Country diary: Small miracles in a vast landscape

Abernethy forest, Strathspey: The moorland is alive with species returning from their winter absence, and it's the meadow pipits who steal the showThe weather in the last 10 days of March was ridiculous, and I use "ridiculous" in the sense of an old Scots word, which means unseasonal. And here, I mean unseasonably warm and dry. I have a few old Scots words in my head now. Trees flounce in strong winds. Days with wind and rain are glousterie. Freezing weather is nose-nippin'. There are far fewer words for good weather.On one of these ridiculous days I went walking up on to the moorland. Somehow, my hopes were high that I'd see an eagle - perhaps as a reward as it was my first real day out after 10 days struck down with Covid, when the closest to nature I got was the blackbird that started singing within 10 minutes of 4.29am each morning. Continue reading...