Lugging water every day over to the Minions is back-breaking (me) and shoulder breaking (OH) so this morning when I found an empty water trough because possibly a certain Waffle had been dancing in it, I made the decision to move everyone…. again.  I hate the fact that they can go for hours without water – this way lies colic.

But, firstly, I took the dogs to walk the perimeter fence of the new field and I cleared yards of electric fencing from tenants way back.

It is a big “hill park”, about 10 acres of mostly rough grazing, with a patch of the nice stuff, which I am sure will swiftly be consumed.

There is also water au natural and Waffle can dance up and down to his heart’s content in there – just as long as he doesn’t swim.

I was on my own and so, to make my life a little easier, I took four ponies at a time, packed like sardines in the van.  It wasn’t very far, I told them and they all loaded and travelled well.  Even Tiddles who can be unhelpful.

Pepper, of course, came too and was a most welcome and helpful companion.  Such a good girl. So proud.

This is the nice grassy bit and the ponies have a herd of Shetland cows as neighbours, which they were slightly interested in.

I am exhausted now. To bed early with hot chocolate I think, purely for its healing properties.

Every morning, without fail, I drag three buckets over to Clothie, the five acre field, where the Minions, Fivla and Vitamin are currently living.

They know I’m coming. They wait by the gate, playing with their bowls, bickering gently between themselves.

I put the six rubber bowls out properly (ie not stacked close to each other) and put a dollop of food in each bowl, while distributing a proper bucket each to Fivla and Vitamin.

Vitamin has her’s by the gate as she mugs me when I arrive, which is a good sign. I like to think that she is feeling much, much better and happily alive.  This is her purpose.

There is sharing, which is nice …..

And then there is arguing.

I think Waffle won that round.

Except for Newt, because no one in their right mind would share with Newt.

He would probably eat them.

My job is to stand by Fivla while she eats as slowly as she possibly can, savouring every mouthful.

Albie knows Fivla is a potential soft touch, so he gulps down his breakfast and then comes over to try and get Fivla’s.

Full marks for trying, Albie.

From both sides too.  Of course, I didn’t let him.  Fivla deserves her own bucket at her own speed (though I will admit to putting less in so I won’t have to stand there guarding her all morning).

Every morning I do this and every morning its always the same – saying no to Albie.

Last night the clocks went backwards which possibly makes it the worst day of the year for all my animals.

Bibble, this morning when he considered I was almost an hour late with his breakfast bucket.  A little known fact – a chap could starve to death in 30 acres of long grass.  At least he had a nice smile and he asked nicely.

So, this afternoon, as I always do, I went to my shed to make Sheeple, only for the nagging to start at about half past two.  Tea is served at 4, Sir.  Yes, that’s 4 o’clock my time, not your’s.

The nagging became less subtle as the minutes ticked by.

And then there was the face.  By now I started to feel slightly nervous.

Meanwhile, behind me there were other pleadings going on too.

This time it was “The Lifted Paw of Actual Starvation” that was employed.

Pepper did try her best to get my attention.

So, with no joy, she went and beat up Ted instead which she knew was guaranteed to annoy me when he made a silly fuss about it.

For good measure, Ted worked the room too.

I broke at 3.30 p.m. as a compromise and to save myself.

(↓ ↓ this afternoon at not-even half past three – Winter is coming or has already arrived and got its feet under the table).

Scattald – n – the common pasture ground allocated to crofters in Orkney and Shetland for use as grazing.

Our croft is surrounded by scattald.  The hill sheep live there. I needed to get half a bucket of crumbly peat earth for my Venus Flytrap plants so taking bucket and trowel, I went for a walk.

It wasn’t very far to go but it was a bit of a steep climb.

The views were rewarding.

Stourborough Hill is in the distance along with a few treacherous bogs too.  I know this because Haakon and I have fallen in them on occasion.  Possibly not our best ride, to be honest.

I wanted peat as this is the poorest type of earth around.

Local folk have been cutting peat here for millenia.  I was told that they used to bring their ponies carrying large baskets either side to carry them back home too. They would walk in a long string there and back.  I don’t know where they found such well-behaved Shetland ponies.  I wouldn’t trust mine to the end of the track and back!

Anyway, I only needed half a bucket.

It is for my three Venus Flytraps that have been flowering all summer. They have turned to seed now.

I am going to experiment – ie, plant the seeds and see what happens.

I bought these three flytraps last Spring and I am very impressed with how hard they have worked keeping the houseflies down.  They never stop eating.

So that’s the plan. I might look at a YouTube video just to check I am doing it vaguely correctly.  Like most things in this house, it will either work or it won’t.

My evening started fairly well – the normal routine – after writing the blog, I go into the kitchen, put on the gas fire if the kitchen is cold and Pepper likes to come too.  My shadow. So I folded up one of Ted’s bed blankets and laid it on the cold concrete floor for Pepper to sit on while enjoying the fire.

Well, that was the plan only Monster got there first (you do have to be quick in this house – snooze and you lose).  He’d nipped in while Pepper was thinking about her new bed.

And Pepper knew the bed was genuinely meant for her.  Monster had no intention of budging.

So I shifted Monster (carefully) down a bit making some room for Pepper.

Of course, Pepper understood that I had done this just for her and she nervously perched on the edge of the blanket trying to be polite and look appreciative at the same time.  But I could tell she was apprehensive of my plan.

I went back to trying to prepare supper and ignored them.  It wasn’t long before Pepper decided that it was better to let sleeping cats lie.

But she knew I knew and that Monster definitely knew.

Eventually Monster got bored of having to share – it’s not his special skill – and Pepper got the bed and the fire all to herself.

Like I said, you’ve got to be quick in our house.