Another day out and about with our visitor.

I am always very proud to show Shetland off.

I want to show visitors the Shetland I find beautiful.  Perhaps not the Shetland that is in the guide books, though.

The heather, at the moment, is in bloom and looking particularly beautiful.  The smell is incredible too.  It really gets to you.

Making most of the non-raining weather, we drove to Snarraness – on of my favourite destinations.

We saw various fauna and flora.

Anyone?  What is this bird?  I have no idea and had a phalarope idea but now I am not quite sure.  Any ideas?  Answers on a postcard.

After that, we went to see a small Eriskay horse herd.  There is a new foal this year.

I think they are beautiful.

They have a unicorn-like quality.

On our way, we met this very laid-back four-horned Shetland ram who was chillaxing by the side of the road.

He never moved, while I reversed to take a better photograph, and continued to sit there, chewing his cud.  I thought he was very handsome with a very laid-back temperament.

There is nothing better than taking your time to driving around Shetland, showing folk what you find special.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 

UPDATE:

The bidding for SilWaffStormie or WaffSilStorbie has been incredible.

So far, purely as a guideline, the bidding is up to $100 (or £75.61 British Pounds) and there are 6 more days to go.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 

Anywho, we have a visitor staying at Thordale so, donning my chauffeur’s hat, we drove around showing off the “sunny” Westside.

Of course, the sun hasn’t shown itself since his arrival.  Typical. But, at least it isn’t raining.  Ok, it is raining but at least it isn’t all of the time.  There are gaps and we make the most of them.

I also took the opportunity of taking a few snaps for myself.

This photo is to prove we have trees in Shetland…..

Beautiful flowers,…..

Fantastic sandy beaches that are, mostly, empty.

And stuff.  Most of all, stuff.  Stuff is good and sometimes very pretty or unusual.

So here we are, driving around, suddenly slamming on the brakes, reversing, stopping the car, everyone getting out and taking a photo! Twice if you are me. I always take two almost identical pictures of the same thing.  I have to.

This is the Shetland I love.  The colours are always brilliant.

And there is never a day I don’t get bowled over by its unique beauty.

(My photos don’t nearly do it justice)

Everyone, allow me to introduce you to……

Waffle Silver Storm Lambie – or SilWaffStormie or WaffSilStorbie or whoever YOU want him to be.  The original Minions.

Beautifully made by hand (yes, she spun the wool, knitted, created) and generously donated by my amazing talented friend, Karen, out of the original and highly treasured foal fur of Silver (main body), Storm (front hooves), Waffle (back hooves) and Lambie (mane, forelock and tail).

What more could you want?

Measuring in at 8″ x 5″, this wonderful little Shetland pony is Mark III from the original series who are currently living with me.

This gorgeous pony, so generously donated by Karen, is up for sale to raise funds for The Minions’ ongoing costs.

Like The Minions, there is no other pony quite like this one.  A perfect original.  Please note, THIS IS NOT A TOY as there is a wire frame inside.

So, to bid, just leave a comment with your top price and the highest bidder will get him – definitely a him.  The comments will not be made public.  This is the “sealed bid” method and the closing date is in one week’s time – Friday, 5th August.

My photos do not begin to do this little chap justice.  He is a sweetheart.

PS.  He says he loves travel, so happy to send him anywhere in the world!

Just in case you are missing Lambie and ‘Ster, then here they are.

Happy boys who go into the scattald during the day and, mostly, come home at night.

Well, Lambie always does.  Last night ‘Ster stayed out but was waiting by the gate this morning for his breakfast.  That is their routine and it seems to work.  Lambie comes home early if it is raining.  He is not a huge fan of rain – wool always shrinks in the wash.

Hjalti is now Efstur’s best friend, despite their mothers trying to stop any fun.

When they see Hetja and Brá with their heads in the grass, Efstur and Hjalti sneak away together to play.  It is lovely to see and, of course, when I wanted to photograph it, they refused to cooperate.

Hjalti plays nicely – remembering he was trained by The Minions.

Efstur also worships the very ground Hjalti walks on, that always helps.

Like every horse at Thordale, Efstur is learning and practising his silly faces for the camera!

It seems to be theme with all my animals.

I rest my case Milord!

After removing Taktur from his ladies yesterday and putting him back with the boys, it was time to get back to work. He wasn’t too happy to leave the marital home, but work is work and he will just have to deal with it (the wives do not miss him).

After having new shoes put on, it was time to test them out with a quick ride.

It may have been a while, but Taktur took it all in his stride and was stunning as usual.

He needs a lot of work to bring him back into fitness but this is a very good starting point.

Daisy and Taktur need to establish a relationship and this is extremely important if they want to succeed as a pair in future competitions.

Luckily, he remembers all gaits and work will be a welcome distraction from fawning over non-responsive mares (whether they are real or in his head is another kettle of fish).

So, it will be back to the daily grind of building up muscles, but at least there is a bucket of food at the end so life is not all bad.

Taktur, I’m afraid the only lady in your life now will be your rider.

Bad luck!