A few years back, I bought a little camera……

…. and I’ve really tried to like it. I honestly did.

But I don’t.

Having said that, looking at these photos, I am not so sure.

Recently I have been taking this camera everywhere with me.

Some photos are better than others, I will admit.

And some are very meh!

I just don’t know.  One of the reasons is that I need to sit down and read plus understand the whole manual (snore Zzzzzz….. I have a very limited attention span – think goldfish).

And another reason, I am sure, is that this camera is very exact with its settings and I am used to my iPhone to think for me, or my big Darth Vader Canon camera which has a brain all of its own. I am a lazy photographer, I know that.

No poop. This is lovely.

My iPhone does this!

And this…… (which is slightly worrying)

….. or this.  So now I need to think.  I may be a while.  It will be me reading the ruddy manual.

On the rare days the wind doesn’t blow in Shetland, the midges have to come out.

The horses and ponies are used to it – they groom each other and swish their tails, sometimes walking endlessly to get away from them.

Today I didn’t seem as affected as them, so I went out with my big camera and took a few snaps of the old ladies.

I tried not to take too many body shots for obvious reasons.  Though, I am thrilled Vitamin is back to a good weight (it only took over two years), Fivla suddenly ballooned overnight and turned into a wee heifer.

The Icelandic horses had all come down too from their field. I think they wanted to get out of the long grass, where the midges especially thrive.

They were resting and itching.

And has anyone seen Haakon’s forelock?  Happily Iacs’ silly-frilly is still there.

The sheep were very fed up of the midges too.

Poor Madge. The boys had decamped to the hill in search of a little breeze. I won’t let the girls leave the premises just in case.

Note-to-self – I must go out more with my big camera.

Mrs Duckies #1 and #2 are now outside during the day.

Mr Ducky, the father of all the ducklings, is spending his days alternating between both families.  He seems calm about all his children and I keep a close eye.

I was worried that the Mrs Duckies, who are probably sisters, would hate each other now they have bebbies.

So seeing them sort-of together was heart-warming.

Anyway, I am hopeful they will sort themselves out because they have to. I’m not doing individual houses. Nope.

I think we have two boys and one girl.

And another girl.

Plus the other three with their Mum – it is early days for them and another whose eggs are tapping…… and Penthisilea.

I’m always going on about my morning chores (ie feeding, watering, etc) but every evening I have chores too.  I do these after making a sheeple after supper.  I like to go to bed knowing every has everything they need and they are safe and well. I worry otherwise.

The 12 hours on and 12 hours off the grass routine is working well.  I put the little boys to bed in their wee paddock along with two haynets (soaked) and last night I had brought home a special treat, a present from Turriefield, where I work on a Thursday afternoon – a huge bag of bolted celery!

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

I kissed them all goodnight and shut the gate on them knowing they were very happy. By this morning not one celery stalk or leaf was left!

The bigger old folk must have heard the happy celery crunching and came down to investigate.  The evening light was particularly special.

I told them they probably hadn’t the teeth for celery stalks and I don’t want to upset the fragile eco-system that is Iacs and Haakon’s digestion.

Anyway, they always get a lovely breakfast in my colour-coded buckets so suck it up princesses!

The little face of a thief – Pepper steals the carrots Kolka drops!

In the evening I like the sheep to come home too. They spend the day a field of their choice.  During the summer months I don’t know where they like to sleep. I suspect Lambie definitely takes himself to bed.  He is a creature of habit and has always gone to bed at 10pm.

The ducks and ducklings are all put to bed in the individual bedrooms/nurseries. Mrs Ducky #2 and her lone duckling are now out and about too. And, yes, I say good-night to each and every one! (I may need to get out more).

Today is a Monster blog day, so you know.

Here he is sitting on our postbox – the one OH had to make and position outwith our property as Ted came with an ASBO (anti-social behaviour order) from the English police for biting my mother’s postman!

Yes, Ted! Oh, the shame.

So, after rearranging bits of my electric fence, obviously with assistance from everyone furry, I took the dogs for a walk around the fields.

The grass is very high now and Monster, who insisted on coming too, often looked like he was swimming his way through.

But he struggled on doing his best to keep up.

The great white panther hunts…..

When we reached the stream, I sat on a tussock and waited.

Monster even got his little paddy-paws wet.

He didn’t complain about it. Just walked about going where he wanted.

This was the homeward stretch and Monster was walking up a steep hill.

Finally home, and a rest.

Later, this afternoon, I saw the ducklings were checking him out too.  I was making another duck-run as I heard tapping on Mrs Ducky #4.  Exciting times ahead, again.

Do I trust Monster not to eat the ducklings?  I think now this lot are bigger, I probably do and Mum is still very protective.