Apart from waiting for the Shetland pony mares to produce (these are my neighbour’s)….

…. there are little Shetland hill lambs, or “ickle whams” (said with a pathetic voice), everywhere and I mean everywhere.

Lambs go through phases. Teensy tiny on the first day they are born.  The next day, they fill out and are still very sweet.  For the next few weeks, they play together doing the equivalent of the Lamb Grand National (galloping in groups everywhere) as well as boinging around the hill.  You are a tough person if your heart is not melting.

And then, suddenly, overnight, when your back is turned for only 5 minutes, the lambs turn into teenagers and are not quite as cute.  They become lumps who are vile to their mothers demanding milk all the time and head-butting her to get it.  The ewes look tired and bored of their lambs by then.

But, at the moment, everyone is incredibly small, cute and dinky which is why I thought I would quickly take some photos before they turned into lummoxes.

The “ickle wams”tug at my heartstrings this time of year but, having previously had pet orphaned ones, I am not fooled.  I know what they will turn into.  They are not like foals at all.