A local intermittent spring last seen in 2005 has started flowing and has flooded fields and made one road impassible until emergency drainage was excavated..
So let's look around the mud on the margins
Carnivoran species of some sort
Look at those claw marks, badger for sure.
But what is this right next to the badger prints?
Not badger droppings, but 1/2 meter away here's the culprit
Muntjac deer, there are lots of them around, two days later and two fields away
Following the new drain we find a culvert under a farm track ready and waiting, just needing to to uncovered.
The spring used to be known as a "winter spring", so it must have flowed more often than it does now. Those are 20th century bricks and a friend of mine who owns
Springhead Farm up the hill tells me the water was taken away by a different route before the 20th century.
But let's continue looking around, and
That sett is not abandoned but I won't disturb the badgers.
And a final thought: those stinging nettles about 15cm high are absolutely delicious to eat, better than the best spinach you've ever eaten. The stings are already active at this size so wear gloves, but are destroyed by cooking and safe to eat. Another couple of weeks of growth and the stems are turning woody. This is the weekend to harvest them
😀