Sunday 15th March

 A pleasant but blustery day. Site looking great with all the new clearance works. Well done to Fi and team. The ponies were having a lazy morning by the top gate. All looking well.

Staff check Friday 13th March

All looking fine and sleepy up by top gate. 

Thursday 12th March

 Quite blustery this morning, but the ponies were happily grazing (a mixture of grass and bits of hawthorn bush), about 300m along the top track, either on the track or just a little way down the hill.  All well, and the trough near the entrance was full - I didn't check the top one.

Wednesday 11th

 4 ponies were up by the top gate. all looked fine. Both troughs full, took some gunk that was floating on the top one out. Saw a couple of pheasants.

Sunday 8th March

 Back to grey days for a while it seems. Ponies found just off the lower track enjoying feasting on the new hawthorn buds. All looking good.

Saturday 7th March

A bit murky on the Hill today, managed to find the ponies in two groups. Flam and Doune were along the fence line path, about halfway along, both having a bit of lie down. Doune got up as I arrived. Then about another 100 metres or so further up were Kat and Hoopy, both grazing away. They all looked well.

Thursday 5th March

 A lovely sunny morning, and the ponies were quite spread out -  1 close to the corral and trough, and the other 3 approx 200m further along the top path.  All grazing happily and only stopping for a brief moment to check on me.  They all looked well, and the trough by the entrance was fine

Wednesday 4th

4 ponies were grazing just up from the bottom gate, their coats are much lighter and they all looked fine. Trough was full. 

Tuesday 3rd March

Spring has sprung on the Hill, well the sun's out and there are Brimstones fluttering passed. The ponies were along the top path quite near to the top gate, all lucky very happy and fluffy in the sunshine. All look well. Flam is very soft, but also very dusty!

Mon 2nd March

Our new looker Charlotte checked the ponies in the afternoon. They were all up at the top end of the site. I was on site too for meetings with contractors. The ponies have been loving bark stripping all the freshly cut scrub we have piled around the site for them. A lovely spring day!

Sunday 1st March

 A drizzly damp day and the ponies were spotted ….finally, having emerged from the depths of the bottom track. They look fit and healthy and were busy grazing.

Thursday 26th Feb

 The grey weather is back, but mainly dry.  3 ponies were to the right of the main path (near the Morestead Rd fence), about 200m from the main entrance.  One was pretending to be invisible:

The 4th, possibly Doune, proved to be invisible for quite a while.  I spent over half an hour searching, but finally...there were 4 as this one trotted from the other side of the path.

They all looked well, and the main trough was fine - I didn't check the top one.  Quite a lot of birdsong, despite the grey day, and buds are beginning to burgeon.

Wednesday 25th

4 ponies were near the top gate. All looked fine in the sunshine. Both troughs full. Lots of Brimstone butterflies on the wing. 

Tuesday 24th February

The ponies were at the top of the site again, with Doune and Kat along the top path, Flam a little further back and Hoopy further down in the open meadow area. They all looked well, although there was dried blood from Flam's nose. She was in good form though and didn't seem in any distress. In fact she was risky being sliced by barbed wire to get at the juicy grass on the other side of the new fence.

Sunday 22 February

 One slight disadvantage of all the great work being done to clear scrub on the hill is that it opens up so much more for the ponies to explore…..and make them harder to find. One of the adventurers managed to grab themselves a spot amongst fresh cleared ground to gorge on hawthorn and at the same time look rather stuck. She didn’t appear unduly worried about being separated from the other three who were much more sensible grazing on the Morestead Rd pathway.

Saturday 21st February

A dreary day on the Hill, where I found the ponies towards the top of the site, in and around the meadow area, and in amongst the trees. All looked well and curious. Doune seemed to get into the thicket, but didn't seem concerned. 

Fri 20th - staff check

All ponies very interested in what we were up to today on our practical task. Lots more cut Blackthorn for them to feast on too! All are looking well if a little damp and muddy!

Thursday 19th Feb

My visit to Deacon Hill was accompanied by 2 red kites enjoying the updraughts. All 4 ponies were looking a bit disconsolate, about 100m from the top gate, and close to the Morestead Rd fence.  A couple felt the need to say a quick hello before relieving themselves, copiously.  Clearly all well there.

Both troughs were fine.

Wednesday 18th

 Morstead rd still closed. 4 ponies were together by the top gate. Looked fine. both troughs full.

Tuesday 17th February

Morested Road was still closed, looks like they're clearing trees from the edge of the Southern Water site and near to the road. But they're working at the M3 junction end, so  I would think access is okay from the eastern end. So walked up from opposite the P&R entrance. Lovely day, with the ground tacky rather than muddy, and found the gang up towards the top of the site, on and around the main path. They all looked well and were all happily grazing away. On the way back down, passed a very vocal Song Thrush, which was going mental. It reminded me of a character from Wacky Races, the one that made all the weird strange sounds. I think I might officially be old 😆.

Saturday 14th February

Lovely day today, just so nice to see the ponies with their coats looking fluffy in the sunshine And there they were by the main gate, with Flam standing sentry against all those that entered. They all looked in great shape, but were too busy grazing and enjoying the sun to be bothered about me. 

Thursday 12th Feb

 Another wet morning.  All 4 ponies were on the top track, just short of the beech clump, and munching at various things.  2 were chomping through some hawthorn twigs:

Flam (I think!) wanted to chew my soggy anorak, but soon gave up - nice to have a brief chat, though:

All looked well, if a bit damp.  The trough near the entrance was fine - I didn't check the top trough, but with all the rain, it should be OK!

Wednesday 11th

 4 ponies were at the top, Hoopy looked dejected, lying down. She stood up ok when chivied. The others looked fine. Both troughs full. Sad not to be able to exit via the top gate and walk back over the Dongas. On the plus side we got some lovely views of flocks of seagulls wheeling around. They were glittering in the sun, then looking black when it went in and finally settled on the lake.

Tuesday 10th February

 A dull but mild day on the Hill. The lake is still impressive, and with no end in sight of the rainy conditions should be here for a while yet. Found the ponies up at the top of the site, supervising the workmen. Flam was acting as foreman/forepony, and was cracking the whip, and they appeared to be finishing off. It might be my imagination, or maybe just the way she was standing on the slope, but thought Hoopy looked thinner than the others, well Doune at least. Other than that, they looked great, matted coats and all. 

Sunday 8th Feb

 A rather foggy day on the hill. Ponies finally found on the Morestead Rd path.

Saturday 7th February

A bit sticky and slippery, but found the ponies towards the top of the site and along the main path. All looking well and were happily grazing away. 

Thursday 5th Feb

 All 4 were close to the Morestead Rd fence, about 150m short of the far gate, and grazing or chewing on hawthorn.

They all looked quite wet, but it didn't seem to worry them, and they looked well.  Troughs both full.

Wednesday 4th

 4 ponies were just up from the bottom trough, off the main path. Flam a bit separated from the others. They all looked fine. Trough full. Sunshine! 

Tuesday 3rd February

Bit muddy and slippery on the Hill today, but on the plus size, the lake is no longer a lake more an inland sea 😁. Despite the persistent rain the ponies were along the main path, just before the Clump, and seemed oblivious to the weather. They were happily grazing away, although Doune stopped to supervise my visit and make sure I left immediately, she's so funny. They all looked well, albeit a little soggy. 

 

Sunday 1st Feb

 Bit of a grey day! Ponies a third of the way up the main track, looking well albeit rather bedraggled!

Thursday 29th January

 All 4 ponies were at the far (eastern) end of the top track.  There was some strange work going on with machinery and vehicles blocking the gate there, but the ponies seemed rather bored - 2 standing and 2 lying down.  Otherwise, they were fine.

Both troughs were full.  The Southern Water lake is now quite big and attracting quite a few birds.  I hope it is reasonably clean.

Wednesday 28th

 4 ponies were near the bottom trough, looking well and enjoying the sunshine. Trough full.

Tuesday 27th January

Managed to avoid the rains and found the ponies in their favourite spot along the top fence and around the clump region. All munching away merrily, but obviously looking a little bedraggled, but not as bad as I was expecting. 

What's going on at the top of the site???

A few displaced hedge plants along the fence line too.

Monday 26 January

 The ponies were at the top of the site keeping a watch on the workmen. They were not bothered by them at all. The troughs were full. No issues noted.

Sunday 25th January

 The ponies were all around the lower water trough. All looking well.

Saturday 24th January

After John's post yesterday it was with great relief that I found the ponies in the open area below the top gate. They were munching away happily, whilst Flam was having a standing-up doze, and Doune was monitoring me from a distance. In the sun they all looked luminous, but no problems spotted. It was also good to see a very full lake.

Thursday 22nd January

 The ponies were only marginally less elusive than yesterday - no sign on the top path or along the fence by the road, or along the bottom path - until I reached almost the end of that path, where there is a small area fenced with barbed wire, but with a new gate at the entrance.  The gate was propped open, and there were all 4.  Hooray!  This is not an area you can see at all easily from the top path, and unless you take the precipitous route from the E end of the top path down the hill, access has to be using either the bottom path of the middle path which gradually descends to the NE corner.  All 4 looked fine if a bit damp after the rain, and looked as if they were enjoying the new-found goodies in the little enclosure:

Both troughs were full.