The birds are starving and desperate.  Endless snow has made them almost totally reliant on us.  We have our “family” and we feed them constantly all day – our reward is that they are delightful to watch from the kitchen window.

There is a good supply of starlings who argue amongst themselves or gang up against anyone (Mr Blackbird holding his own there).

He can be quite ferocious and it is interesting to watch the “pecking order”.

(there also about 5 Mrs Blackbirds around who are fat and plain and freeloaders).

I am very fond of a blackbird.

And then there is the star of the show ……

Mr Robin (I think he is a he – but I am no expert)!

I am determined to get a Christmas card(s) out of him so I spend much of my time waiting by the kitchen window.

(this is my absolute most favourite robin photo, ever!)

All the birds are an excellent diversion while we eat our lunch. They are becoming brave and will mostly stick around when anyone goes out with more food.

They make a nice change from the horse hard-work.

Just some photos and film from today.

Floss and I had put out 20 piles of hay for the Minions to find.

Fivla with one of her many piles of hay. She is doing very well this winter.  All the summer weight she puts on has its uses.  She is looking nice and trim now.

Waffle was making silly faces.

Storm was walking through every pile to decide which one he favoured most. Some might call it annoying.

I was running out of batteries on my phone but I managed to take these little films.

Newt was on a mission and was not to be distracted from his small hairy yak-ness!

Storm was walking through everyone’s hay.  He thought I had something better to offer but he had already had his carrot ration.  He knew this but he is an optimist!

Vitamin’s muzzle is just the best.  She, too, thought there was food.  If you listen to the soundtrack (only film with one), I was telling her to get back to eating and that I had nothing.  Silly girl.

Back at home, and phone duly charged, I took Her Maj out for her post-lunch potter.  The afternoon sky was spectacular.

There is the occasional threat of more snow – it usually comes to nothing but looks pretty dramatic.

Haakon popped up!

And then the Old Men followed me down the hill looking hopeful.  Stuff those Pelaton adverts on the telly (lunchtime watching) – lugging water and haynets twice a day is all the workout anyone needs.  Suffice it to say, we all sleep well at night from lugging food and water to everyone.

Like I said, the sky was dramatic but incredibly beautiful.

The pipes are frozen and every morning there is more and more ice, so we jump up and down on troughs and streams to break through.  Today we lugged water to every field that didn’t have a free-flowing burn (stream) close by.  I worry about water (amongst all the other things I worry about like colic, not getting enough fibre, choke, colic again, etc – my list is endless).

Some are more grateful than others.  Haakon et al looked at me as if I was offering them poison.  Edna, of course, is always grateful for anything. She has obviously been well brought up.

Even so, everyone is doing well in the snow – probably because we offer field-service 24/7 in this establishment (room service but in a field).

Their extra hairy coats keep them all warm and insulated….

….. and, surprisingly, very dry.  Any water just drips off the tips of the fur leaving a dry coat underneath.

I am trying very hard not to rug Haakon up.  He is doing fine without one.

Klængur

Iacs

In the afternoon, I take Her Maj for her walk

and then go into my shed with BeAnne and make sheep.

…. with an occasional, if smelly, Lambie.

You can keep your Aspen, Gstaad, Kitzbühel, St Moritz….

Why would you need that when you could have this?

Ok, the skiing might be nice if you like sliding down a slope but for me, nothing beat sitting outside in the snow, with a cup of coffee and the sheep (oh yes, and my daughters) having done all the morning chores.  The sun was shining and there was nothing more to do until later.  We gave ourselves a well-earned break.

Of course there was the ever-present Monster who was busy explaining to Daisy what he had done to my car!

It was glorious.  Everyone was around.

Madge was even brave and forced herself to make a huge effort.

Lambie couldn’t be arsed.

BeAnne ran up and down the track trying to entice us back into the house to feed her ham (which has her lunchtime drugs hidden – she doesn’t know).

After lunch, we were back outside with our duties.  While I took Her Maj out for a potter up the hill, Daisy and Floss gave out the last-of-the-day haynets.

Everyone knows the drill now and waits with happy expectation.

This snow-break is not such a hardship if the weather is beautiful too.

If it has four legs and belongs to us, it gets fed.  Thems are the rules when it snows.

The car (my poor mother would be shocked) has become the “croft car” with the promise that I will vaccuum out all the hay bits come Spring (yer, right!)  Still, it does the job fine and gets around in the snow.  Brakes seem to be a bit random at times but we are still alive so that’s all that matters these days.

Floss and I go on our travels daily to check everyone in Leradale. Although I could see evidence of digging through the snow for grass, Floss and I took three stuffed haynets over as well as the mandatory carrot.

We put down little piles of hay all around the “hay park” and everyone had at least one to eat so there could be no fighting.

Some even shared.

Some didn’t.

And some most definitely wouldn’t!

Newt’s whizzy little bottom has become a bit of a legend this winter.  He is like the rotating turret on top of a tank.  We have had words.  He chooses to forget them and his behaviour is shocking!

They have water close by – the streams through the field are thawed and flowing. I check.  Water is so important.

Everyone seems very content for us to lug their hay to them.  It’s our job. It’s what we do.

Jolly good.  I am not worried about this lot.