Over the next few days my family and I will be scouring the roadside picking up rubbish as it is Shetland’s Da Voar Redd Up (the Spring clean up) again.

We have volunteered and been registered for cleaning up our road which goes for miles.  We did it last year and try to register every year as part of the island clean-up.

I have noticed there is less litter because I cleared it all so thoroughly last year.  But I still walk either side of the single track roads mostly in the ditches, as that is where the rubbish tends to fall, and manage a bag or so as I go along.  We leave the green bags on the side of the road and someone collects them all, takes them to the dump and sorts them.

I take it as a personal slight when I see a ditch I have “redded up” has litter again.  Don’t people care?  Who honestly throws their rubbish out.  I mean why, just why?

Anyway, I plug a good audiobook in my ears, don my noticeable tabard (this year a yellow plastic bag with arms cut out), grabby hand in one hand, green bin bag in the other and pick up litter cursing humanity as I go for their disgusting habits.  There really is no excuse.

Meanwhile, I also met Daisy riding Kappi out to the canter track and back.

Before we had just been out with me riding Iacs and Daisy on Hjalti.  This was Hjalti’s first ridden canter ever and he was perfect.  He loved it very much.  Happy ears pricked and a spring in his step.  What a good boy.

This is Kappi showing how it’s done.

To Lerwick for another long dentist appointment.  Needs must for one poor member of my family but I am a willing taxi driver.

To make up for the dental agonies, this was our lunchtime view.  We were parked on Victoria Pier over looking Bressay slip, the little harbour surrounded by the Lodberries where Jimmy Perez of the TV series “Shetland” lived.

The other way looking northerly is Albert Dock – the blue boat is the Bressay ro-ro (roll on, roll off) ferry which nips across Bressay Sound many times every day carrying cars and passengers.

The green vessel is “The Swan”.  Launched in Shetland in 1900 The Fifie Swan LK 243  was considered as “one of the finest fishing boats afloat in the North of Scotland”.  Fully restored and working as a charter, sail training or weekend sailing boat.  The Swan is magnificent and very special.

Now looking towards the northerly approach to Bressay Sound.

Lunch finished, all evidence destroyed, we went walked up Commercial Street.  I popped into the Tourist Office to see if they needed more leaflets. It was nice to see Fivla in pride of place.  She really stands out.

On the desk are the official Visit Scotland postcards – please do say if you want me to get some and send them to you.  Happy to do it.  No bother at all.

And then the magnificent teatowel.  Again, happy to purchase and post – I cant remember how much they were but I can easily find out.

So I am pleased we are increasing our presence on the Street.  The girls’ fame lives on.  I just hope no one is too disappointed that Fivla is not a glowing white these days and Vitamin is a bit greyer around her face.  Old age catches up with us all.

Someone recently asked me how I am getting along with all my little ventures so here is a brief round-up.

The needle-felting is coming along strong.  My metier, I have discovered, is puffins and sheep.  That is what I am good at and I can make them fairly easily.

These are some puffins about to go off into the big bad world.

And here are my sheep in their nearly-finished point of sale box.  Just a few more to make and the little banner to get printed and they’re off to a posh shop in Lerwick.

The banner to get printed….

I also made this little chap. I can’t sell him in the Lerwick shop as he is not 100% Shetland wool but has divine yearling Wensleydale sheep curls.  He is very handsome.  I want to make more sheep like this and have ordered black curls as well.  Let me know if you want to order a curly sheeple and I will happily make you one, two, three…. a flock – email me with your order.

Curly Wurly Sheep – £22.00 (sadly curls cost)

The Minion visitors are beginning to arrive now.

We have bookings for later in the year and I will go and distribute more leaflets in town this week.  Most places are very keen to promote us which is lovely and very encouraging.

The grass is growing.  Everyone is very relaxed and happy.  No sign of babies yet but it is a bit early according to my diary.

Haakon’s hooves are healing well.  I looked at them carefully and could see two ginormous cracks where the abscesses burst through.  I am glad it wasn’t laminitis, though.  That is far worse and can leave permanent damage.

So all is well really.

End of brief round-up (thank you for asking)

While Great Britainshire was being battered by Storm Hannah (80 mph winds down south – (that’s when we put our washing out, just sayin’), Shetland was, for once, being bathed in glorious warm Spring sunshine.

The boys were all fast asleep.  I don’t know what you call this collection – a heap of Icelandic horses?  Possibly.

There is always one a little further away – little Efstur which was a surprise as he, Hjalti and Dreki mostly go round like Cerberus (three-headed).  Taktur was on point duty.

In the next door field, Iacs was snoozing too.

Haakon was meant to be guarding his friend.  Yer, right.

I nipped through the garden as a short-cut to the field – I wanted to take better photos of the snoozers.

But I was quickly spotted.

And I missed my chance.  I love photographing sleeping horses.  They are just so relaxed and happy.

Spring is showing itself properly in the garden now.

So I gave up and went back to my shed to work. En route I could see everyone else had woken up too.

I am particularly pleased at how good Haakon is looking now.  His weight is perfect and he is, I would say very tentatively, back to normal (as normal as he ever is).  I am relieved. It has been quite the ordeal for us all.  He still likes his old-man routine and every morning he and Iacs leave the herd to spend the day with a couple of haynets, extra hard feed and no hassle.

I am still not sure if I will retire Haakon now or shoe him and see.  His hooves need time to recover, grow and strengthen from the abscess damage.  Nothing is written in stone.  I will ask him what he wants to do.  I am sure he will let me know.

Why hello, Mr Waffle.  How are you today?

What?  You’ve come to have a drink of water from the newly filled buckets that were suspiciously dirty when we arrived today.

Ah, yes, that’s right, you just wanted a nice drink of fresh clean water, didn’t you?

And look, here’s your little friend, Newt, who wants a drink of water too while you innocently pretend you want to stay around to play with the rope that suddenly fascinates you.

Let’s all say hello to Newt who is a sweetie, unlike some.

And you didn’t want to dance in them and tip them all up, did you?  (oh, but you did you something something wicked little Shetland pony of unmarried parents).

Cross?  We were incandescent with rage as Waffle looked us straight in the eye, raised a leg, smiled and splish-sploshed in the buckets of water while we drove away (we had to as we were going to meet a visitor).

When we returned with said visitor, Flossie kindly (and patiently) emptied the buckets and started again with fresh water.

Waffle – free to a good home.  No vices.  Well, only one!