Having left the ponies feeling utterly disappointed with myself yesterday, I took BeAnne for a walk on Sandness beach to cheer myself up.

I have always liked Sandness beach.  We had it all to ourselves as usual, which improved my mood greatly.  Just one other person on the beach constitutes a crowd for me of Brighton proportions.  I start to get resentful that they are there and I have to share!

Sadly, the coast is being eaten away by the fierce Atlantic ocean very quickly.  I am reminded of my Geography lessons eons ago when we discussed coastal erosion.  Every year the farmer moves his fence back a couple of yards and there is no let up, especially after a storm.

The wind was blowing (but not like today) and the turnstones (?) sheltered from the waves.  Very clever thinking.

I found the beach exhilerating.  Walking on sand is meant to be good for my ankle and my physiotherapist even suggested I walked in the sea in my barefeet.  (He can suggest it all he likes – it is not going to happen in a Shetland winter.) I have just looked it up and the sea temperature today is 10.2°C / 50.4°F.

So BeAnne and I pottered along.  She is a very easy dog to have around as she just comes too.

You don’t have to look or check for her.  These days, she is turning into a bit of a middle-aged matron but she still put up about 100 rabbits who swarmed around her in the sand-dunes.  She sat down.

They bored her.  They were not polecats (or seaweed).

It was good walk – the type that blew out my cobwebs.

I photographed the sea for a while, just playing with my camera really.  Thank goodness I don’t have to take rolls and rolls of film down to the chemist to be developed!

Nice sheep, too on the way home.  Looks like family photo (not mine, I hasten to add!)