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- A mixed week weather-wise. Yesterday was glorious, no wind, no clouds, cold and clear (but warm in the sun) and now we are back to leaden skies and blustery winds.
- I took the opportunity to go indulge in a spot of galanthophilia today under overcast skies as I find photographing flowers (be they snowdrops or my annual bluebell pilgrimage) far easier in cloud than strong sunlight.
- I drove up to Welford Estate - just north of the M4 between Newbury and Hungerford to see their display of snowdrops.
- I was the only one wandering around a) under 70 years old and b) on my own - but the trip was certainly worth it!
- Not only were there millions of snowdrops out, but they mingled rather nicely with the yellow "Winter Aconite" flowers also - a real splash of colour in winter.
- Welford Estate has the beautiful river Lambourn running through it - well.... its beautiful upstream of Newbury anyway. This winter, a solitary dipper has spent each evening under the weir bridge on the river - very rare down in Berks.
- I certainly enjoyed my snowdrop excursion and time on the estate (I'd thoroughly recommend it -but be quick - the park is only open to the public for 4 weeks each year - purely for the snowdrop extravaganza).
- I also saw maybe two dozen red-legged partridge on the road off the M4 (to Wickham) on the drive up there. Six were in the middle of the road, squabbling so ferociously that at least two of them actually went UNDER the car as I drove over them (no time to slow down). I don't think I killed any -bit of a shame actually - might have been quite nice to have a little frenchman for tea?
- On the subject of game, just up the road from Welford (at East Isley - very close to where I watch my winter short-eared owls and hare), I read that a few blokes had been done for hare coursing last week.
- I know hare coursing is illegal, and I suppose rightly so, but if these blokes were coursing for the pot, then I'm afraid to say I have no issue with that. (Apologies in advance if you're offended by that). I'd far rather non-working dogs (other than coursing hounds, ratting jack russells etc...) were made illegal - they seem to have no purpose, other than to yap and crap. But I guess that's just me!
- Its the theft of the vehicle that these men also allegedly were involved in, that I think warrants any attention at all.
- I took great delight in seeing a beautiful brown hare race across my path, the last time I was up at that neck of the woods but whilst its fair to say the brown hare population isn't exactly flourishing at present, it's not in serious trouble either -and I'm no bothered if a few souls want to course a few hares. Maybe I should be - but I'm not.
- Maybe 300,000 brown hares are shot each year anyway - coursing is certainly not a major influence on their numbers, but is deemed as cruel.
- So - was the fact that these men were coursing with dogs, enough reason to "pop a copper-chopper " in the air and catch them? I hope not. I really hope not...
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