First the good news.  Alan Green who took those stunning shots of salmon leaping at Stainforth Foss has emailed me with permission to post them up on this blog so I will do so later this morning.  They really are worth a look. 

It's not a bad morning here again.  A little more cloud than of late but still warm and very pleasant.  The water level in the river has dropped considerably now, but we are due some rain later in the week that should produce a return to some good conditions before the end of the season. 

I'm off to school over the next few weeks.  On Thursday when I get back from London I'm on a mink course run by FWAG the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.  This is over at York and will give hands on experience of using the Game Conservancy mink raft to control this predator.  Next month I'm off to Winchester to Sparsholt College for a weekend course in fisheries management.  This will give some practical experience of stock management and conservation work which will be invaluable since most of my learning to date has been from books and the internet.  I'll tell you how I get on.

I am determined to get up to Low Birkwith today to do a detailed survey of the line of the proposed new fence.  It's essential that we can begin quickly if we get the funding from the Trust from whom at the moment there is dead silence.

Look out for the pictures later today and the next posting next Sunday after the Council meeting in the Crown.

Ian