A brief glimpse at the sun this morning and it was a busy day ahead.

The plumber was here for most of the morning trying to resurrect our boiler (only 24 years old) to limp through another winter, while we are on the list to have a new one installed in spring.

While the plumber (who Ted adored and did all his party tricks for) was leaving, my fencing contractor, Morgan, arrived and we walked the boundaries so I could show him where I wanted my two tracks for the Minions to live on in the Spring/Summer/Autumn months.  I took the dogs, telling them that this was their dog walk for the day.

We started off when there was the most god-awful yowling and we turned to see Monster shouting at us to wait.

I asked Morgan whether he had ever been on a dogwalk with a cat and he admitted that this was a first for him.

Stopping to wait for Monster to catch up, we used the time to discuss where and what I wanted.  Morgan is just putting in the fence stabs (posts) and I will attach electric fence to make it both permanent but changeable if required.

The stream will run through two points of the track so no one will have to lug water either.  While we were talking about how much we hated the lugging food and water in winter, everyone else stopped to hunt for a bit.

Then it was time for my fencing contractor to leave and we all escorted him to his pickup and trailer.

Now to make a million sheeple to contribute towards this…….

We were out early as OH and I were spending the day in town.  All the animals were fed, the dogs walked and sheep in their field.

Town was surprisingly busy and very, very cold. There was a bitter north-east wind that seemed to turn according to whatever direction we were walking in. It was always blowing in our face.  Minus 3 apparently.  It felt colder but I was wearing clean clothes so perhaps my usual dirt wasn’t there to keep me warm.

A nice lunch with friends in an “interesting” restaurant but the company was excellent which is all that really matters.  An exchange of early Christmas presents and OH and I drove home before it got dark.

This is the view from where I stopped the car to get more petrol.  Not bad, eh?

While OH unpacked the car, I looked after the ducks – and certainly not the sheep who need nothing but came along optimistically.

There was even flying, which is no mean feat if you are large Muscovy duck built like a Lancaster Bomber.

While I fed the ducky-wuckes, Pepper entertained the sheep.  ‘Ster was particuarly receptive.

And Pepper has a thing about sheep lugs – which presumably tickle for the owner while she investigates.

There was no butting, just Lambie looking slightly gormless on the side-lines!

These days I am about as popular as a 💩 in a swimming pool, as the saying goes.

Now the storm has moved on, I moved everyone back to their old fields.

To be fair, everyone cooperated beautifully and then proceeded to stand there and sulk at me.  I was very sulked at. There was no escape.

I even moved the little ones as I could see them getting visibly fatter and fatter while I watched.  So, shutting all escape routes first, and leading Waffle and Vitamin, the others meakly followed thinking there were going somewhere exciting – they are not very bright.

You almost see the lightbulb ping when they realised where they were again.  The sigh of disappointment.

And they all stood there asking me why I had done this.  I explained my visible fat theory while incorporating the phrase “it is for your own good”. I don’t think anyone believed me.

So I have the spent the rest of the day hiding in my shed, trying to avoid any accusatory glares.

Wherever I go, the eyes, the eyes, they follow me.

Everywhere.  24 hours on and I am still being sulked at.

You know when you don’t want to go somewhere but when you do,  you end up having a good time.  Well, that was me this afternoon.

I was not intending to go out as I had mentally set the time aside to make a sheep but a friend asked me if I was going to the “Waas teas”. I started by saying I wasn’t but then felt I should go out more and I could possibly get a few broadband request forms completed too.

A Festival of Trees, with craft stalls and possibly the best tea at our local hall.

My friends and I looked at the trees first, which were excellent – very innovative.  A huge variety and I haven’t taken photos of half of them.

A tree of playing cards.

This is by the local care home – Wastview.  Inspirational.

Sea glass

Beer bottle tops

Loo roll

(possibly my favourite).

The craft fair was fun and varied too and there was also a Santa’s Grotto with Santa (or Santie as they call him here or Father Christmas as we call him at home) who was not scary. In our day (when my girls were small) one wore a creepy old man mask which was utterly terrifying. No one would go near him which sort of defeated the object of Father Christmas.

And then the tea and oh, what a tea.  There were vast trays of sandwiches and cake and we just helped ourselves, sat down with friends and chatted.

I feel a bit full now.

Everything has calmed down now and we are all going about our day saying “Phew” to ourselves.  The past few days have been quite the ordeal and I think the animals are very tired from the storm.

To make up for it, we had a beautiful sunrise this morning.  Very dramatic.

Finnigert (where the Minions live)

From the track at home, where we live.

The oldies were digesting their breakfast and hoping I would pop by with more.

OH and I made a quick dash into Lerwick to retrieve my now mended car.  I am so relieved  to have it home and it was a back brake thing – so now I have new set of rear brake pads.  Happy days.

Once home, while OH stayed in Lerwick shopping, I took the dogs out. I wanted to check the back gate into the scattald (common grazing) to see that it was still shut after the storm.  Sometimes gates can wiggle open after a few days of a constant Force 11.

The sheep were all having a bit of a snooze there too.

It was still closed, phew because it’s a bore when everyone goes off into the hill.

I had a quick chat with the sheep.

Dear Barrel had acquired a “necklace” of old dried dockens.

And Maggie, his Mum, was nice and smiley.

The gates checked, noses kissed and we walked back through the field home feeling grateful we could stay upright without much difficulty.