The Moss has been looking absolutely fabulous these last few mornings. I have been out meeting contractors and counting birds and for once this has coincided with blue skies, crispy cold air and plenty of sun. After the quiet bird count on Monday I had a better day on Tuesday with the first chaffinches singing, a few surviving wrens spotted and best of all my first drumming greater spotted woodpecker of the year. Did you know that woodpeckers hit their heads against a tree at a speed of 20mph and this would flatten a normal bird's skull. But woodies are specially adapted with a thicker skull than other birds, more flexible neck joints, a beak that isn't rigidly connected to the skull and cushioning caused by the powerful neck muscles to withstand the shock. And just to show how well they are adapted they also have stiff feathers around the base of the beak to stop sawdust and wood chips flying up their nostrils, handy huh !Yesterday as I headed out across the crisp, frozen, crunching moss I misjudged the edge of a ditch and one leg went through the ice nearly to the top of my thigh. There was no danger and I sorted of pinged out again with my waterproof trousers stopping me from getting very wet. But it could have made an uncomfortable walk back.
But as you can see from the photos it is well worth a visit out to the tower and boardwalk for a dry view of the snow capped surrounding mountains.
However apologies for the state of the access track to the car park. A few people have commented on it and we aim to get it patched up as soon as possible but that can't be done until the frost comes out of the ground. When that is is any ones guess but in the meantime I hope you enjoy the snow and frost for the scenic views.
