My attentions have changed, I now look to the north. The Mignaint sits in the centre of Snowdonia and covers an area of 200 square kilometres and has the largest area of blanket bog in Wales.
Stonecrop by Gethin Elias
As spring has now arrived, I spend my time on the moors. Gazing over miles and miles of empty moorland often with not a man made object in site. Listening to the melodious song of the Sky lark while the wind whispers in my ear, a male Hen harrier dances to a mesmerising rhythm up and down, chattering as he goes. Ghostly grey and black wing tips against purple heather and the yellow grassland. Shadows from the clouds above move across the land like flatfish on the sea floor. Glimpses of sunlight break a drab landscape into temporary colour, occasionally catching the greys of the the Hen harrier turning it into a golden arrow.
Mountain pansies scattered across un-grazed slopes like a scattering of yellow autumn leaves. Droplets of dew sparkle like jewels in the morning light and spider webs tangle the grass stems together like ropes on a ships mast.
Mountain Pansies by Gethin Elias
Soon it will time to get up early, when the moon still hangs high and the land is covered in silver. We will walk in lines across the moors hoping to hear the sound of a Black grouse a whooshing and gurgling like witches from the dark. As night turns to day the morning mist is burnt off by a blood red sun and we welcome the dance of life to start again.
Photo by Gethin Elias
Gethin Elias, Tanrallt Warden
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