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.

The winter nights are beginning to draw in now and some days we get impressive skies.  Today is not one of them (it is dreich and windy), but from a few days back.

Sunrise from my window (probably the same day)

And a sunset from when I went out to put the ducks and hens to bed for the night.  Superb.

Because it is getting darker, my daily routine has reverted back to my winter one.

Animals are fed and watered in the morning.  Then, after lunch, I make a sheeple ready for next year’s buyers. No one wants them now, which I find a bit depressing, but I shall keep on stabbing away all winter ready for next year’s rush.

I have also re-visited my Great Great Aunt Kate’s diaries, which I am busy transcribing. I do this after supper for a couple of hours.

I have now reached 1933 and Kate is 54 years old.  I would be lying if I said her life was a riot of excitement (she is currently holidaying in Champfèr, St Moritz on a ski-ing trip with friends) and I keep thinking they have no idea what is waiting for them just around the corner – World War 2.  My grandmother, who is 24 (Kate’s neice) has passed her shorthand diploma with 92% while my grandfather occasionally visits the family too. He is an old family friend.

I am trying hard not to think “this time last week”, because although I had the best time and loved every minute south, bar the travelling home bit, I have lots to keep me busy here.

We’ve had a lovely few days this week, weather-wise, so OH and I have been outside working. Him on the windows and me in the garden, digging up my tatties and seeing if we have any Jerusalem (f)artichokes for Christmas and I think we just might, but don’t quote me.  It’s still a long time until Christmas.

So, of course, everyone else has been outside too.

I would like to say that these two are the best of friends…… sometimes…. but Monster just can’t resist being the elephant, sorry, element, of surprise.

Pepper was undeterred and Monster said he was sorry, sort of.

And even copped a pervy sniff for good measure.  He is such a wierdo.

Apparently they’re the best of friends, you see, ……

…. who can have their Abba moments too.

Later on, I wandered over to check on the Minions.  I was taking this photo of Storm who was wearing his best behaviour face when I noticed what was going on behind him…..

Pepper was talking to these three, and I’m not going to write “wise monkeys” because they’re not.  (L-R) – Silver, Newt and Waffle.

I love how Pepper does her best to get along.

Newt, of course, is Pepper’s favourite pony friend – he is seldom mean to her. Just everyone else.

And Waffle looking at something.

I love days like this with everyone getting along.   Mostly rare.

Well, that old adage “you learn something new every day” is certainly true of me today.

I popped over to my friends to photograph more little goldcrests just because I adore these funny little birds and soon they will all fly away.

It took a while for me to get my birding eye in and I do, in fact, have many photos of empty branches….

…. blurry small unhelpful birds…..

…. and ones flying away.  No one ever stands still, they’re always on the go and very difficult to photograph.

But always comical.

Fact #1 I-didn’t-know – they have gold tinted feathers too.  I thought it was just the crest on the top of their head that was gold.

They have talons/curved claws that look very sharp and efficient for holding onto things.

Little round fluffy bottoms – oof!

And they like to think they are in disguise.  Yer, right. No one can see you.

During my search, I also saw this chap, who totally caught my attention.  I had absolutely no idea what it was, though.

According to my extremely useful bird book, it is a British Coal Tit (Periparus ater britannicus).

And, Fact #2 I-didn’t-know – according to my book, it is a vagrant in Shetland, which I thought sounded very disparaging.

Apparently “a vagrant” is not “a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging.” but, in the bird world, it is “a species that is currently outside their wintering and breeding area.” Poor little blighter – I guess it was blown in by the storm.

And, if I have given out wrong information, please let me know.  I am new to this birding lark (see what I did there, geddit?)