Winter Wonderland, Now With Added Wonder

Minus snow, but with snowballs.


I may have mentioned before that I rather like Fur Tor. Try to get there at least once a year, preferably more. Well, with the things that have been happening, this year has been a stretch. Fortunately, on Monday I got up there! [Just in time!]


In case you're wondering, here it is;

Fur Tor, from the NW

'Twas pretty cold - got down to -4° at Mor'n'ampster on the way - and up on't Moor, while not that cold [a balmy -2° at Postbridge, more like 2° up in the sunshine], the NW wind did its best to get to brass monkeys.

Still, the sun shone, what few birds about.. didn't really sing, but hey there were the ones here and there, so at least there was occasionally something to look at besides the spectacular view. Which, for the morning at least, I had all to myself! Ah, such solitude, it fair took the breath away [oh wait, that would be steep icy hills in't frickin' cold..]. The Moor had been very wet, with two hard freezes hitting all still water with ice to a depth of up to an inch. This included all the runoff, which became sheets of ice all over the place. Deeper water [and mud...] stayed liquid beneath, though, making the going rather interesting; every time you put your foot down, you weren't entirely sure if it would be solid ground, slippery ice, or ice that would break and dump you in water/gunk of an unknown depth...


Birds were few and far between - generally being far too sensible to be up there in that sort of weather, but a Jack Snipe and a Merlin [get and indeed in!] were among the exceptions.


Ah, but it were glorious up there!!

Fur Tor In Winter

Looking north from the shelter of a nice rock;

Great Links Tor, Amicombe Hill, The Wilhay and Yes Tor

Moon over the East Dart,

seen from the waterfall

Contrary to what I read in a paper recently, 

this is what you call a waterfall - see, the water is falling*

Closer to home, I managed a big Patch patrol on Saturday, with a very creditable 14+ Purple Sands on Haldon Pier the highlight [with 112 BHGs and no RBGs loafing off Torre Abbey, btw...]. Sunday was notable for 6 [yes, 6!!] Blackcaps in 9 houses worth of road, while today I could only manage 3 males in one tree - though that was on the property :)

Other than that, I've been busy with other things.. It's tragic, really it is.


A Top Ten is in the works, as is the New Calendar Year's Little Project.


I'm hoping for more frequent posting next year, really I am.






Frickin' Kentish wouldn't go amiss, either...



[[*Apologies for the gratuitous sarcasm, but some 'journalists' need a good clip 'round the ear...]]