COMELY COWS & RENAULT FLORA

All but a few straggler sheep are off the moor for the winter and so, I thought, were the cows. It seems not. A herd have been hanging around here for a couple of weeks now and are omnipresent. It doesn't matter where I try and walk, there they are, some with very new calves, right in our path. Having heard the statistics about the number of people killed by them in the name of protectiveness, I'm walking lot of extra in detours. Sometimes, however, there's no avoiding them but they seem pretty benign. Their coats are unbelievably thick but I can't believe how the calves are going to manage once the weather gets REALLY bad. I found a half eaten carcass of a full grown cow today. I'm sparing you the photograph as there were uneaten bits hanging off here and there. Not long dead then and some of those calves are really tiny. Not my problem but I do worry about them. Here are some pictures of the hairy ladies and their offspring.

This is the very situation that should be avoided!

And now for the horticultural delights on and in the Renault Megane:

Moss and TWO types of Lichen

It could grow into a tree one day....

I may need to clear some of this out but what's the point?

More moss and perhaps a new, plastic loving lichen evolving there on the left?

Really quite attractive moss. Can you see the sauna situation inside there?

Sorry - terrible picture - but this is the plant emerging from the rear carpet. I just couldn't get it to focus on its beautiful foliage.....grrrr

More lichen......at least the air is clean around the filthy car

And finally grass, which appears to have been mown since the last time I looked at it, by what, I cannot imagine.

A few more pictures from the last couple of days. Snippet is rather camera shy at the moment and is setting a VERY bad example regarding coming when called.....

Before I go, I seem to have many 'links' appearing at the end of each post, under the comments box. I've noticed something about a threadcatcher on other people's blogs too. Does anyone know how they get there? Every time I try to get rid of them, I get an error page. The list seems to be growing too. Well, until next time, have a lovely weekend and here are the two dogs on the move....being watched....

A FRACTURED HERD AND A CHANGE IN THE SEASONS

I haven't seen the herd now for over a week. I stand mournfully on various vantage points, staring into the distance, and it is some distance, to no avail. They are obviously beyond my reach. Strangely, over the weekend I have seen two tiny splinter groups on their own quite close by, one of two fillies, the other comprising foal number two, his mum and one of the geldings. I really miss the others but had a nice experience on Sunday morning with number two coming up to have a good sniff and nuzzle with me. He had a tick hanging off his upper eye lid which I was itching to do something about but I think it might have ruined a beautiful relationship, so I resisted the urge!

Itchy nose

The temperatures have changed noticeably, particularly in the evening, and Trigger has been in a lightweight rug. Wondering how many anti-rub vests he'll manage to lose this year. It was three last year so I'm trying one involving a strap between the legs but am now worried that the strap might rub. I have no idea what he does with them or who, in the animal kingdom, takes them away once he has discarded them. Only time will tell. 

The moor is in flux at the moment and there is not a lot of visible wildlife. I am no longer chasing elusive butterflies and dragonflies, or photographing the corpses of small mammals. The only things out there are almost silent skylarks, cows, sheep and endless Fox Moth Caterpillars. Prepare for many shocking images of them through the winter; they seem to survive anything!

Snippet and I went for a long pony searching walk last week, to a valley I couldn't see from the vantage points. No ponies but a lovely buzzard almost at head level when we were climbing out of the valley. Here it is along with other pictures from that day. With the grey weather and lack of activity out there, the camera has not been doing a great deal else recently.

patriotic sheep

And a very few more images from this week.....

You can just see Hound Tor and Haytor in the distance behind the sheep

Primula getting ahead of itself in the garden

The rain has finally reached us today and is adding to the squelchiness of the moor. More deep holes in the long grass made by cows for me to fall down, I hope not in view of the odd brave tourist; I do try and keep my distance, if only to avoid Snippet jumping all over them. I selfishly like it when I see nobody! Till next time.....some hole-makers laughing at me.

SUNSHINE AND SOCIALISING

What a week! Much taxiing around of my son and picking up of his friends. A birthday party today and another tomorrow with lots of late nights and related grumpiness the next day! He’s usually asleep soon after eight and would kill me if he knew I was saying that. I’m writing this with the Olympic build up on the telly in the background. I feel obliged to watch it and am hoping that my bah-humbug feelings will be blown away by the extravaganza. I’m really looking forward to the sport though, particularly the gymnastics; Nadia Comaneci was my absolute heroine as a little girl. I spent a lot of time during the summer holidays of 1976 twirling around on and doing handstand dismounts off a fallen tree in the grounds of a beautiful house in Surrey where my mum was teaching a course. I was Nadia Comaneci competing against my friends who were Olga Korbut and Lyudmila Turishcheva. Those days at that fabulous house called The Hallams, Norman Shaw’s last project, are some of my happiest childhood memories. So, apologies for not posting or visiting other blogs very much. I’ve barely had time to check my email. 

Last Sunday, my half sister and her husband came to visit. It was lovely to see them and we went for a lovely long walk in the baking heat. There is a shepherd’s hut that I rarely make it to on my walks but is a reference point we refer to as ‘the tin hut’.

After actually having a look inside we walked on to another landmark I’ve always wanted to get to. A little oasis of trees next to the river that eventually becomes the Teign. It was utterly beautiful. We then got very wet picking our way across what would normally be ground dry enough to walk over at this time of year but was actually pretty boggy thanks to the incessant  rain of the last months. Not enough sun cream to avoid pink upper arms all round!

Over this week of beautiful weather, most mornings have produced a strange meteorological  phenomenon. This picture shows clearly what appears to be a belt of mist over most of mid Devon. It looks like it stretches from around Crediton all the way up northwards to where Exmoor rises up and then again beyond. It was stunning but burnt off pretty quickly. This was taken at about 7.30am.

Yesterday when I went to see Trig in the morning, I noticed something was wrong with his eye. It appeared ragged but not bleeding in the lower lid. The vet came to see him and said he’d probably caught it on some barbed wire and that, luckily there was no damage to the eye itself. He has some antibiotics and bute to bring down the swelling and should be okay but I need to try and keep the flies off it. It’s the only reason I’m glad the weather looks like it’s turning. The flies have been unbelievable here in the sun. This attractive picture was taken this morning after the swelling had gone down a bit. Look away if you’re squeamish!

Here are some other pictures from this week:

A swallow ground feeding outside the back door

Kestor in the sunshine

Foals trying to get some shade at Middle Tor

Snippet in the morning sun

Cows relaxing this morning

A dead shrew - sorry about this one but I just thought it was so interesting to see its little body and beautiful tiny claws!

Posting is proving as difficult as I had thought but I’ll really try to do so as often as I can. I miss it and I miss reading your comments and your own blogs. I’ll have to try and stay up a bit later as I’m usually off upstairs by 10.00pm. Hope you’ve enjoyed the weather if you’re in Britain and that the Olympics prove enjoyable if you’ll be watching and not too intrusive if you’re not. Till next time…..