The snow has just about all gone now. It went overnight with the rain and so we are back to our deep mud!

The Minions came up from their “snow” field for their breakfast happily now in a routine, which I would very much like them to forget.  After a bucket of nothing, I told them to clear up their last meal.

Good old Waffle saw personally to it that he did (it was a request, Waffle, not a challenge!)

The rest had eaten themselves to a standstill.

This is their last day here.  I will put the herd back to Leradale tomorrow as the snow is not coming back.

….. (she types while silently praying to the Weather Gods).

The ground is completely saturated and the mud, well, you have no idea just how much mud we have.  My jury is still out on Albie, Tiddles and Storm, however. I will decide tomorrow. They may end up staying here until the farrier appears (February, I think) and makes his verdict on their feet.  I would hate to undo all the good we have achieved.

We woke to a good few inches of snow and, while we were out feeding everyone, the power went off for the daylight part of the day, which felt like ages.

And suddenly I needed to tidy cupboards! I tidied up our larder, finding stuff I didn’t know we had, and the backdoor porch, which is where I just chuck stuff to “think about later”.  I also made “boatcake” (basically biscuits, butter and dark chocolate) and sat it on a tub of snow in the fridge hoping it would set but if it didn’t, someone would eat it anyway!

By 14.30, the light was going and the forecast is more snow. So Floss and I sallied forth to feed everyone all over again.

More piles of hay and buckets of fresh water close by.  Lots of lugging as the water has frozen in the stable but not the shed.

Kolka had her 2nd bucket of hard feed – she is very good, turns up by herself and waits.  I am feeding extra so no rugs.

All the Minions are also home as I knew snow was imminent.  They are enjoying themselves very much.

I feel sorry for them, though, because the “feathers” on their legs get very snowed up.

They don’t seem to mind and continue to annoy each other.

We’ve had some rough weather recently and I’ve been busy these past few days looking after a little sheep.

Short story long (see what I did there?) – I had a neighbourly message a few nights back about a little sheep that was on it’s own by the road.  So, when I was going over to feed my lot, I checked him out and, sure enough, there he was sitting by himself not looking good.

I went over and he did that running-away-but-falling-over-thing but I couldn’t get near him so I left him a pile of sheep food that happened about my person (ok, yes, I carry it with me because you never know).

On my way home, I found little sheep sitting beside the food, untouched.  That spoke volumes.  So I crept up with the hope of photographing his tags to identify his owner (so I could phone them and tell them) but he never moved.

What could I do?  I picked him up and put him in my car. I hate rustling sheep. Never good or approved of.

Home and I identified little sheep’s owner and I immediately contacted him. He asked me to look after him until he got to me in a few days.  Fine, absolutely no bother, I said.  The red colour on his bottom is “raddle”, a sheep marker, and not blood.

It took a few days to establish our relationship. He was not very keen on eating so I tempted him with porridge and honey/glucose, or some beet shreds and bruised oats, or fibre block, or hay, or just about anything……

Pepper was also trying her hardest to make a new friend and I was trying my hardest to keep her away.

But, no, they met (never under-estimate the tenacity of a Patterdale terrier) and, by then, Little Sheep was happy to make friends.

Today Little Sheep’s owner has taken him home, which is just what I wanted. I have done my best for him (I treated him for pneumonia) and I will wonder forever whether he will remember us.

My turn yesterday to take the dogs for a walk, so I thought I would pop over to Clothie to check out the grass situation.  Snow is forecast and I want to know my options.

There was a loud wailing and I turned around to see Monster following.  I couldn’t really miss him in the hill. He is the only animal I have that stands out.  Everyone else blends in nicely to almost total invisibility.

Clothie is a lovely field – exactly five acres and very useful.  It is situated a short walk across the scattald (open hill).

There is an old croft house which was once used as a Free Church School, possibly around the 19th century. It is mentioned in our Parish Records.

Anyway, the cat, two dogs and I all walked the perimeter fence with made a nice walk.

As Daisy would say (and I bet she does when she reads this) “aww, look at him go!”

Ted and Pepper had a fine time too.

There was hunting.

And even some sitting and thinking.

Probably best not to ask what Monster was thinking about.  He never stopped shouting, though.

As the sun rises, Floss and I are out feeding the Icelandic horses –  three oldies and one not-so-oldie (20 yo).  Floss is on guard duty and I have the carrots for afterwards. No one is allowed to steal someone else’s bucket.

The buckets are sort of colour-coded so I know who is getting what.

Pepper obviously comes too because she is a girl on a mission.

The vacuum cleaner!

We don’t encourage Ted into the field. He is not brilliant around the horses but happy enough to be where we can keep an eye on him.  He potters about knowing the rules.

Pepper is obviously very busy.

I must admit Floss and I both held our breath when we saw Pepper approach Kolka. We didn’t know how she would react so, of course, she did nothing.

Like I said, girl on a mission but easily distracted by the voices in the wall!

They talks to her!