Out as the sun rose

The weather forecast was for frost and sun first thing, followed by cloud and then rain, so I thought I would get out early with my camera.  I actually explored a new walk today to Well Houses which was a little hard going in the snow.  It helped me to gain a new outlook on the landscape.  (How many years have I lived here?  I'm not sure why I've not done this walk before.)  I could hear them shooting pheasants in the distance.  Apparently they pay a lot of money for every bird shot and then they don't want them  I've heard that on the really big shoots they dig a hole and bury the carcasses.  How can they justify such senseless slaughter?  Hunting for food is one thing, but this is barbaric.  We currently have two dead and very scrawny looking birds hanging in our shed.  I think I prefer the live fluffy ones that hoover up the birdseed below the feeders.
This afternoon I finally managed a visit to the Civic Gallery to see the RPS Scientific Photographs Exhibition.  There were some stunning images - some photographs of space, some of creatures so minute they had been magnified hundreds of times.  What an amazing resource this must be for people engaged in scientific study and maybe also for artists as there were so many abstract shapes and forms.  I also got to see the landscape and wildlife images of Phil Watson, which I thought I'm missed.