Make hay while the sun shines... and while it doesn't

For my MSc dissertation I'm working with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, looking at the effects of deer grazing in a woodland. To do this I am setting up permanent sampling areas which I will visit in different seasons in order to record the plants that crop up in those areas.

This doesn't actually require good weather, but the fact is that I would rather count plants on a nice, sunny day than a cold, miserable one. On top of that rain tends to make your notepad soggy and that makes things pretty tricky. 

I was out doing my surveys this week, when the weather wasn't sunny but I only suffered a few light showers, which only lasted 10 minutes or so. During these surveys I figured out that (for England at least) the saying shouldn't be 'make hay while the sun shines', but 'make hay whilst it's not raining'. I understand that the saying isn't actually talking about the weather, but my version isn't either. Why wait until conditions are perfect before doing something? If it can be done then get out there and do it!

By xedos4, freedigitalphotos.net