Storm Coming In

It's an early service for The Curate today so I won the early dog walk - in the rain again. The behaviour of the moor animals made it clear that the weather coming in was not going to be just a bit of rain. They must have been able to sense the storm that the weather men have told us to expect. The ponies were sheltering in amongst the gorse - all with their backs to the building wind. And there too, was a very new foal - with all the signs of being only hours old. What was interesting was that the ponies were not going to move from their spot - even with my dogs and myself being so near by. It was as if they had chosen their spot to shelter from the storm and they were not going to give it up.

Even the sheep were so determined to reach shelter as the rain began to lash down, that they walked straight towards us. We were directly between them and the wall that would protect them from the elements. I have never experienced sheep behaving like this before  - they usually move on when I am walking with the dogs. The only time they stay where they are, is when I am horse riding amongst them. I know that I still have a lot to learn about Dartmoor and I look forward to doing so.