mobile phones and loose dogs

So we are all allowed to have opinions and the occasional rant is allowed right.

Had a nice walk around a piece of land this morning, the last of my walks for this site in Essex as part of a breeding birds survey. Its private with a couple of footpaths on it but I know the locals think they can walk all over despite the fact I always ask permission to access it. Why because someone else owns it. So this morning I have had a good walk and seen/heard four new bird species for the site, Reed Bunting, Common Tern, Redshank and the cream of them for me a pair of Yellow Wagtail.

All's well with the world, when I see this woman appear with two greyhounds, she is looking around and through me, I get closer and say morning, she acknowledges me then starts to enquire what I am doing there, I fob her off with a tale after she notices my binoculars and telescope and says to me are you birdwatching. Then I get told I am looking for my other dog I expect he's off chasing something. What breed I say having seen loose dogs all over this site some hundreds of yards from any visible person, oh he is a lurcher she says. Is he chasing Hares I ask, I expect so she says hes young but its nice to see the dogs chasing the hares she says, before saying the farmer doesn't control them.

So she has no right to be there and thinks its fine to let her three hunting dogs go loose in the countryside knowing there are animals around as well as ground nesting birds, just as long as her dogs are happy.

Moving on I was driving back on the old route and got as far as the road that bypasses Linton travelling from Essex, there is a large John Deere tractor coming towards me pulling a large trailer, yes harvest is in full flow now. I can see that the tractor is veering all over the lane and look at the driver. It was nine thirty this morning in case anyone knows him and the driver had one hand on the steering wheel trying to control the veering while with the other he was looking at his mobile phone. Well that's okay then eh shame he had to go to work and drive the tractor really instead of being able to concentrate on playing with his phone. Works a bummer eh.