Back on the hills again

I rejoined the mountain hare survey team this morning.  It's the first time I have been walking on the Lammermuirs since mid-November, when I broke my wrist.  I took a walking pole with me today, just to help with tramping through heather and across rough ground.  Glad I took it!

Sunrise was at 8.03 today, and we set off on our walk at about 7.45 am, early enough to see the hares before they hunker down, out of sight, during daylight hours.  Of course, bless their hearts, they have their white coats on, to camouflage themselves in the snow.  But all the snow has gone, so they stood out like sore thumbs!  We stood, at intervals, and scanned the hillsides (also a good opportunity for me to get my breathe back!!!) and when we could see a small white dot on a distant hillside, the binoculars would confirm that it was a hare.  Some were not so far away, and it's great to see them bounding off, leaping over the heather.  We saw 21 of these beautiful creatures today.  A record number for this survey of Lammer Law.