Round Two of a little known game “Who Gets the Bucket First”.

Fivla put on a sudden and unexpected burst of speed and claimed her breakfast.  No one, and I mean no one, gets in the way of this little Shetland mare and her brekkie!  If she had elbows, she would’ve used them.

I love the light this time of year.

Summer is leaving us (or possibly has already left) and everyone is making the most of any sunshine that appears, however infrequent.  The wind is still northerly and still very bitter.  Nowadays it is feeling more like winter.

Lambie is busy dithering about food.  He has always had a strange relationship with anything edible. There are rules – food cannot be eaten directly off the floor (except for grass).  If food gets dropped onto the floor, forget it or hide it and produce it at a later date when he’s forgotten this occurred!

Lambie has to have an armed guard (me) or eat in his private dining room (read stable).  He hates being hassled.  He also has to be told that he likes new food because he always asks if he would like it while he sniffs suspiciously at it.

Today’s new experience in cuisine was soaked sugar beet which I serve up for Edna’s second breakfast and something that Bert, Ster and Maggie have also rather taken to.  Bert cleans the bucket. The others get a small bowl.

Apparently, after much thinking (I use that term in its loosest sense), Lambie decided he loves it too so now he’s on 2nd breakfasts as well.

*** sigh ***

Track life, so far, is going well.  No break-outs yet.  What happened this time last year is my constant dread.

I spend my days looking out of the windows counting ponies on the track just to check they are still there.

The weather was fairly rough this morning – F8, north-westerly (bitter) with occasional rain/drizzle – but everyone still got fed.  It is non-optional, apparently.

When I saw Gussie trying to get Fivla’s bucket, I thought to myself “good luck with that!”  Obviously he got nothing.

Once finished, feeling possibly shocked at the thought of sharing food, Fivla retired to her “bedroom” (read wee shed) with Vitamin who was busy with the salt-lick that is kept in there.

In the other field, the Shetland ponies had also taken to their container after breakfast.

They usually all pile into one, depending on what direction the wind is.

Albie and Silver didn’t go inside preferring to use the walls as their shelter.  Different strokes, I guess.

Pepper and I took to my shed for most of the day – to make two sheep.  A certain small dog was not feeling well (again). She is very into hunting at the moment – bunnies and hedgehogs.  Luckily, she got her appetite back in time for supper.

Later, as the sun appeared, we all left our sheds  – me to poo-pick and get some exercise in the late afternoon.

Even Monster came with us, which made a nice change.  He hasn’t accompanied us for ages.  Perhaps he too had had enough of being indoors.

This is the final rush before Wool Week starts at the end of this month – the 28th, I have just found out.

So every spare minute I have is spent in my shed (‘scuse the mess) making sheep to sell at Jamieson’s Knitwear, Commercial Street, Lerwick.

My daily routine has changed and it is full speed ahead – I make what I can in the morning, finish it after lunch and then start another, keeping going until 9pm.  I can usually make two sheep (more and I go boggly-eyed) a day as there are always other things to do as well like animals to feed, the track to poo-pick, meals to cook, etc.

After Wool Week, I can then slow down a bit and concentrate on the commissions that I haven’t done (I feel very bad about them) and even possibly get my Great Great Aunt Kate’s diaries out of her little suitcase to transcribe.  I am just in the process of putting up 1944 (which is very grim) and I have been picking away at them all summer at odd times.  I feel bad about this project too.  I really want to finish it properly.  Only 18 more diaries to go …..

An interesting day that started with the weather piling in bigly time.  Wind and horizontal rain.

All the sheep refused to go into any field and the dogs never had their walk as I couldn’t get them outside for long enough.

Still, I did have a fabulous Winning Smile from my best boy.

And ‘Bert was, as ever, enchanting.  Such a dear chap.

And then in the afternoon, I went to Turriefield to weigh, pack and label veg.

Apparently this is a Convolvulus Hawk-moth – an annual, rare migrant to Shetland from southern Europe, appearing most years in the autumn with a large wingspan of over 10 cm. This “spectacular” species is a powerful flyer with a distinctive grey and brown marked body and is attracted to lights, though it cannot overwinter in the UK. It’s a regular annual migrant to the UK, with Shetland being one of the northernmost points it reaches.

Sadly, it got to Shetland and died but still what an amazing example.  it was huge.

And then out of nowhere (well, probably in the mint laid out drying for tea), a beautiful Red Admiral arrived.  After I had taken a few photos, it was taken outside to flutter away.

So, an interesting day for me.  The weather has calmed down and all the sheep have gone out now and found a field.  The dogs are none the worst for their day of rest.  It will probably do Pepper’s some good too.

While we were packing veg this morning, someone asked how I write the blog.

I replied that I take photos during my day of things that look appealing, upload them to my computer, take the ones I like the most and then write the dialogue to go with them.

So here goes……

The light this morning was dramatic while the horses and ponies ate their breakfast.

I went inside for my breakfast and to gather the troops for a dog walk before going over to pack veg.

By now the sun was shining and the sky was blue.  It was a lovely autumnal Shtland morning.  Storms are forecast, though.

Dear fat Vitamin looking very solid.  Long may she keep the weight on this winter.

I have decided that the old ladies will winter out in this big field, where the grass is just the right length for their teeth and they have the wee shed to take shelter in if required. The Icelandics will live in a different field as it can get a bit snug/close in the wee shed when everyone wants to pile in.

Of course, I will get the ponies inside properly the minute the weather is deemed revolting but I honestly think the more the old ladies can walk around outside, the better it is for them.

The Icelandics will spend their winter in various fields with shelter full of long grass that I have been saving.

I haven’t dare tell Fivla my winter plans.  She is also obese and I am hopeful winter weather will get some of that fat off.

Homeward bound and we were met by Monster.

He was pleased to see Pepper.

And I took this photo to send to Daisy and Flossie – I like to think I made their day.