One of my favourite Wee County walks is the circuit around Hillfoot Hill above Dollar. It is an easy going walk on a good track and always delivers plenty of fine views and the opportunity to glimpse local wildlife.

On my most recent visit, not long after leaving the small car park, I spotted both jays and red squirrels busy at work on the lower part of the track searching for beech mast and acorns in among the freshly fallen autumnal leaf litter.

Red squirrels are doing well in this part of Clackmannanshire, although I have noticed that grey squirrels are also thriving nearby on the Harviestoun estate between Dollar and Tillicoultry. As such, this part of the Wee County is right on the front line where the two species meet, and the fortunes of the red are still hanging very much in the balance.

Once I was out of the trees and onto more open ground, swirls of low-hanging mist began to envelop me, shrouding the landscape in an ethereal landscape of silky, wisp-like fog. This meant the conditions were far from ideal for spotting birds, but no matter, for there was plenty of other natural gems to keep me enthralled.

It is never possible to go out on a country walk in Scotland and see nothing, one just needs to know where to look, and if larger and more noticeable creatures such as birds are not about, then scrutinise the ground instead, for there will be an abundance of other natural treasures, including mosses and lichens.

One such gem that caught my eye was reindeer moss, which despite the name, is actually a lichen. It has a wonderful silvery-grey colouration and its form is intricately crinkled.

Nearby, clusters of juniper haircap moss covered areas of exposed rock by the track edge, with each miniature stalk having collected water droplets from the surrounding mist, creating a wonderful mirrored, sparkling effect. Mosses are often overlooked, but they are so very important to our environment, forming vital shelter, humidity and safe breeding places for a huge number of tiny creatures. These little bugs are the food for a host of larger animals, which means that without mosses the whole food web would crumble.

Mosses also protect the ground from erosion caused by wind and rain. Indeed, the very presence of moss can spark new life into exposed and infertile terrain by acting as the catalyst that initiates soil formation.

I enjoyed my circuit around Hillfoot Hill, and on my descent, stopped every so often to further examine the abundance of glorious mosses and lichens that sparkled from the track edge, sending my mind spinning in exaltation at the eternal beauty of nature.