BETWEEN THE RAIN

Due to gloomy warnings in this morning's weather forecast ... a whole month of rain due to fall in one day, we took advantage of the dry first part of the day. The forecast was a bit spurious really, which month, of which year were we due to get all this forecast wet cascading from the sky?

We went to look at one of my favourite hayfields before it was (possibly) due to be drenched in the wet stuff. Earlier in the year,  native Welsh bluebells can be seen amongst the grasses, a sure sign that this was once a beechwood area. Sadly, this year, they are one flower that hasn't done well in all this recent, almost continual wet weather.

I love walking this boundary between the commons and the farmland where Ffin was born and the free grazing commons. The old and sadly dilapidated stone wall, has been replaced just a few feet away with more modern wire fencing, creating a space >>>

where sheep love to huddle up to.

Maybe they would just like to graze in the richer pastures beyond the fence.

I find this border fascinating due to the difference in landscape either side of the fence. On one side, coarse  moorland vegetation, on the other, lush grazing.  It was in this area that we spotted a very recently born lamb ( a bit late in the season) and the dog, gentle as ever, was intrigued. We stayed motionless, so much so that ewe and lamb relaxed, and the unusually marked, bi-colour youngster laid down unperturbed by our presence. It was obviously just catching our scent, a new experience in it's few days of life. Now, I'm a softie for unusually marked sheep as you will see later.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not sentimental about the fact that some of these will end up as meat. That's the whole reason for rearing sheep, to feed us and as someone who enjoys lamb and mutton I appreciate the incredibly hard work our farmers put into raising their flocks. I watch many of our, arthritic, pensionable age farmers carry on, simply because they love the job and seeing that makes me more grateful for the meat I eat and I always try to buy Welsh, to support our economy.

<<< Looking like sheep's wool caught on the marshland  rushes, the bog cotton is the best I have ever seen it in this area. (At least some things appreciate all these long days of rain).It really does look like snow and when highlighted by the sunlight, really shines bright amongst the lush green of the fields.

Elsewhere, the results of the recent long days of rain still remain. Tracks that are mostly dry, are running with water, though further down this gentle incline is the only area that I've regularly seen the brilliant azure blue of Emperor Dragonflies. Sadly, there was no sign of them today.

All this wet and we are only six days into July, over half way through the year!

Already, three months of this year have beaten records since records began. What other surprises are we in for? Maybe a heat wave? An Indian summer? According to the weather forecast, we here in Wales are due yet another week of the wet stuff. Oh well, to look on the positive side (yes there is one) our reservoirs are filling up. On the negative side, our sheep need shearing and hayfields ought to be getting mowed and personally my elderflower picking season is getting shorter by the day. Normally my elderflower brew is bubbling in time for a refreshing drink at shearing time!

But for me, one photographic scoop at least was this unusually marked ewe that just after her birth in 2009 I named "Tearface"

<<< She has gone on to be a successful mother three years in a row, though none of her offspring have shown similar markings. She is a bit of a loner and almost always out of camera shot until today and even this photo was taken with a zoom lens. Normally mother of twins, this year she gave birth to only one, a pure white one!

We may not appreciate foxes around here ...

but the Foxglove plant adds welcome colour to these mainly dark and drizmal July days!