More snow fell last night and the ground is now solid, ie frozen.  The Shetland ponies mind this very much. They stop walking, and get very depressed.  The ice builds up in and around their hooves. They don’t want to move, preferring to stand around waiting for food and even fogetting to drink …… and then colic.

So I opened the gate.

And they went to join the old men in their field because it is much softer (old grass) there.  Better for their feet.

The boys didn’t need asking twice and were instantly much happier.  The water has frozen in all the outside taps, so we took buckets of warm water to everyone too making sure they all had a good drink.  There is also a running stream at the bottom of the field.

Later on, after feeding the old ladies and checking Silver and Newt in Leradale, Floss and I went out with carrots.  An instant popularity contest win!

It was so nice to see them happier. They are all managing very well doing what they do best – digging for the grass.

Just seeing their little faces made me realise I had made the right choice for them today.  It makes much more sense and a happy pony is one that eats and drinks.

They can all stay together during the freeze.

I woke first thing to see this waiting for me.  Snow.  Ok, a smattering, but still snow and it was icey underfoot.

As a treat, I gave everyone a carrot.  The little ones had a small one each.

They were very happy. Tiddles was behind me, munching.  The Shetlands have nothing to eat but soaked hay and fibre-block.  There is nothing in their field, absolutely nothing.  The farrier said he wanted them on the equivalent of “the moon” and this field is just this now.

Meanwhile, next door, the big ones – aka Haakon, Klaengur and Iacs – have everything. The grass is very long.

But they still liked the idea of the carrots I had brought them.

They got the huge carrots (always some in the bag).

One each.

Klaengur looked like he was smoking a cigar!

This afternoon, I was in my shed making a sheep out of Harrel-the-Barrel (body) and Maggie (the fleecey bit).  Their wool is a nice combination.  Maggie’s wool has turned out well too.

So we are keeping busy.  Snow always does that.  Everything takes twice as long.

The weather has been driech today. Totally meh and I was the one taking the dogs for their daily walk so they accompanied me to Leradale when I went over to feed the ponies.

There was barely any light and I could see the last of the hail that arrived last night. It woke me up as it was so noisy.

I walked up the hill and suddenly realised I was all by myself. My two dog companions had left me and were busy at the bottom of the hill, hunting.

You have to be fast to see Pepper. She vanishes usually taking Ted with her. She is a very bad influence.

I walked back down the hill to find both dogs playing in a ditch together like muddy little guttersnipes!

So not the best dog walk today. I cut it short. I am not walking miles by myself while the “kids” run away to play in the dirt!

First thing this morning, Monster surprised us all with his presence.  While we were busy feeding hens, ducks, ponies, horses and sheep, he was busy yowling about the mud and getting his legs dirty.

Yup, a dirty Monster. A rare sight.

There is someone or something living under the feed shed….. Monster and Pepper hunt as a pair.  A pair of what’s, I am not sure, though.

Note how Monster is perched on a rock minimising his nearness to mud.

He entertained himself by biffing Pepper with his paw from his hideout in the shed or, as Monster likes to call it, the world’s biggest cat litter tray!

Back outside, chores done and we are all on our way indoors for our breakfast.  It’s our turn.

For a brief moment, Monster thought about attacking an ignorant Ted.  This was just before he did that sideways hoppity thing that makes us all laugh.

Ted didnt have a clue what was going on in Monster’s head. Probably just as well.

So Monster pretended to stalk Ted instead.

A few photos of Waffle for you.

Mostly a sweetie.

Enigmatic.

Sometimes think he’s a stallion, so can be a bit of a berk.

Easy to work with but has his moments.

Always handsome.

Huggable.

Lovable, when it suits or he wants something.

Still, he is our Waffle and is ten years old this year (I was shocked when I typed that!)