Monthly Archives: June 2026

Happy News Day

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I found this lot staring at me when I went back to pick up the empty buckets after their breakfast.  You can almost hear what they are saying – “let us out, let us out – open the gate”.

I did as I was told and they wandered off for the rest of the day to eat and hopefully put on weight.

Later I decided to check the electric fence which, since we re-strung the whole thing earlier in the year, seems to be going (touch-wood) very well.  I had my fence checker with me and there was the same electric pulse strength at the start to the very end of the track – huzzah!  The solar energiser is also now re-charging too which is very encouraging and means I haven’t had to lug a battery down the hill for ages.

While I was fence testing, the little boys followed me round playing Grandmother’s footsteps.  They refused to go past.

The ponies’ coats are coming out albeit very slowly still but it has got colder recently, so I am not brushing anyone very much.

I did a bit of Tiddles but he walked off and was unhelpful.

And then suddenly, the ponies all broke rank and cantered downhill past me.

And the best news of the day – Skippy is finally revived and fully functional.  A huge thank you to my neighbour who spent many hours taking Skippy to bits, fitting parts and getting it working. It’s been quite the long haul and I can’t tell you just how relieved I am Skippy is working again.  Mucking out the sheep shed this year without Skippy made me realised just how useful it is and how much I rely on it.  I am so relieved.

Bumble Bee Fail

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i was at Turriefield this morning packing vegetables – salad, onions and spring onions.  Not too onerous so I after lunch, I walked down the hill to the bright yellow flowering kalette plant bed as I was told there was lots of bumble bees there.

I love bumble bees and I really wanted to see my first-for-the-year Shetland bumble bee (Bombus muscorum agricolae), which is a distinct sub-species of the Moss Carder bee.  They have orange bottoms.

Anyway, I didn’t see one and what bumble bees were there were all very busy flying very quickly on and around the flowers – no one wanted their photograph taken.

I tried very hard to take a good photo but honestly, when the heavens opened and it started to rain in great big drops, I gave up and went back up to the shelter of the shed.

So now I can’t even tell what species of bumble bee I saw – possibly the garden one or white-tailed one.

And apologies for the bad photos – but even though it was a brief shower, it was a determined one.

 

 

 

Turning Good(ish)

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I was looking back trying to remember how old Pepper is.

According to Google (it does have it’s uses), Pepper arrived in Shetland in 2021 as a just-weaned puppy so, by my maths, she must be 5 years old now.  I know, where has the time gone?

Pepper was never brought here to replace in my heart the gaping hole left by BeAnne Duvet, but she has managed all on her own to wheedle her way in by herself.

I would love to say Pepper’s behaviour has improved, but I would be lying and many a neighbour has announced they’ve only just recently had a visit from her totally unbeknownst to us.  It is a constant battle.

But we have successfully managed to stop the early morning vanishinments as Pepper is now on a long dog lead at night tied to the foot of the bed. I tell her it’s because she is a criminal and she happily wags her tail and agrees!  By stopping her constant egress means we can leave the cat flap open for Monster’s nightly comings and goings happy in the knowledge that Pepper is still with us. She honestly doesn’t mind and has resigned herself to a life of being a prisoner if she has first dibs on the bed. It’s a fair trade.

Meanwhile Monster has developed a terrible habit (we are on Day 3 now so it is classed as a habit).  He lies on my pillow in the early morning and then prods me with his barely sheathed claws while purring exceptionally loudly.  Once banished from the bed, he then retaliates by making loud puking noises instead.

But at least we’ve won the Pepper battle – sort of.

Asleep and Sheep

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The old men took the weight off their hooves this morning.

And Iacs had a little snooze as well.

Meanwhile, I title this “The only thing holding you back is your mind”.  Lambie stood there for ages until I ushered him out.

While the horses were sleeping (and I didn’t want to disturb them having read how important it is for them to lie down and sleep properly), I went to spend some time with the sheep.

Gussie

‘Bert

Maggie

And lots more Lambie, as he was in a very good mood and wanted to be beside me all the time, which is very not like him.  I checked to see if it was my birthday but it isn’t. So I wonder what he wanted.  Hard cash, probably.

      

And back to Gussie again who looks huuuuuuuge!  Rotund, some might say.

It might be because Gus-Gus eats a lot.  It will be interesting to see what shape he is after he is sheared – note-to-self, I must find out when that’s going to be.

The Importance of Apple Cake and Deep Sleep

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Under strict surveillance this morning, I made my usual apple cake – I’m trying to use up eggs.

The strict surveillance that I was under.

So now what to do with my apple peel and cores?  Who do I know who would like them?  Let me see.

Spotting Fivla and Vitamin, I gave them the apple bits.

They said nothing to the others and quietly munched them all up (I found nothing left when I was poo-picking later).  I doubt the others even knew there were free apple bits going.

I was in my shed after lunch and everyone was around and about.

I like to look out of the windows every so often to see who is close by.  Haakon came over and plonked himself down.  He wanted to sleep so I ended up leaving my shed much later – in fact I almost made a whole other sheep to go with the one I had just made – so I didn’t disturb him.

I didn’t want to wake up Haakon because I read somewhere that old horses really need to sleep and the fact that he feels he can lie down is good because he will get proper deep REM sleep which is essential to his well-being.

Once Haakon woke up and was standing up and grazing with the others, I packed them all off to their field.

I’ve given up walking them one-at-a-time with a headcollar as that takes forever and they can be stupid to catch so instead I herded them into a group and told them all to “go to bed”.

Mass movement is much simpler.

Luckily, they all know what I mean and they know I will let them out tomorrow to continue on the good grass.