Quiet

Firstly, a happy new year to one and all.  Without sounding too much of a humbug, as much as I enjoy the Christmas period, I am rather glad come the new year to get back to some kind of normality.  Things have been a little quiet over the last week on the photography front as a result so here are a couple of images taken over that period when we have had further snow.  I am visiting this location every few days to top up the feeders and due to its elevation, snow occurs more regularly and lingers longer than where I live close to town some 3 miles or so away.

I have worked this patch for the past 10 years now which also includes several 100 acres of adjacent woodland and downland, with the permission of its landowners.  The elderly couple that own this field, amongst others, have farmed this same area for over 40 years and I thoroughly enjoy popping by for a chat, particularly over Christmas to give them their card and just to say thanks.  They are quintessentially ‘country’ and only pop into town for their weekly shop.  Indeed they lived just a few miles apart from each other in nearby villages before meeting and getting married.  They have stories of how the countryside was back then and how it has changed.  Birds are nowhere near as plentiful as they were back then.   They graze livestock so are not responsible for the use of insecticides etc.  And as for foxes?  “I live and work in the countryside,” he says, “so must expect a few losses once in a while.  It’s a small price to pay and anyway, I enjoy seeing them.”  How refreshing I thought.

Tags: bramble, christmas, farming, foxes, landowners, snow, winter