat for deer than simply a great place to hide the young calves in summer. Deer are often to be found just so. Cattle are not often seen in the large patches of bracken or heather. When cattle have

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-16144814803606389112011-11-16T17:57:00.012Z2011-11-17T15:00:10.819Z

.....wombling free.The dreary turd-infested grassland of the sheep pasture has one redeeming feature best seen in an extended mild autumn such as this year’s. It becomes home to various fungi including examples of waxcaps over which mycologists have been known to get excited. Not that they are all edible, though some are. The lengthy dry spell in early autumn was not so productive on the

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-26455157038457428662011-11-16T14:32:00.009Z2011-11-16T18:11:29.580Z

.....wombling free.The poor old mole gets a bad name for his impact on ornamental gardens. He even gives his name to certain treacherous villains including one in a recently released film.( I doubt it’s as good as the version with Alec Guiness. )Moles share with fungi the fact that they live under the ground and yet proclaim their presence on the surface in a unique and identifiable way. It

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-27969092651611432722011-11-16T14:00:00.008Z2011-11-21T10:23:33.634Z

....wombling free...At some time unannounced and not be announced the contractors will arrive to begin the task of dismantling and removing the power line. I’ve no detail about how this will be done. Obviously the cable will go first and the reason for keeping quiet about the operation is to prevent targeting by metal thieves: once it’s known that the power has been switched off and is going

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-65190661266008784422011-11-14T11:07:00.020Z2011-12-15T08:19:25.488Z

……………………(Lend me your, er, gears?....ouch!)The quiet narrow paths of Blacka and similar local places are getting more attention from minority groups of mountain bikers who are not content with keeping to bridleways. Many of these paths are of soft peaty structure and the ruts caused by bikes eventually degrade them leading to progressive widening. The result can be seen all over the area. The

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-82522394942520832342011-11-13T10:28:00.005Z2011-11-13T10:50:29.160Z

It's appropriate that Bedouin tents should appear across the desert of Totley Moor whose conservation managed monoculture is about as alien a prospect as you could find in a temperate country.I imagine the land manager meddlers are harvesting seed and brash and baling it to aid a restoration project on some other unfortunate moor (Kinder?)where similar land management exploitation has contributed

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-32929596034970343772011-11-13T10:13:00.003Z2011-11-13T10:22:19.636Z

In time even the unpopular bracken settles its account.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-50784984913530702072011-11-12T10:39:00.013Z2011-11-16T17:37:00.424Z

The contrast is striking. They are out there on the natural land rarely going on the paths. Meanwhile the paths are wretchedly strewn with the waste of cattle, who always prefer the paths, leaving their mark first by weight and size of hooves eroding the soft peat, then putting the finishing touches in the way they know best.What else can you expect from animals that have been specially bred to

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-85406839385939714782011-11-11T10:21:00.005Z2011-11-11T10:30:06.086Z

"What can you say about people who walk on places like this in such depressing conditions?" "Why bother? There is nothing whatever to see. It's wet under foot. The fog just gets thicker the further you go." "Mind you, it's just what I've always said about that man. He's completely mad. You would have to be mad to go across the moor on a morning like this, supposedly for pleasure!!. Pitiable

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-51305204803350089662011-11-11T05:27:00.004Z2011-11-11T05:55:25.289Z

Those agreeing with the argument that we should know how much of our money is going into farm subsidies should visit the website Farmsubsidy.org and read the piece here.This campaign is linked to another cross European initiative EU Transparency.org which is a non-profit organisation aiming "to shed light on how European Union institutions and policies are working." They have written to the

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-31826433431171141642011-11-10T16:35:00.011Z2011-11-15T10:03:03.027Z

When they are not planning the laying waste of more natural aspects of landscape at Blacka Moor, Sheffield Wildlife Trust's managers are poring over claims forms and grant applications and engaging in self-promotional activities on their own behalf. Those claims forms are now the target of the latest FoI requests this blog is sending in. Back in September a request was sent in to the Rural

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-90734297748238185322011-11-06T17:26:00.008Z2011-11-08T11:17:01.107Z

Is the Blacka management problem down to the fact that some people in management jobs just don’t think the same way?It was instructive to watch the BBC Tales from the National Parks documentary about the plucky villagers of Great Longstone and their struggle with the PDNPA. The park officers simply did not want to deal with the problem of off roaders on their local quiet lane. At the start the

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-11513457781627336872011-11-04T11:27:00.006Z2011-11-05T16:30:43.068Z

Now GMT has returned, the gloom of some November afternoons can be depressing. But a walk though the beeches is a tonic. Even when skies are overcast the leaves appear to glow from within.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-76600378699844288402011-11-04T11:13:00.004Z2011-11-04T13:02:09.628Z

Time of sunrise is only relevant if the sun is actually seen to rise. These days it's around ten past seven and getting later by a couple of minutes each day. Heavy cloud makes it feel there's another hour or two to wait. On the more open parts of the moor it can seem gloomier than when you're among trees. But that can be the time of day when the herd of deer has ventured out to browse. Once our

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-4764204994986363922011-11-02T15:12:00.017Z2011-11-03T10:27:29.154Z

The emerging cartel calling itself Sheffield Moors Partnership, marshalled by eager officers of the local National Trust, wanted each of the officers attending early meetings to get agreement 'at director level' in their respective bureaucracies for the statement called the 2025 Vision. This is not, as might be assumed, the result of an awayday trip to Specsavers but a rather gushing collection

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-526004161919830812011-10-31T22:35:00.015Z2011-11-01T17:40:59.374Z

Last year, 2010Second, this year, 2011Clicking on the images will give a better view. I'm aware that the small number of images could be seen as selected to display a certain point of view, (not something that local conservation officers would ever dream of doing of course). I'm doing the best I can to correct that temptation by uploading a more varied collection of photos, with each image larger

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-46561246293334073672011-10-30T10:07:00.006Z2011-10-30T10:13:23.122Z

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-4970935274284911282011-10-29T23:07:00.003+01:002011-10-29T23:15:56.945+01:00

We've resented it all those years it's been here. Will we miss it when it's gone? It would be perverse but not unusual. Some time in the coming months the gangs will arrive to take it all away. Apparently some form of collaboration wth Natural England will accompany the removal. I somehow doubt that there will be much sensitivity about the operation. One older regular on Blacka said he thought it

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-27586227993431454522011-10-29T23:00:00.003+01:002011-11-07T10:31:59.105Z

It's the young stags that one feels sympathy for at this time of year. In scattered herds older males gather a group of hinds around them and the young calves seem to be able to stay with the group. And in spring and summer the groups of stags are of various ages so they're not short of companionship. Autumn is a time when the unattached stags can be seen wandering solitary around the hills and

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-85594514130748733672011-10-29T16:24:00.007+01:002011-10-31T19:07:05.176Z

Any doubts as to the future management intentions of Sheffield Wildlife Trust will have been dispelled by observing this week’s RAG meeting. They wish to have no proper discussion between FoBM and other non SWT users of Blacka about the fundamental strategy. They wish to continue doing just what they have been up to so far. If anyone had hopes that we would see a turning back from farm management

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-22453906741930773562011-10-28T19:10:00.003+01:002011-10-28T19:21:32.105+01:00

The best mornings are still when clear autumn skies come with patches of mist. Deer have been active out on the moor overnight while the cattle were at rest. Seven hinds and calves were with the stag. Before sunrise three of them had decided to lie down in the thick shrubbery, later to be disturbed as the cows roused themselves and made their way across the moor. Other stags were around and also

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-16456301983153016842011-10-27T14:13:00.001+01:002011-10-27T14:15:40.336+01:00

Weather conditions, time of day, give different colour perspectives to life on the moor. Mornings can be dazzling and colourful but just as likely be drab and washed out. Midday has fewer extremes and more chance of an even light.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-49054229428080593232011-10-26T12:36:00.011+01:002011-10-28T11:01:31.606+01:00

The editors here take no credit/responsibility for the content below which we have only agreed to include to commemorate a) the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Private Eye and b) the coming departure of a local figure and his winning of a part share in a Sheffield Telegraph Environment Award to hasten him on his way.This is a guest contribution from Private Eye’s very own poet E J

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-50079728485600520642011-10-23T11:40:00.011+01:002011-10-23T14:11:13.486+01:00

Side by side but with quite different priorities.Grooming.Eating.No gender stereotyping there, then.More scenes.

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-34031777902164154862011-10-20T10:22:00.008+01:002011-10-26T10:26:14.003+01:00

You have to pinch yourself when watching some scenes in the regenerated wildness of Blacka's best parts - then say slowly that this was over managed grouse moor and is now a paradise for wildlife. Then say even more slowly that there are institutions and charities with managers who want to take it back to more managed land, more like farmland and more like the grouse moor that it was.The deer

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-23624412226437556822011-10-18T12:55:00.007+01:002011-10-18T19:51:10.286+01:00

Further thoughts about the papers obtained through Freedom of Information requests concerning Sheffield Moors Partnership: Action Planning, Terms of Reference and Vision Statement ('2025 Vision')I’ve now spent a longer time looking at it all. Too long: there’s pain associated with it and my bones keep telling me there’s something unhealthy going on. But I'm now reaching some conclusions about

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-9113487629884253312011-10-17T10:31:00.004+01:002011-10-17T12:51:31.665+01:00

Sometimes it seems as if certain people would like this splendid path to be "well-maintained", managed to look cared for as in a garden or park. They may be those who object strongly if their clothing gets wet from the bracken and overhanging trees. Or the uneven path surface with protruding rocks and tree roots.Among the many beauties of wilder land are the things you don’t see unless you’re

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-30753968724006290912011-10-15T15:02:00.008+01:002011-10-16T22:05:19.049+01:00

Following on from the previous post, Enough, and on a similar theme, I report another conversation with a conservation officer, this time about the sheep pasture on Blacka. Doesn’t the despoiled look of this grazed land pinpoint the absurdity of the conservation management approach, said I? I explained that difficulties with the grazier last year left the land free from sheep and cattle for

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-68794711618348077922011-10-15T13:46:00.005+01:002011-10-15T18:58:29.092+01:00

Speaking with one of the local conservation officers recently I realised that our different points of view were so entrenched that there was just no coming together at all. Those who try to bring about consensus (such as the growing tribe of professional facilitators) would have torn down their flip charts and tearfully gone off to seek counselling. It’s no surprise that I consider I was right

Blacka Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15802050196614527577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5099497565645504990.post-25440416778219787842011-10-15T11:38:00.006+01:002011-10-15T11:54:22.044+01:00

He had sounded in good voice as we walked up through the birch woods. Minutes earlier the dark valley had been echoing with resonances similar to the starting of a powerful motor bike. But there was more than one sound. As we got closer and he saw us he vanished into the bracken only visible later on after careful scrutiny. No hinds to be seen and the reason was apparent when other impressive

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Who is it more important to impress? When he throws back his head and projects his voice towards the sky for maximum carry is it mostly to throw out a challenge to rivals nearby? Or is it to attract the females? The group of six accompanying him contain at least two young born this year along with the mature hinds. They are now roaming more across the higher parts than previously, as though the

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