Well, I think we can all guess what I said to myself when OH shouted up the stairs this morning “There’s a really good sunrise happening now”.

Well this shepherd is well and truly warned.

Tomorrow’s feeding routine is going to be fun – Force 7 gusting 10.  Ick.

Anyway, the skies have been good this morning – this was on the dog walk.  OH had managed to get to town for supplies and the Eggbox is now safely back home.  Huzzah.

I did some mucking out of the sheep’s stable which was hard work and very hard on my back too.

And then, armed with my metal comb, I gave the horses and ponies a quick back brush to make their fur fluffy and more efficient in the endless rain to come.

Newt is very floofy.

In fact everyone is and they all stood there, on best behaviour, no headcollars or anything needed, while I brushed.  Lots of little smiley faces.

Then I went to the Icelandic horse field and did the same with the ancients.

Feeling very virtuous, I walked up the hill, back into the house and had my lunch.  Now the storm is hammering away outside.  I think I deserve a gin and tonic as my reward for all my hard work.  It might help my back too……

This morning was interesting, to say the least, trying to feed horses and ponies in a Force 12 – around 60 mph wind.  I was doing quite well, walking round the outside of the shed, using it as a windbreak, thinking “this is doable”, and then the wind hit me hard and all the buckets I was carrying too.  It was tough and I felt very battered afterwards.  I ended up tipping the food on the ground for each pony.

The Eggbox remains stuck too and just before you all think I am a wuss, my neighbour got his all-singing all-dancing mother-fupper 4WD stuck there yesterday afternoon too!  I think Egg (new name) was glad of the company!

So a morning of cooking leftovers into soup and cake depending on food type and an afternoon in the shed with this little one.

We watched telly together.

And looked out at the world.

And I added to this little flock.

Feeling like stretching my legs and with the wind now dying down a bit, I went outside to give everyone a wee horse-treat.

The little ones like being near the big ones – they are in the next door field – and everyone seems to be fine despite the storms.

A brief lull and another storm is heading our way shortly and then another and then another. I might be slightly obsessed with weather charts!

The thaw continues and so the field mud is back with a vengeance.

The Minions are not using their usual buckets for breakfast as we had to leave them behind in the move.  These coloured buckets are not ideal as they are light and tend to blow away so, after breakfast, OH and I walked up the track with a view to getting the Eggbox home.  We could also collect the heavy buckets too.

And the words “not a prayer” came to mind.  The Eggbox can just be seen just below the horizon looking a bit forlorn.

Yes, it’s a 4WD but the thaw makes everything under the snow unreliable and easy to vanish into.

This drifting happens when a northwest wind plus a good pile of snow = four foot drifting on my track in two places making it impassable.

So OH and I went and fetched the flat heavy feed buckets from the Minions’ old field and brought them home, ready for tomorrow’s storm – Force 11 at feeding time. That’ll be fun.

It would be good to get out especially to town as we are running out of supplies like fresh fruit and veg.

I spent my morning putting everything back – everything being the buckets (empty ones, ones full of dried hard feed and ones with feed already made up), water containers that lived in the kitchen to stop freezing, and haynets that took up residence in the porch.  It all went back to where it belonged in various sheds and my house looks a bit better.

While I was moving the buckets, Edna barged her way into the porch and I thought to myself “why not” and gave her the extra fattening mash that I had made for the horses but had decided they didn’t really need as it is so much warmer today.

She was in a very happy shovelling mood.

I peaked outside and weI decided to say nothing. This extra food was none of their business.

Once Edna had eaten enough for three horses, I took the buckets to my feed container.

I did a spot of tidying up too.

The big thaw started last night and is going well. The outside taps are now all running but the Eggbox remains stuck in a four foot drift on our track!  So much for having a 4WD – we left it there and I will attempt to move it tomorrow.  The last time my Land Rover (old type Defender) did this, I managed to slide into a fence so I know what can happen if I don’t wait until it is safe.

And my life is much easier. No one is interested in the haynets and I am not bothering to make up anymore unless it snows again.

Plenty of grass everywhere for everyone at the moment.

OH and I both agree that yesterday we made the right move to get the Minions home.  Ok, they were unhelpful and it wasn’t easy, but it is good they are home and much easier to manage.

As the weather descended to lumps of snow falling out the sky all morning, I put out more haynets and reminded everyone about sharing nicely or “lovely sharing” as we call it in this house.

The snow is getting deeper and deeper but the ponies are clever and have made deep tracks through the snow, which they all follow one after the other.

The Icelandics are also doing fine. They get two buckets of food and unlimited hay.  No one says they’re cold.  Fluffy coats doing their job.

And I saw Lambie chewing his cud this morning and that really cheered me up.

He even ate his normal breakfast, like a good boy with no mooching it around the bowl and having a speshul moment.

So proud *** sniff ***.

Tonight brings rain and hopefully a thaw.

I think everyone will be glad to see grass wherever they live.