The Merest Glimpse

..........is often all you get, and the only indication of the presence of deer on a warm afternoon in July.

but you can be sure that she is watching you closely and if she has any suspicions at all she won't wait around.

Elementary ?

Blacka Blogger puts down his violin bow, dons deerstalker hat and with lens in one hand and pipe in the other puts his formidable thinking powers to the service of deduction. Who has perpetrated this misdemeanour and why?
The catch on the gate at the lower end of the pastures has been removed. When? It was first noticed the morning after the cattle appeared in the pastures. Who? Mayhap someone on foot on bike or on horseback. Why? A difficult one. Could a person or persons have come across the newly arrived and frisky beasts near the path or even blocking it, then panicked and made a violent dash for the exit forcing the gate open? Accidental damage squares with the fact that the catch itself has then been put back on the ground within the enclosure.

What do you think, Watson?


It's hard to believe the cattle have not something to do with it. They remain in the pasture and we could see no more of them today than there were yesterday.

Transplanted

It can't be much fun being moved about from place to place but that's the lot of farm livestock. It could explain why they usually look surly. Most of these beasts don't look much older than those who were here last year, but SWT have been saying there will be 15 of them and some at least will be older.

7.15 a.m. on Blacka looking north east

Arrival

Following yesterday's post about cattle at Stanage, this morning reveals that eight have now been brought onto Blacka. Perhaps others will come in another consignment today. They are in the pasture land for the moment being scrutinised critically by one of the regular inhabitants alongside ..............
.
.......with the wild herbivores looking down from Wimble Holme Hill.......

Tongue Tied

These are likely to be some of the animals SWT planned to put on Blacka in May this year. They have been delayed because of the late arrival of the vaccine for blue tongue. They are here on the hillside opposite Stanage Edge. They look quite happy with their lot; why move them? One hopes that the animal below is not one intended for Blacka.

It's interesting that these cattle are not on the main section below Stanage which is accessed regularly by the public. The reason for this is because of a decision taken by PDNPA during a public consultation managed by Icarus. They decided that it would not be appropriate to put cattle there because cattle and recreation do not mix. Ecologists and land managers present at a meeting expressed concerns that cattle might eat tree seedlings thus preventing the trees when mature from shading out the bracken!

Greed

Usually at this time of year wood pigeons appear on Blacka in force. They are after the bilberries but don't bother with bags, boxes or tupperware containers. They just guzzle everything in sight. The wood pigeon is one bird I have completely failed to like. It's not just that one of them woke me up at 4.30 this morning cooing on the chimney pot. They also ravage my redcurrants and when action is taken in the form of net curtains they express frustration by tearing up lettuce leaves and dropping them on the ground. The bird bath, well respected by all other species is routinely soiled by them leaving it in a quite disgusting state. Their mating behaviour in public at all times of the year displays a regrettable lack of modesty and reserve. To me they are the epitome of greed. I have seen them in a field of kale so fat and bloated that they could not get off the ground. Just as there's a prime case for more policemen on the beat there should be more peregrine falcons sorting out these offenders.

Summer

A typical summer morning on Blacka with a breeze to quell the small insects. There are still birds singing though fewer of them, the cuckoos having gone on their way for another year. Hares were busy in the pasture looking almost as big as foxes. It's possible to make out the one in the scene below above the higher clump of rushes near the centre.