So this afternoon I am walking along in the field, perfectly happily snapping merrily away at various Icelandic horses, proferring the occasional broccoli stalk as I go and hoping that my wee dug, BeAnne Duvet, is coming with me because she said she would.

(I am a fool and she is very good at being invisible)

And here she is…. eventually after I called and called.  Note the lovely dark pink orchid. So pretty.

I am pleased and relieved to say that BeAnne is having a bit of a rally – the latest addition to her diet is lactulose and steroids which seem to have given her back the joy of life, which is truly wonderful.  Today she stole a rabbit off Monster who is now sulking.  She sat on the front doorstep and chomped the lot.  Monster walked around the indoor manège howling to himself.

So, BeAnne and I are walking along together (I think)…..

…. and then I realise I am on my own again!

She’s drifted off.

She is very easily diverted.

My Boyzenberries were around too. The girls were somewhere up a hill.  They made up for Her Maj’s absence.

They all followed me back up the hill.  At least someone did. BeAnne appeared later.

Here’s to Silver.  A dear chap.

One my original Minions (‘scuse Lilja’s ears behind – most odd).

Never one to push himself to the front. Silver is just not that kind of me-me-me chap – unlike others.

But when does come up for a chat, it is because he genuinely wants it.

Silver was much darker when he first arrived but, according to his breeder, he will grey-out like his Sire, Zeal of Houlland, who was totally white (grey technically).  What a handsome boy.

Silver has a bit to go then but turns a little bit whiter every year.

Silver is the quiet one, prone to thinking …

…and can be elusive if the mood takes him.

But then suddenly he is one of the most affectionate.  It is all on his terms and we understand this.

Silver is a special boy.  One of the Minions who was not, at the beginning, meant to stay with me as he had a home to go to, but in the end he did and I am glad of this.

Sometimes things are just meant to be and that’s how I feel about Silver. He was definitely meant to be with us.

I received a message on my phone this morning – “Sorry for being a pest so early on a Sunday morning. But they are a large number of White sided dolphins just at Bixter“. So Daisy and I hopped into the car and drove off to have a look.

After spotting a van with some dolphin-spotting looking folk, they told us where the best place was to park and off we went again a bit further down the road.

And we found them!

It was not easy – but we got our “eye in” looking for waves that appeared different from other waves with the occasional black triangle on top and then following the line.

And then there were lots of dolphins and they circled the voe and we all watched.

I know very little (ok, nothing) about dolphins but, by asking questions to other watchers, I found out they were a large group (about 40) of Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus).

Folk had parked up and down the voe and everyone was enjoying the show.  We even saw friends and relatives too.  Quite the social-distancing event really.

When the pod finally swam past us, to a man, everyone just said “Wow” over and over again.  It was breathtaking. Apologies for the total overload of photos of dots on the horizon but I was utterly mesmerized.  There’s something very special about seeing dolphins in their natural habitat.  They are truly beautiful.

We had rather a fraught morning – BeAnne is very off-colour so we made the instant decision to take her to the vet.  We came home knowing Her Maj had lost some weight (we are trying so hard), and laden down with more medicine that might help her.

It is very tough on us all and add the threat of a thunder and lightening storm that never thankfully actually materialised, we have been taking it easy this afternoon all feeling rather frazzled.

To keep my mind occupied, I trawled around the house and my shed looking for all the bits that make up a tripod, my camera, the flash and that essential piece that attaches the camera to said tripod.  FFS.  It took me nearly an hour to locate that particular bit.

I wanted to photograph the flowers, what I have grewed, on my windowsill.

So here goes……  Just remember I grew these.  This is a huge achievement. A gardener, I am not and possibly not a photographer either.

Straws are for grasping, right?

This is the view from my back door, if you hop through the garden first.

Iacs (short for I Am Completely Stupid, aka Mr Bibble) was happily snoozing while the others, that would be Haakon and Klængur, completely ignored him. So much for best friendswatching out for the tigers.

Bibble had a lovely roll (note his blissful face).

Meanwhile, these two could not have been less on-the-ball if they tried.  Aren’t they looking well?  My boys (I am going all gooey-eyed now).

And he’s up.  The frilly is silly and all is right with the world.

Meanwhile, OH is offshore (working) and we have one cat in a box waiting, forever waiting for his Master’s return.  Let’s hope Shifu is back before Monster expires.

And I made a filum to try to explain why I live in Shetland.  I am uploading an HD version and once (if ever) Vimeo says it is complete, I will put the link here to replace this rather unremarkable version.