Anna and Daisy here…

Today, Mum is a tad stressed out.  She is building a website for someone and coming off painkillers at the same time.  Can’t say we envy her.

So with the car keys in one hand and Mum’s big camera, we went to visit the babies.

Dingo still isn’t interested in people, but we’re getting nearer and nearer.  One day.

Anna has been “training” Zoot by teaching her to come when she whistles.  She thinks it works – yer, right.

Good luck…  Zoot adores her hugs or is it the other way round?

Next, we went on a ride to the beach as it was such a lovely day. Iacs enjoys the feel of the wind in his silly frilly.

Iacs and Hakon aren’t the greatest fans of a beach that they can’t gallop across, so our visit was rather short-lived.  The ride home is always faster than the ride out.

Anna harbours a love of birds, which includes chickens and oyster-catchers.  Her dream is to get near one!  I don’t think they want this much.  We might give a chicken to hug before she goes.

 

Mum here:  the website is learning to behave (bloody buggering HTML) and the painkillers are making me feel meh.  Rest assured, tomorrow I will be back on form.

I found a pile of horses and ponies outside my backdoor.  They were snoozing in the sun.

Happy and with no intention of waking up much either.  There was not one horse left on Guard Duty which shows a huge amount of trust in each other and their environment.  In any herd of horses, mostly one is left awake and standing to guard against marauding tigers.

Luckily the tigers were fast a bye-byes too so the marauding will have to be re-scheduled for another day.

It was very sweet to watch and I crept around them trying not to wake any Kraken(s).  They looked so happy in the sun, enjoying its warmth, all together.  I heard no snoring and yes, I did stop to listen.

Taktur woke up and got up to talk to me.  He is looking wonderful his first proper summer in Shetland.

Taktur is “on holiday”, with no work, no nothing, shoes off, for a few months.  This is all part of his training to be a happy, well adjusted Icelandic stallion.  For a 4 year old, he doesn’t look bad imho.

But what do I know?  I just think he is a lovely boy who is very photogenic.

I am not allowed to call him a Mummy’s Boy but he is – he loves His Dear Old Mum.  He follows me, comes when he is called, always turns round to say thank you and likes his nose kissed.  If that doesn’t make him a Mummy’s Boy, I don’t know what does, to be honest.

And then the Krakens woke up so I ran away as I would’ve been nibbled or hassled to death.

 

She who takes photos and runs away will live to take photos another day (a little known photographic saying).

While two of my visitors plus one daughter were packing to go back to school, I drove Daisy and Anna to see the bebbies, while I said goodbye as well to Jo’s favourite uncle, Don, who was on the boat too and going back home after far too short a visit.

Don’t worry, he has better wheels than that!

The rain from yesterday has not really lifted so I just popped outside and took a few snaps of the horses.  An interesting herd group.  Note how Fivla (little white pony) is always between the boys and the mares and foals. They are a contented bunch and that is lovely to see.  This is how the foals will learn all the skills they will need to integrate into any herd environment or situation.

Charlie was revolting.

It is nearly impossible trying to imagine him as the leader in tandem at the RHS a few years back twinkling along at the front impressing the judges.  

Anywho, Anna wanted to hug a newly hatched quail chick who happily obliged.  I see a future modelling career for this chick.

Errr, this, apparently, is what Jo had for supper tonight (apparently they were the bigger versions).

Snati, Jo’s collie pup was bored.  So he found a bone and threw it around the room at himself for a while.  It wasn’t much fun.

Then he found Beeble who was peacefully asleep on the floor and so he was eaten instead.

There was a second when Snati tried to behave but it was short lived and over-rated ….

…. because he spied BeAnne snoozing.

And with that, the Battle commenced!

BeAnne always gives as good as she gets.  There is no stopping her. She rarely cowers. Just speaks as she finds.  She is from Chester-le-Street, County Durham after all.

There was much snapping of teefs and giggling from us in the background.

While these shenanigans were going on, Beeble turned into Winston Churchill ….

so BeAnne sought refuge with Daisy.

It is pouring with rain today. We do need it to make the grass grow and we have not had rain for ages but it makes for a day of necessary chores rather than fun.

Jo came over to do some work. I made a huge vat of soup and there were three lunch sittings in my kitchen with me washing up in between as we only have 6 bowls and 6 lots of cutlery including soup spoons in our lives.  It was lovely to see so many people and I might need a bit of a lie down now to recover. 

Every so often, I would brave the weather and pop by into the school to see who was doing what (control freak, moi? – au contraire).  That is Anna trying to teach Hammy to drive with the help of Fiona, while Iacs is acting as Moral Support in the background.

A little guessing game – so who is this?

Ok, a bit more of a clue….. a soggy lug?

No?  One side of dripping mane….

A revolting wet forelock….

A knowing eye…. aww, come on, the eye must give it away – that look of steely determination (and missing his mum).

Now, this is the vital clue….

Yup, Jo was shoeing Haakon for me, not that I can ride him, but he has very peculiar feet and has to wear shoes all the time.  Barefoot would make him very unhappy.

Some might say he stands like a giraffe or a camel – some might if they had a liking for hospital food.

Anyway, I love him and I miss him very much.  Sometimes being on the ground is not the same as riding.  But hey-ho, I know my limits at the moment and I am listening to my surgeon, though I am sure he thinks I don’t.  Daisy is doing a very good job with him (Haakon, not my surgeon).

Meanwhile, Hammy craves constant support and attention, which Anna seems to have a shed-load of, an endless supply.  This is Hammy’s emotional “needy” face.

I should be signing him up for therapy but he is Anna’s challenge for her “holiday” – and I use this word in its loosest of terms – the poor lass hasn’t stopped since she got here.

Anywho, I have my therapy. Always there, if a little wet and smelly at times.

My day started well. I could see it had potential.  I was in the garden (a gorgeous day in Shetland, today) photographing when I saw this starling with a meal worm.  I was thrilled with the middle picture and then spent the rest of the day trying to achieve this again.

With little, if no, success.

Feeling a bit, meh about my already doomed potential starling photography career, I went to feed Taktur and talk to the lads.  They were like a comedy double act.

Annoying….

But very funny.  Not dissimilar to others, I know.  

Anyway, I digress.  

I returned to my spot in the garden, with my faithful and silent (note, silent, please) terrier with camera, and now a tripod, to sit patiently, David Attenborough-stylee, forever to wait for the starling parents to come and feed their babies.

While I waited, I amused myself by taking a few photos of my surroundings, trying out various settings, like you do.

I wanted to photo the birds going in and out of their nest in the wall of the old shed.

I did manage a few pictures and was happy the starling parents weren’t really caring that I was so close.

When along came two annoying giggling teenagers who should know better.

So I did the tried and tested method of taking photos of them to put them off and make them go back indoors – it usually works.

and failed.  They stayed.  

As I said, not dissimilar to two other certain little irritations…..

So I went back to my photography trying my best to ignore them.

And managed to get this film.

I was very pleased and I hope you enjoy it.  God alone knows why there is no sound and it appears to be very slowed down. I need to RTFM now about that technical reason.

So, I set the dog on the girls instead and they were horrible to her as well!

I am going to train her to chase them out of the garden, like the chickens – watch ’em BeAnne!

Don’t feel sorry for them. They deserve all they get!