Category Archives: Sheep

Sheep Decisions

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I can see the sheep field from the bathroom window. I find that it is a very good way to keep an eye on them to see whether they’ve gone out or not.

Today, Lambie hadn’t moved from the spot where I left him – the concrete step outside the wee shed.  Yes, two hours later and he was still standing there.

Sighing, I put on my waterproofs (the weather was vile) and went outside to see what was going on.

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

No one was going out and grazing like they should. It’s their job.  They know that. Yes, they do.

Bert was close by but he was being sensible. He had found a nice sheltered place and was enjoying the view, while chewing his cud.

I went up and told him he was a very good boy. He appreciated that. Such a dear boy.

Meanwhile, these two reprobates were making the most of an open gate and were quickly leaving their field to go back to bed.

Or so I thought.  No, Lambie stood by the gate for a few hours and then went back into the field while Ster drifted around the croft forgetting where everyone was. I later found him sitting outside my front door!

And meanwhile the lovely bedroom remained unused (they still haven’t forgiven me yet for letting the old horses use it for one whole night).

Rainbows’ End.

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I was out first thing this morning to feed the starving hordes.

⬇️ This starving horde is Gussie ⬇️ (who is rotund and lying!)

Anyway, there was a faint but definitely-visible rainbow and I swear the end was on the container.  I was sorely tempted to go and find a shovel and start digging for my pot of gold but sadly there was much work to be done, ie the starving hoards to feed.

(though I do wonder just how much would be in hard cash – and, look, another faint rainbow on the other container.  As far as I was aware there was only Shetland pony poo from the night before).

Monster supervised in a condescending way.

Later two ladies from Wool Week came to see the sheep.  As per instructions, they arrived with a packet ginger biscuits and took photos of everyone eating them. Of course Lambie was being mysterious and aloof so I had to go and find him separately to give him his ration.

Obviously I mentioned Fivla and Vitamin, who had worn those Fair Isle sweaters many years ago for a Visit Scotland (Scotland’s tourism board) advertising campaign.

The old horses and ponies were resting down the bottom of the hill, so we clambered carefully down and were duly ignored.  Such is the way of the celebrity some days. Too busy eating.  Still, there’s always the gold from the rainbows.  Off to find a shovel then.

A True Tale

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This is a true story. It happened two days’ ago.

There has been a stray hill sheep in the back field that can’t get out and desperately wants to be reunited with its mother – she went back to the hill a few weeks ago.  It has made friends with Dahlia who stays back at night to keep it company.  I have tried, on many occasions, to get this sheep to leave but it always panics and runs hysterically back into the field.

On this particular morning, the hill sheep followed Dahlia into the shed for breakfast and I quickly shut the door leaving them all to it, while wondering, as I walked away, just how would we get this sheep out.  It was far from helpful.

OH had finished his chores and I asked him to come with me to catch the sheep in the shed.

We walked in and couldn’t see this sheep anywhere but all my lot were just standing there looking at us.  It was eerily like “The Sheep Detectives”.  If they could’ve said something I swear they would have.

And the hill sheep?  It was caught between the inter-stable gate and the wall while the other sheep were keeping it there for me.  It was like they knew I wanted to catch that sheep and for once I wanted it to be easy.  It never is.

But today it was. I slipped a headcollar on upside-down, like a harness and OH and I clipped two ropes to it and we walked/dragged the sheep out depositing it into the open hill, where it rushed off to find it’s mother.

So, if folk ever tell you sheep are stupid – the answer is that they jolly well are not.  My lot are intelligent and helpful (at times).  Especially Dahlia. ❤️

Scunnered

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At the moment, my whole day is spent in my shed with Pepper making hand-felted Shetland wool sheep to sell.

All my current stock has been bought and I am meeting myself coming back while trying to keep up with demand.  It is Wool Week so extra pressure too, but in a good ££ way.  I have to keep my little field at Jamieson’s Knitwear full.

This will be my life for the next week and then I go to London on Thursday 8th October for a whole week of rest, seeing family as well as possibly a lot of shopping and a trip to the Bayeaux Tapestry.  I am very exited – I need this break very much.

All the animals will be left in Floss’ capable hands – she arrives Saturday- and she has lots of local back-up if needed too.

I may even give myself a break from the blog as I am feeling fairly scunnered with everything. (scunnered is a great word – it means fed up).

For now, however, I am just putting my head down and trying to make three felted sheep a day while the demand is there. I won’t lie, I am finding it exhausting and I barely see daylight except through the window.

Roll on the holidays. They can’t come soon enough.

Setter Farm Trip

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A friend of mine, who is here in Shetland for Wool Week, won a Facebook Like-And-Share “raffle” for a tour of Setter Farm.  She asked if anyone would like to accompany her (this was a few months’ back) and I thought that it sounded very interesting and said yes, please (pick me, pick me!)

There are only two dairy farms in Shetland and Setter Farm is situated in Tingwall (about 5 minutes out of Lerwick). It is the UK’s most northerly dairy farm – dairying has been done at Setter for over 100 years.  As well as cows and calves, they also keep sheep.

So first up, we saw the sheep – these were the Cheviots who, I think, will be going to the sheep sales later this year.

I was fascinated by their expressions and social interactions.

The “hill” Shetlands were in another pen and very mad, alternating between huddling and scattering if they saw anyone.

There was definitely a look of Edna is some of them.  *** sniff ***  Pretty little sheeps.  I wanted to take them all home.

Then we went to look at “the plant”.  Yes please to everything. The folk at Setter Farm also work as agricultural contractors around the islands.

And then we stood to the side of the track and watched the dairy cows come home, which was lovely.

The calves were kept in calf stalls where they had regular buckets of milk and are then weaned onto water and hay.

The cows were munching silage before going back out again for a little while before the evening milking.

I watched them for a long while.  I am very fond of dairy cows. I remember them from my childhood as my step-mother had a dairy farm and my job was to get the stragglers and strays to keep up when we were moving the herd to a different field. Obviously, I was always on horseback and, possibly stupidly, fearless!

I enjoyed my afternoon. Something completely different for me while being totally recognisable and full of childhood memories.