Last night Jack had a very strange turn.  He got lost.  He goes out about 100 times an evening into the garden and always comes in without being asked.  OH came rushing in, just as the night turned to shit (weather-wise) and said Jack had gone.  The garden is well fenced.  It was pitch dark so we donned coats and grabbed torches. I took BeAnne with me and we searched everywhere we could think of.  Nothing.  Then OH shouted that he had seen Jack in the surrounding field so we clambered over and searched.  Nothing – he had disappeared again.  I was getting frantic. This was not a night to be out in let alone lost.  Another shout and OH did a rugby tackle and grabbed Jack who was wandering around completely oblivious of us.  He carried him into the house, towelled him down and we all breathed a sigh of relief.  This wandering behaviour is so unlike Jack that I think he must’ve had an aberration.

Apparently, Jack now goes out and comes straight back in.  So perhaps he gave himself a fright too.

I use this weather forecast website – http://www.yr.no/ (insert specific location). Today, it said at 12.00 there would be a gale and rain.

It was 10-ish, beautifully calm and sunny but, for once, I believed what was in store.  I took the dogs out for 3 walks (one short one for Jack who is even more slow, one in the fields for Loki and BeAnne and then one in my small 5 acre croft to evict some errant hill sheep.)

Feeling virtuous, I went home and as the clock struck 12.00, someone started pressure-washing my house with wind and rain.

Anyway, here are some photos of summer. I was going through my back catalogue and making space. I took no photos from today.  It is too vile out there again.  I hope Jack doesn’t go for another wander.  My nerves can’t stand it.

I am so pleased I moved everyone last night.  This morning we had a sprimpling of snow and it is bitterly cold.

My herd are happy enough stuffing their faces and I watched Klængur walking.  He is much better. I still went down to dish out some bread and his Danilon sarnie.

No one needs a rug.  No one is shaking with cold.  I am not worried about them. All is good.

This herd is very happy and settled.  It did not take long and if they are relaxed in the field, hopefully they will be relaxed when they come to work. I can ride in January apparently.

I am walking as much as I can now.  The ice is treacherous so I have to be careful, but once gone, I will be back out notching up the miles with BeAnne.

A Me Update – I am finally off all my painkillers. It has been a solitary struggle but I am very pleased with my achievement.  This next period until January will be used to regain my brain (what’s left) as well as my fitness.  I am going to start having flute lessons as I miss playing.  I am very excited about this and will dig out and dust off my beloved Rudall Carte & Co wooden flute to see if I can get a note out of it.  It has been a while as, when my back was going, I could not manage anything and stopped. I had been playing regularly in a local orchestra.  No doubt Loki will hate it – Celt used to howl in tune and BeAnne thinks I am in pain and starts worrying. Everyone should stay well away!

Anywho, here are some pics of the vegetation/ice sculptures in the hill today.  I only walk in the hill with a stick and my ankle strapped up still.  I cannot undo the good work of my surgeon.

I have two herds here.  Taktur and Kappi in one field….

And Iacs, Klængur and Haakon in another.

Snow is forecast and I hate thinking they have nothing to dig for so I made the executive decision to put them all together.  Haakon and Kappi did not see eye to eye last year but this year it is different.

Everyone seemed very pleased to see each other.  There was one squeal, lots of sniffing and they all got on with it.

Just introductions, really.  I like it when life goes smoothly.

As Haakon was a serving stallion in his youth (he has a daughter), he took a huge interest in Taktur’s carefully placed poo piles.

Haakon loves poo piles and has summer ones which he cultivates on treks over many months.

Klængur is feeling much better too but I will go on giving him a daily Danilon sandwich.  The secret is to feed him with the others standing by offering to help.  He gulps it down as quickly as he can.  Iacs is always standing by offering to help.

Taktur was obviously very pleased to see his friend, Haakon.  They played together for a while.

Then they stood together gazing into the middle distance listening to Bjørn’s ponies who live about 1/4 mile away.

(Haakon looks pregnant!)

Later in the afternoon, when I returned home from Lerwick (where I had the most fabulous back/neck massage, NHS physio and then a trip round the Co-Op which now resembles a communist supermarket), it was nearly dark.  As I drove in, armed with my headtorch, I clambered over the fence to open the gate into a better field with more grass.  They all went in happily and it started to snow.

Ugh!  At least they all have grass now.  I can sleep knowing this.

There was a lull in the ceaseless wind today so I drove over to Jo’s house to see if she wanted to move the ponies as snow is forecast.  We have better fields waiting.

She was in and after a sausage sarnie, we struck.

First we moved the mares.  This involved shouting, rattling a bucket of pony nuts, opening two gates and the girls walked straight across the hill track and into their new field.  Perfect.  Things were going smoothly, which is most unlike us.  This is a big sheltered field and, as you can see, the grass is up to their bellies.

Carina and Gwendolinda are the best of friends while Verona and Velvereta look pregnant.

When they run out of food, this is an easy field to put silage bales in.

Next, we trotted off to see les boys who were less than helpful.  Actually, they were appalling.

It was Sunday morning rugby.  Hammy appeared to be feral and said he had never had a headcollar put on before in his life.  He twerped around the field for a while and Jo managed to finally get him with the enticing pony nut bucket.  

So, with headcollars on, we were dragged down the road to the new field.  We were pulled and stretched and the only one who behaved was our stallion, IndyPingPong.  

He trudged along at the back while Hammy stretched my other arm trotting on the spot like a Newmarket racehorse in the ring.  Traffic was stopped while Charlie, and his forgotten manners, dragged Jo over.  We were not impressed.  Once in their field, the boys forgot everything and settled down to eating.

To think, the best behaved was Little Himself.  This was because I was reading him potential recipes in case he got any ideas.  He did get a kiss on the snozzer for his slightly better manners.

I was going through the photographs on my computer.  I have far too many and need to do a cull, keeping only the ones that make me say “cor”.  The weather is wild outside.  Non-stop gales.  The sea is boiling.

Being the owner of an indoor riding arena, I suggested to my OH that we worked on Loki’s special skills that have been somewhat lacking recently rather than being blown away again in the hill.

The Patterdale terriers just do their own thing when it comes to training.

Loki is changing – he wags his tail more and feels like part of our odd little family, although it is still WW3 with Wuss.  There have also been some fairly horrendous spats with BeAnne, which I am sure she is not totally blameless.  He has a very short fuse and tends to react first and regret later.

As you can see from his coat, we are slowly turning Loki into a miniature deerhound.

Jack remains, well, Jack and if he could be more doitin, then I expect he would be.  Old dogs drive you mad.  I love him dearly but he is exasperating.  He listens to his own voices, as my neighbour observed, and he constantly asks to go in and out about 50 times an evening.  Mostly he stands outside, forgets what he wanted and comes back in again only to ask again about 5 minutes later.  Gah!

Loki’s favourite game is pulling.  He has begun to instigate games with anyone who will participate.  This is another change.

There was a lull in the wind so we went outside to put into practice our last half hour’s training.

The boys watched us – they are still loafing about round the house.  The wind is not tough on them as it is warm and there is much shelter.

So, remember Day 1 in mid July?

What a change!