Category Archives: anthropocene

Forest

When we first arrived at our remote cottage to live there was a large forest of conifers up the slope of the fell on which we lived. The fell is 599 metres, which is just short of being a mountain. … Continue reading →

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Blue Moon

Blue Moon Looking back on August it was an interesting month for a number of reasons. 2 full moons occurred – which is termed the Blue Moon. It will occur again in 2015. It was also the month Neil Armstrong … Continue reading →

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The fox hounds are out

I hear the fox hounds being brought out for their daily preparation for the season beginning September. Their baying sets my five dogs off barking, and I have to bring them in to shut them up. The local hunts involve … Continue reading →

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Have gun will kill

Ornithologists do not recognise the pheasant as a UK bird, although it has the most beautiful plumage of any bird resident in these Isles. It was an Asian bird, finally domesticated and brought to Britain by the Romans adding to … Continue reading →

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Nature’s attributes half way up a mountain

We live by a strongly flowing burn. We are used to wet weather, therefore the ground is often boggy, but it drains fast. We are half way up a mountain so the height increases UV light and the conditions attract … Continue reading →

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Glorious 12th

Yesterday was the ‘Glorious 12th’ and all grouse (lagopus lagopus scoticus ) in Scotland would have been finding themselves the target of many shooters had it not been a Sunday. No game may be shot on a Sunday. From today … Continue reading →

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Dark Skies

And the dark skies. Oh let me tell you about the dark skies. No pollution of any kind to blot out the awe inspiring canopy of stars once night falls. Over us is our own galaxy, the Milky Way, so … Continue reading →

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The Weavers

When we arrived at this cottage in which we now live, we found it was better insulated than any home we had ever lived in – which is excellent as we live half way up a mountain. It used to … Continue reading →

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Land Use

10,000 years BCE there were around 1 million humans walking this planet. By 1800 AD there were around 1 billion. From Stone Age man, hunting and gathering a wide ranging diet we became farmers, and by 1800 we were dividing … Continue reading →

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Ice Ages

The first life on Earth was in the form of bacterial algae, which are photosynthetic organisms. If it were not for them we would never have had oxygen, and without oxygen we would never have had fire. Life has been … Continue reading →

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