I went outside last night just to see if anything was going on as I had heard there might be some aurora activity.

There was a bit but also a massive non-moving cloud was in the way. Dammit. Push off, please.

After standing on the compost heap in my dressing gown (post-bath) and OH’s cut-down wellies, I got fed up and feeling rather cold I went inside knowing there was much more going on behind the immoveable cloud but I wasn’t going to see it.

This morning was quiet and peaceful.  It is lovely waking up to no wind and rain.

Just the sound of the waves from the distant sea, the birds singing and the quiet munch, munch, munch of everyone eating their breakfast.

It is a very calming sound, until Kolka finishes and goes on a raid.

Today really has been a glorious autumnal day – with no wind, but very occasional drizzle.

I can’t pretend I did anything different from my usual day – wool-felting sheep  a.m. and then wool-felting sheep p.m.  Poo-pick, haynets out, write the blog…. and then I will cook supper, finish the last sheep of the day, get the real sheep home, put the ducks and hens to bed.

Boring?  Yes, but essential.  After Wool Week everything for me goes fairly quiet and I will do other projects, like finishing off my winter track (electric fencing) for the Shetland ponies.

Always things to do here.

As you may be aware, these are my last few days to get sheep to the Lerwick shop in time for Shetland Wool Week 2025.  I am busting a gut here.

Today I made these three. I really like the spotty Lambie Lamb.

I spent all day in my shed stabbing away while listening to the radio or watching another Netflix show.

And then after dog tea, I went outside armed with my bucket and rubber gloves to poo-pick the track. This is my daily exercise and fresh air.  I was met by these five who said they would like their tea early, please, thank you.

As it was raining, I told them they could have it but there wouldn’t be anything later.  They agreed to my terms and I went back to get their haynets telling myself I would not give in later with more.  Absolutely not.  No.  Albie is fatty fat fat but winter is coming and he will shiver it off. And how did he manage this weight?  There is eff-all on the track.

So I put out the haynets – they now have two because Newt can’t share very easily or nicely.

Silver is the only one to tolerate Newt and his awful ways.  It is not a happy relationship but it is working for now.

These three just get on with the task of eating.

Anyway, when I go back out later, I am not giving in and putting out more hay. They’ve had their daily ration.

Round Two of a little known game “Who Gets the Bucket First”.

Fivla put on a sudden and unexpected burst of speed and claimed her breakfast.  No one, and I mean no one, gets in the way of this little Shetland mare and her brekkie!  If she had elbows, she would’ve used them.

I love the light this time of year.

Summer is leaving us (or possibly has already left) and everyone is making the most of any sunshine that appears, however infrequent.  The wind is still northerly and still very bitter.  Nowadays it is feeling more like winter.

Lambie is busy dithering about food.  He has always had a strange relationship with anything edible. There are rules – food cannot be eaten directly off the floor (except for grass).  If food gets dropped onto the floor, forget it or hide it and produce it at a later date when he’s forgotten this occurred!

Lambie has to have an armed guard (me) or eat in his private dining room (read stable).  He hates being hassled.  He also has to be told that he likes new food because he always asks if he would like it while he sniffs suspiciously at it.

Today’s new experience in cuisine was soaked sugar beet which I serve up for Edna’s second breakfast and something that Bert, Ster and Maggie have also rather taken to.  Bert cleans the bucket. The others get a small bowl.

Apparently, after much thinking (I use that term in its loosest sense), Lambie decided he loves it too so now he’s on 2nd breakfasts as well.

*** sigh ***

Track life, so far, is going well.  No break-outs yet.  What happened this time last year is my constant dread.

I spend my days looking out of the windows counting ponies on the track just to check they are still there.

The weather was fairly rough this morning – F8, north-westerly (bitter) with occasional rain/drizzle – but everyone still got fed.  It is non-optional, apparently.

When I saw Gussie trying to get Fivla’s bucket, I thought to myself “good luck with that!”  Obviously he got nothing.

Once finished, feeling possibly shocked at the thought of sharing food, Fivla retired to her “bedroom” (read wee shed) with Vitamin who was busy with the salt-lick that is kept in there.

In the other field, the Shetland ponies had also taken to their container after breakfast.

They usually all pile into one, depending on what direction the wind is.

Albie and Silver didn’t go inside preferring to use the walls as their shelter.  Different strokes, I guess.

Pepper and I took to my shed for most of the day – to make two sheep.  A certain small dog was not feeling well (again). She is very into hunting at the moment – bunnies and hedgehogs.  Luckily, she got her appetite back in time for supper.

Later, as the sun appeared, we all left our sheds  – me to poo-pick and get some exercise in the late afternoon.

Even Monster came with us, which made a nice change.  He hasn’t accompanied us for ages.  Perhaps he too had had enough of being indoors.

This is the final rush before Wool Week starts at the end of this month – the 28th, I have just found out.

So every spare minute I have is spent in my shed (‘scuse the mess) making sheep to sell at Jamieson’s Knitwear, Commercial Street, Lerwick.

My daily routine has changed and it is full speed ahead – I make what I can in the morning, finish it after lunch and then start another, keeping going until 9pm.  I can usually make two sheep (more and I go boggly-eyed) a day as there are always other things to do as well like animals to feed, the track to poo-pick, meals to cook, etc.

After Wool Week, I can then slow down a bit and concentrate on the commissions that I haven’t done (I feel very bad about them) and even possibly get my Great Great Aunt Kate’s diaries out of her little suitcase to transcribe.  I am just in the process of putting up 1944 (which is very grim) and I have been picking away at them all summer at odd times.  I feel bad about this project too.  I really want to finish it properly.  Only 18 more diaries to go …..