Bog Beacon!

Apparently these little fellas are quite unusual.  Widespread, but not common.  They are Bog Beacons, (Mitula paludosa), what a fantastic name!  They are actually much more orange than this, but boy, do they shine out of the very wet leaf litter!

They are very fussy about there habitat, but this seems to be ideal, as there were tons of them!

Growing from submerged, deciduous leaf litter in carr woodland.

A new favourite!

Osprey!

I'm quite keen on all times of year.  They all have their particular 'thing' that makes them special, (well, if and when we are lucky enough to get seasons!) Summer, the long, lazy, warm days, cooking outside and wild camping (living in hope). Autumn you have the beautiful changes in the colours of the countryside and the flush of fungi.  Winter, the crisp, frosty but sunny mornings, the frost that decorates the trees and the blankets of snow.  But Spring excites me like no other, the flush of green, the colourful flowers and the promise of new life.  The birds sing with all their hearts and everything wakes up.  

We say goodbye to some migratory birds as they move on to their breeding grounds, but we also say hello to others.  One of my absolute favourites has to be the Osprey.  They are very popular around here with the Dyfi Osprey Project, near Machynlleth, offering a fantastic 360 Observatory and live streaming from the nest.  They attract thousand of visitors every year.  I am even luckier though to live not far from another nest.  It's not publicised, but there is a hide, if you happen across it.  I spent a lot of time there last year, watching these amazing birds rear three young.  We don't have a TV, better things to do, and besides following the Osprey provides more drama than Eastenders and is better for the soul!

The first sightings of Osprey have begun.  One has been spotted at Loch Garten in Scotland, one at Rutland Water, and one here, near our very own nest yesterday.  It was probably just passing through, as it hasn't been spotted again since.  I really can't wait for 'our' birds to arrive and for the Osprey season to kick off fully.  Spring really is exciting and full of promise.

The Dyfi Osprey Project costs around £150,000 a year to run!  2017 is the first year that they will not receive any grant funding and therefore will be totally self supporting.  If this is something that interests you, then maybe you could support them by paying them a visit, buying something from their shop or simply just donating.  It is a fabulous project that not only educates about Osprey but all birds of prey and wildlife in general.

A day for Raptors!

I drove to uni yesterday.  It was such a nice day, and I didn't want to have to wait for the bus.  I got back around three, so headed up the hill for a bit with my camera.  Almost as soon as I arrived I saw a Goshawk above the trees.  It wasn't in sight for long and I was unable to get a photo, but it always pleases me to see one of these shy birds.  I took a few photos of the badger setts, then parked myself under a tree in the sunshine.  Quite a few Red Kites were circling and then what I initially thought were two Goshawks!  With excitement, I snapped a few photos through the branches of the tree.  Only then to realise they were in fact two very pale buzzards.  The combination of the tree and my over excitedness didn't make for very good photos anyway!

Pale Buzzard

Red Kite

I'm sure my photography skills are actually getting worse!  I take what looks like a great photo, only to find when I get it on my laptop at home, that the focus is all over the place! Anyway, shortly after I saw a small falcon being chased off by a crow.  It could only have been a Kestrel, because of the habitat, but I couldn't make out the colours or markings, just the unmistakable outline.  Again no photo, but a total of four different birds of prey in just an hour!  I did manage to get a couple of nice shots of spring, however and I'll leave you with those!

Hazel Catkins

Blackthorn Blossom

Bovine TB

Being at university gives me an incredible privilege of being able to access much more information and scientific material than the average person.  This has allowed me to research not only what's requested of me through uni assignments, but also what sparks my interest.  So I've obviously done quite a bit of work concerning badgers recently.

Much controversy surrounds bTB, but I'm really not sure why.  George E. Pearce writes in his book Badger Behaviour, Conservation and Rehabilitation how, back in the 60's, the disease was fairly well eradicated in several parts of the UK.  This was done by regular testing and culling, moving away from more vulnerable breeds and bloodlines, and by keeping the cow sheds uncrowded, cleaned and most importantly well ventilated.  How was this possible back then, but it doesn't appear to be today?

Wales has decided against the badger cull.  It was deemed by the Welsh Assembly Government to be unacceptable and illegal.  However, England chose differently and are culling heavily in certain parts of the country.  Which country has seen a drop in the rate of bTB?  Wales.  England's bTB has actually risen where targeted culls have been carried out.

For some reason the government seem to just want a scape goat, something to blame it all on rather than actually dealing with the issue, with better conditions and more regular testing.  So badgers have been blamed, and so much so that farmers and the general public have been heartily convinced that badgers are the cause of the problem and the persecution continues.  George E. Pearce insists that this is all wrong and that badgers are in fact contracting bTB from foraging in infected pastures.  This makes far more sense if the whole thing is looked at logically.

So, what's the latest?  A pack of hounds infected with bTB has now moved the focus elsewhere, probably only temporarily because of conflicting interests, and hounds are now being blamed for the spread of the disease.  Yet another scape goat.  Far more likely to have caught it from cows than to have passed it on to them.  I honestly don't understand why the government isn't just dealing with the issue as it has done in the past.

I'm genuinely interested to hear people's thoughts on this one!

Badgers

So, I've been researching badgers a lot recently.  I wanted to share a book that I've been reading.  If you have any interest in badgers at all, then it's well worth a read!  

George E. Pearce is a farmer, wildlife rehabilitator and badger specialist.  He has many years experience with everything badger, and acts as consultant to many farmers, developers, courts and the police.  Badger Behaviour, Conservation and Rehabilitation is a book filled with knowledge, information and stories, and in my opinion was over far too quickly.  So if you have a spare bit of time for reading and this peaks an interest, I highly recommend dipping in.

Ooops!

Ok, so it's been a while, I must have been busy!  Well, I have I guess.  I did eventually manage to get a plant survey done on the hill.  Really quite interesting actually, but will be going back to look again as spring brings in more variety and developments.  I've also been working really hard on finding out about badgers, and how much of a problem they are going to be with fencing etc.  The amount of paths they have crisscrossing the hill is incredible, and I don't want to be installing a hundred badger gates.  Also the fencing near the main sett needs replacing so I needed to find out about legalities of digging near setts.  Apparently, if you are caught near a badger sett with spade you are assumed to be badger digging and will be prosecuted as such!  Licences to carry outs works near badger setts are recommended!


Aside from that, we have started work on our practical project at uni.  We have a footpath to restore.  A lot of clearance work, the replacement of four gates and a footbridge to rebuild!  It's a great project, but after all the rain we've had the site is an absolute quagmire!  Yesterday, even though it wasn't raining, I wore waterproofs for mud limitation, I was still filthy and had condensation all up inside them! Not very pleasant.  Tomorrow, we are back on site and the weather is meant to be sunny and fairly warm, so I'm going to go with spare trousers instead!  No photos yet, I'll do a before and after of the entire project when we've finished.

Instead, here's a new fungus for me that I found at the footpath site during a break.  It's an Earthfan, a member of the Thelephora species. I've not found one before, so nice find for me. Sorry, second picture is a little blurry!

Rain, rain, rain and books!

I'm very frustrated at the weather currently,  I wanted to do a plant survey on the hill.  I also have an overwhelming urge to get out wild camping.  That's not going to happen right now, with gale force winds and torrential rain.  So I've been working on my woodland assignment for Uni.  That's frustrating me too, not the assignment, but the fact that a book I'd really like for both uni work and personal interest is so bloody expensive.  I guess it's because so much work goes into these scientific works, but still, an old book, many years out of date, second hand, still costs a fortune!  We have a great library at the uni, but sometimes you just want them on your own bookshelf.  I love books. I had a Kindle for a while, and they certainly have their place, but you just can't beat an actual book!


Oh and another thing!  I spent ages the other day, trawling through Blogger, trying to find blogs to follow.  Finding a current, active blog, with similar topics and interests as me, is nigh impossible!  So, if you drop by, and you think I may like your blog, please drop me a comment, and I will pop over and take a look.  Thank you :)

Busy!

Well since being laid up last week, I've been really busy!  Saturday we had to go to Welshpool to pick up OH's car from the garage. We had to leave early so we thought we'd make a day of it and headed onto the old Iron Age fort at Oswestry.  Nice for a walk round if you're in the area.  I believe it's the biggest of it's kind in the UK. Then we walked the woods at Rodney's Pillar.  That's also a cracking walk.  I didn't make it to the top this time, as I'm still very tired, but it was a good walk all the same.

On Sunday OH went climbing with the boys, and I had a wander on the land we are looking at to check the fencing.  There's quite a large section there that will need replacing.  I had the pleasure of spotting a woodcock and a gorgeous big hare, but sadly no photos!  That reminds me, in the morning I was sat just outside the door with a cup of coffee, and a sparrowhawk flew through the yard, just inches from the floor, and just feet from me!  Again no photo, but an image I will retain for sometime anyway!  Later that afternoon I took my eldest daughter for a drive.  She's had four professional lessons so far and is doing well.  She tackled some quite tricky stuff around the lake at Clywedog and in the Hafren Forest.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it might have been!

On Monday I had a field trip with Uni, to study some woodland.  We did a biodiversity study on higher plants, and looked at the regeneration of the part of the woodland that had once been planted with conifers.  It's all very interesting and hopefully will be put to good use for myself one day!

Tuesday was Practical Estate Skills, and green woodworking again.  I'm not going to produce any photos yet.  I'm going to wait until the gates are installed in our footpath project, which we will be starting next week.  Can't wait to get on with it and see everything in place!

Yesterday, the weather was appalling, we've had so much rain the rivers are fit to burst.  I drove into Uni, as I had an appointment yesterday afternoon, and the road to Aberystywth was a nightmare by the time I came home.  Luckily I had four lectures, so wasn't outside much!  Anyway, after uni, I went to visit someone who used to keep Tamworth pigs for bracken clearance.  She has 15 acres of woodland that was swamped by 8ft bracken!  The pigs have done an amazing job, and so has she, replanting over 6,000 trees!  Hopefully she will be a useful contact for us in the future.

So today, we have storm Doris.  My OH decided it was the best time to be in the mountains, and has headed to Cadair Idris!  I'm sure he has a bloody screw lose.  86mph winds and heavy snow?  Complete nutjob!!  I have stayed at home, as I'm the sensible one.  I have a new assignment to get on with; a report on the woodland we surveyed on Monday.

I also got my first semester results today, and I'm happy to say I've got through with a 1:1, so couldn't be happier.  Let's just hope I can keep it up, with everything else that's going on!

Turquoise Elfcup

I was just looking over some photos I took when I was out looking for fungi recently.  And came across these two;

At the time, I didn't know what was causing the blue/green staining in the decaying wood, but it was obviously not man made.

Having done a little research, it appears to be caused by a fungus called Chlorociboria aeruginosa or Turquoise Elfcup.  



Now you may remember that I've posted about Scarlet Elfcup in the past.  They are very common this time of year, but the turquoise ones are harder to spot and are usually around in autumn.  I've certainly never seen them, but I am happy to have found evidence of the unusual fungus!

Going slightly mad....

I have the worst cold.  Not a happy bunny.  I missed uni on Tuesday, managed to crawl in for Wednesday, and even missed the early bus home, because I was working so hard on an assignment, but have been in bed since!  Colds don't normally affect me much, I just get on with it, but this has really knocked me for six.  I've not been sleeping and feel weak and useless.  Very frustrating.  Really getting cabin fever now!  I'm going out tomorrow if it kills me!

Mixed Feelings

I did end up going out the day of my last post.  It was a bit hair raising in the woods.  The wind was howling.  When I got home I logged onto the woodland for sale website to get the phone number for the North Wales agent.  I was going to give him a call and discuss a deposit for the woodland with him.  Sadly when I got onto the website it appears that someone else has beaten me to it.  Gutted to say the least, I had big plans for that place!  It's certainly knocked me back a bit.  But I have re-centred my attention on some land that I was looking at a couple of years ago.  The guy wanted to much for it, but he's not sold, so maybe there's a chance that I could get it cheaper.  Not quite the woodland of my dreams, but cheaper and still with potential.

Went out looking for edible mushrooms today.  Found a few Scarlet Elfcaps and a few Jelly Ears, but not the Velvet Shanks I had been hoping for.  Not ones that were worth eating anyway.  Lots of fungi still to find though, unbelievable that people think the season is over by winter.  Anyway I was going to attempt a wild mushroom chutney, but without the Velvet Shanks it wouldn't have been right with just ears and elfcaps!  So I made it with plain old button mushrooms instead.  If it's nice, I'll make it with oyster mushrooms when mine are ready.

We did map and compass work last week with Uni.  That was pretty cool, they dragged us all over the hills surrounding Plynlimon.  According to the fitbit I walked 24,746 steps and climbed 139 floors!  We're going to start looking at our footpath project tomorrow, so that should be quite interesting.

I'll leave you with some Turkey Tails (Trametes versicolor).  They are a rather pretty bracket fungus and are plentiful at the moment.

Scuppered!

It was my first day back in lectures yesterday.  I was tired, back to 6.30 starts again, and sore!  PES on Tuesday found a few muscles I hadn't used for a while! So starting at nine yesterday morning, I had four lectures back to back.  No breaks, just enough time to get from one to the next! Ye, I know, poor student having to sit around for four hours, but with three brand new modules introduced and our first assignment set, it was hard to concentrate.  The new modules are;

Land Use:  Most of our land use in this country is agriculture, so this module will be a lot of that!

People & the Countryside:  This covers everything from legal stuff, to funding.  May be a bit boring at times, but useful stuff to know.

British Habitats:  This is the one I am really looking forward to.  We'll be studying all the different types of habitat, what they mean and what's happening to them.

Our first assignment is a presentation on agriculture for Land Use. Shouldn't be too bad to do, easy enough, but shocked to have been given it in the first lecture!

On Thursdays I am meant to have a lecture, but I've told them I won't be going in.  Because I have to commute, an hour each way on the bus, I have to leave the house at 7.15 every morning and don't get back until 5, and some days 7.  It's not worth giving up my whole day for a one hour lecture.   Lectures are recorded so I can catch up with what I have missed tomorrow morning, before lectures start again.

So my plan today was to get out and about, maybe try and find some more Oyster mushrooms in the woods, to start a big outdoor straw bed.  But the weather is awful, the wind is howling a gale, and I'm not sure that the woods would be the best place right now.  I'll see if it improves at all, but in the meantime, there is plenty of other interesting things I can do!

Practical Estate Skills

Back to uni today, so I'll tell you a little about what I'm up to!  Had a great day today, we've been green woodworking.  A little more on that later but first let me tell you about what else we've been up to previously.

Stock Fencing

Tree Felling

Tool Repair

Hedging

Tree Planting

Stile Making

Dry Stone Walling

Please excuse the odd formatting, I'm still getting my head around how this works!

Anyway, I've thoroughly enjoyed learning all these things, they are mostly definitely a skilled job and we've only touched the surface, but hopefully I've learnt some new skills which I can build on in the future.

Today we took fresh cut chestnut logs and split them down into rustic posts to make a gate.  Lots of hard work and no gate yet, hopefully we'll get to finish it soon.  We have to restore a footpath as a project for the semester, and this gate will be part of it.  I will obviously post an update when it is installed.

Green Woodworking

Back to normal lectures tomorrow, with kick off at 9am.  Three brand new modules to get stuck into, and no doubt some assignments soon! 

Just a starling!

I've been inspired to write a post about our very over-looked starling.  They are thought of as just a boring, common bird.  And to be honest, we rarely actually get the chance to look at them properly.  But our dear common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is in decline.  Hard to imagine when you are stood at Aberystwyth pier, watching them come in to roost in their thousands, but it is now considered a red list species!  Long term monitoring by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has shown a 66% decline since the 1970's!  The reason for the decline is unknown, but now has placed the boring old starling as a species of high conservation concern.

Before you write off the starling as unimpressive, take a look at these; (not my photos, just ones I have found on the net!)

Starlings are actually stunning!  They are one of the our most colourful birds. It's raining today, and there is lots of starlings about in the fields, along with redwing and fieldfare, sadly not the weather for it. But next time it's a sunny day, and you're out and about and you see starlings,  just take a minute, see if you can catch their colours in the sunshine.  They will take your breath away, I promise!

Kombucha - The Immortal Health Elixir!

I have a keen interest in Fungi, that should be obvious to you by now!  I am also investigating the possibility of self sufficiency (as self sufficient as sensibly possible, anyway), and love foraging etc.  I'm not hugely into alternative medicine, but I do like the idea, doctors are all to keen to hand out drugs, quite often unnecessarily.  I like the idea of a little self help.  OH has introduced me to Kombucha.  He used to have some years ago and use it on a regular basis.  So what is Kombucha?

Kombucha is an ancient Chinese tea, which dates back over 2000 years!  It is a sweet tea which has been fermented by a symbiotic bacteria and yeast colony.  Although it looks rather strange, it is said to have some incredible health benefits.  Russian scientists have claimed it appears to be why they have such low cancer rates in some areas of the country.  It is also good for the digestive system and joints, helping to improve arthritis.   The Chinese obviously hold it in high regard, as that is where the name Immortal Health Elixir comes from!

As the colony matures it splits off new pieces called 'scobys', these can then be separated to form new beverages.  The tradition is to give them away to someone new, but I have heard that you can make face packs from them! Anyway, we recently found a local lady, through the power of Facebook, who had some Kombucha scobys to give away, and we made the trip over to meet her.  She's a lovely lady, working hard on her own self sufficiency and permaculture model, and it was very interesting to meet her.  We collected a scoby from her and now have our own Kombucha tea brewing.  It will need a few days before it is ready, but I am looking forward to trying it.  

For more information about Kombucha, have a look here.

Stonechat

With OH and his cracked rib, it's been hard to get out and do stuff, but not over do it.  For someone who is usually up the mountains or exploring mines, it's incredibly difficult for him to rest.  He's also just got me a second hand Fitbit, as a late Christmas present, so I'm itching to go do stuff even more than normal!  But we had to make do with another gentle stroll today, up at the lakes and forestry at Clywedog.  (Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area!)  Here's my photo for the day.  Pity he's looking the other way though.

We had hoped to spot Kingfishers, but the water level of the lake has dropped about 6 feet, (it's a man made reservoir, with a dam, so the water level is controlled by human hands), so I think they must have moved fishing spot.  The perch we previously found is some way from the water now!  No fungus spotted today, but we did find otter footprints and fox scat full of bones!

Oyster Mushrooms

I'm having a go at growing Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus oystreatus).  I'm going to attempt a variety of methods and see what works best.  I have bought some Golden Oyster culture.  This is the one that's worrying me to be honest.  The culture is lab made under strict conditions to prevent contamination.  Scary stuff, and easy to infect with some other kind of mould.  Our house is quite damp so......

Anyway, I've inoculated three different substrates; wood pellets, teabags and cardboard loo rolls.  Both the (used) tea bags and the cardboard have been boiled off, to eliminate contamination.  These have been sealed in clean tubs and placed in the dark.  They will stay there for a week, then I will check to see if anything is happening.

I've also taken a chunk of mycelium from an old oyster growing kit and given it fresh fodder in the way of wood pellets.  I wonder if that will work?!

My next attempt is to harvest spores from a wild oyster mushroom, which I collected today, and make my own culture.  According to Paul Stamets (Mycelium Running, my new favourite book) these mushrooms, should I succeed will be the toughest and most useful, as they are already used to all kinds of bacteria and other moulds, and should do well outside.  

Who knows if any of this will work?  We will have to wait and see.  I do hope so, as growing, and hopefully selling, my own, home grown mushrooms is part of the master self sufficiency plan!  I'll let you know how I get on!

Still Room for Mushrooms

OH has cracked a rib and is lots of pain.  We were planning a walk up Cadair Idris yesterday, but he was unable to carry his pack, so we had to abort.  Today we managed a short walk in the woods.

At first it seemed that due to our climate there were no mushrooms left to find, but before long brackets of all types seemed to appear.  Then the more we looked, the more we found.  No Jelly Ears, to my disappointment, but a brand new find for me, Elf Cups!
Not sure if they are Scarlet or Ruby, but they are Elf Cups all the same.  The brand new ones were just mm across!  They grow to about a maximum of 7cm when fully expanded.  Just as well they are the colour they are, much easier to spot!  They grow on fallen hardwood and are often surrounded by moss, making them harder to see.

I also found plentiful Birch Polypore, and have learnt that although bitter, it can be brewed into a tea which is very good for the immune system.  I might have to make up a winter brew.  Maybe with some berries added to it for sweetness.

Plynlimon Fawr

A nice relaxing post exam blowout.  Not much of a view, but stunning anyway.

Revision Block

So, it's my last exam tomorrow, covering geology and its relation to human history.  And what have I been doing today?  Revising? Noooooo. Well, kind of, but not in the right area.  Instead of studying types of rock, glacial depositions and the Middle Ages, I've been researching sustainability and self sufficiency.  Learning about 'fedges' and preserves.  All really useful stuff in my master plan, but really helpful for my exam tomorrow.

I've even started a plan for the work that needs to be done, like clearing the fallen wood and felling dangerous trees.  Draining the dell into and hopefully expanding the pond, to eventually raise carp.  Tree planting and dry stones walls.  Where the polytunnel will go and what I will grow! It's time consuming and distracting, I love it!  But it won't help me pass my exam!  Wish me luck!

Woodland Revisted

After my Biology exam on Tuesday, I rewarded myself with a walk in the woodland that i so covert.  It is such a beautiful place, there is an old slate quarry with a proper little dingly dell at the foot.  It's such a surreal place, one where I could sit for hours just gazing upon the lichens and moss that grows there.

As yet, I don't know much about moss and lichen, only that lichen is such a complicated symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae!  I am getting pretty good with identification of fungus now, but I don't even know where to start with lichen!  I have invested in a book, but it in itself is very complicated, although supposedly a very good guide!


Here are some of the moss and lichen I found in my little retreat

I also found a wonderful patch of bilberries, which I've already made into Bilberry and Rowan jelly in my master plan for self sufficiency (in my head anyway)!  Once my exams are over, I really must crack on with packing up the house, and preparing it to sell.  My dream will never become a reality if I just sit there in the dell dreaming! And once it has happened, I can sit there all I like!

One Planet Development

As a student in conservation, I am fascinated by the Welsh Assembly One Planet Development.  It's a scheme that under very strict conditions, allows people to build sustainable off-grid lifestyles.  People who have the knowledge and understanding of what it means to live sustainably, and can prove that they can support themselves from their own land, are, most notably in Camarthenshire, being given planning permission to build eco-friendly homes in places where they would not normally get permission.   You can find out more about it here.

Of course, this is something I would love to do.  I've fallen in love with a piece of land, which contains woodland, and I think has true potential for an amazing way of life.  I have been investigating all sorts of avenues, including the growing of hemp (that comes with a price tag) mushrooms, and a variety of other crops.  I'd love to have a working horse, the land is quite steep, and a horse would be ideal for dealing with bracken and retrieving logs.

I've been looking into growing hemp for a variety of uses.  It can be used as a building material, oil to run vehicles on, and fuel.  All of these things would help towards a sustainable lifestyle.  However, a license to grow hemp costs around £600, regardless of the area you wish to grow.  Seems fair for a large scale producer, but for a couple of acres for self use would be totally unrealistic!

Still, I'm keen to keep investigating, and with a bit of luck will be able to make steps towards making it happen.  I would love to hear from other people with a similar mindset.  Anyway, I have an exam in Biology first thing in the morning, I should be revising!

Revision

Tomorrow marks the first of my exams.  Tourism; Principles and Impacts.  I thought it would be the easiest of my exams, after all most of it is common sense.  Looking at how tourism impacts on economy, culture and the environment, what tourism is and what people's needs are.  Fairly simple.

But then we learn that we have to be able to recite definitions, and to reference those definitions.  I'm not sure what relevance it is to be able to use other people's definitions of a subject.  Surely it would make more sense to be able to define it for yourself.  I am at the early stages of my degree, so I guess for the time being, none of my work is actually my own.  It is all sourced from somewhere.

Passed papers studied - check, definitions learnt - check, diagrams and models committed to memory - check.  Guess I'm ready then.  Until my mind goes completely blank in the morning!

Parachuting Beavers

OH messages me from Cadair Idris, asking why they parachuted beavers during the war! Interesting, I thought, so I googled it, as you do.

Well, it had nothing to do with the war, apart from the fact they used left over parachutes.  It turns out it was a relocation exercise, to remove beavers from over populated areas and put them out on uninhabited ground.

In 1948, the state trapped 76 beavers, and air lifted them in crates made of willow, which were designed to split open on impact with the ground.  They were then parachuted into an area called the Chamberlain Basin, in Idaho.  All but one of the beavers survived the exercise.  Apparently relocation still occurs in Idaho but although successful, they no longer use this method.

More on the story and a video can be found here.

Starlings at Aberystwyth

OH and I, went for a drive about over the hills to Nant y Moch, onto Borth Bog, then headed to Aberystwyth for sunset.  If you're local then you know about the starlings.  If not, then, if you're ever in the area, it's worth going down to the pier for a look.  Over the winter 1,000s of starlings roost under the pier over night.  

The birds come in in small groups, from all different directions. A few at first, then the numbers grow.  Soon the air is filled with the sound of thousands of starling voices as they cram under the pier.  The sky is full of clouds of birds almost like locusts.

Usually, we get a pint and view from on top of the pier, but following a small hurricane last year, the pier is currently closed due to a small amount of structural damage.  Never mind, it was just as exciting from a little way out on the rocks.

Flat Earth

So I've spent the last week or so following discussions on Flat Earth. It seems to be the in thing to believe in these days.  I am an open minded, kind hearted, non religious person, who loves to learn and is fascinated by how everything works. I do not own a TV, or trust the mainstream media.  Neither do I trust our government to have our best interests at heart.  I question everything.  So if the earth is flat, I'd be keen to learn about it.

I've spent hours watching YouTube videos, which apparently have 'woken people up', only to be fed blatant lies!  I got barely five minutes in to a two hour video, claiming to prove the world was flat, before I had been fed fact after fact, that with a small amount of brain power, can be proven false. The facts even contradict themselves!

 I was thrown out of a group for asking that God not be used as proof of flatearth. Religion is not fact, it is a system of belief. Believe what you want, it makes no odds to me, but a belief is not proof of anything. If the earth is flat, regardless of its origin, it should be proveable without resorting to quoting the bible as evidence.  Even that in itself doesn't hold up, considering there are so many different versions, each an individuals interpretation of what was originally written.

Ive been insulted and personally attacked, which to me is a  sure sign that the arguement has been lost and they have nothing constructive to say. So, for now, I've removed myself from these discussions. But it will continue to fascinate me, and I will undoubtedly write about it again!