It is rock hard and no standing water. Flanders is not much like a bog at the moment. The long freeze continues with a couple of nights of -8C so the last couple of mornings when I went out to Flanders it creaked but didn't give like it usually does. And it is dry. The rainfall for Jan and Feb has been only 133 mm when the usual monthly average is 100mm. This is the time of year when the peat body is refilled with water after the drier summer period. With the last summer being so wet maybe this isn't so much of a problem but we will only really be able to tell when the freeze comes out of the ground. At the end of March I will be carrying out the first round of water table measuring for the year and will have a better idea of bog wetness then. This morning I was out meeting Julie, a ranger from north Lewis where they have a wetland Local Nature Reserve that they would like to get people out onto. She came to see out recycled plastic boardwalk to find out if it would be a suitable option for her nature reserve. I hope that what we have learnt at Flanders in getting people out onto a wet hazardous habitat will be of use to her.
A contrast on the Moss as I was waiting for her, a ringtail hen harrier hunting low over the moss showed winter was still with us while a skylark bravely flew high singing a hint that spring was close.
