I have been feeling a bit grotty since the day before yesterday.  I thought I had a cold but no, I have tested positive for Covid.  It never occurred to me it could be Covid.

But life goes on and so does feeding the horses….

And then the ponies…..

… plus some nose kisseys – that did me the world of good.

“There be curative powers in them their noseys.”

Having walked the dogs at Leradale – which involves me standing there while the dogs all run around madly….

…. I took the sofa with a duvet and a cat to watch Malory Towers (thoroughly recommend) and then a few episodes of a new Chinese fantasy drama (my secret indulgence).

Lambie was apparently very concerned.  This is his Get Well Soon, Muzzah smile.

I am drinking lots of Hibiscus tea with honey.  I think it is helping.

While I went to feed Vitamin and, yes, now Fivla (just a small something with her TurmerAid as winter is coming), I dropped OH with Pepper and Ted at the beach first.

Once the ponies were fed and checked, I joined the dogwalk afterwards.  Ted was on a lead as he tends to have “who-am-I-and-what-am-I-doing-here” meltdowns in strange places causing him to run off in search of the nearest motorway or lorry to run under.

Pepper was wild and free but with her doorbell collar.  An invaluable piece of kit for a small terrier with the listening-skills of someone who has no intention of hearing, let alone bothering.

I was interested watching Pepper’s thoughts about the sea.

Ted was having none of the nasty wet stuff near him.  Gosh, no!

On the beach, I saw a small/young gooseneck barnacle which is quite rare for me – only the second time I have seen them.  I think they are gross and look like aliens. Apparently in Spain they eat them. Good luck with that.  No thanks.

We pretty much had the beach to ourselves and Pepper ran up and down, though I think she found the pebbles hard on her paws.  There were some sandy bits.  Pepper is more used to grass or stone walls on her dogwalks.

And then there was the paddling.  I had never seen Pepper do this.

OH tried wading in, as he had wellies and I didn’t, and Pepper thought this was a great game.

And, still, Ted was having none of it.  That nasty water stuff was not getting anywhere near him.  No way.

I saw a jellyfish too.  A good day for weird things on the beach, including us then.

Today in the morning sunshine I noticed that my two resident Icelandic horses had changed…..

….. into Przewalski’s horses!

“Stockily built, smaller, and shorter than its domesticated relatives.”

“They have a dun coat with pangaré features and often have dark primitive markings.” – Wikipedia

Ok, neither Haakon or Iacs don’t particularly have the pangaré markings (“a coat trait found in some horses that features pale hair around the eyes and muzzle and underside of the body”), but in every other aspect they look very prehistoric!

Maybe it’s because Haakon has lost his forelock to something or someone – I have no idea.  I think he rubs it off when it is a calm but midgy day.

He used to have a pretty forelock too.  Oh well, the black fur surrounded ears are still stunning.

Iacs has the stripes – on his legs like a zebra – which are very apparent when he is in his summer dresses.

Anywho, these two were mooching around when I was in their field with my camera.  Dear old men. Still gorgeous.

The wind has eased. It is still cold but Fivla and Vitamin are not really settled with me so this morning I loaded them into the horse-van and drove them back to their herd.

Instantly there was a change in them all.

Eyes were brighter, everyone has a purpose and they just become the little close herd that they all want to be.

Some of the boys started to play (Silver and Waffle)

And then there was the rolling too.

Albie made a bee-line for Fivla, his surrogate Mum.

The two cousins, Storm and Newt, attacked a salt lick together.

I can’t put my finger on it but the whole herd vibe just changed into instantly “normal” – well, as normal as this lot can ever be.

Albie missed Fivla the most.  He can’t really function without her.  She took on the roll of looking after him when no one else would.  He lost his mother at a very early age and never recovered until he met Fivla.  She has showed him how to be like the others.

Anyway, I will see how we go. That’s all I can do – watch the weather, and try to find ways to keep the weight on Vitamin.  This is not going to be easy.  I might try a rug again……

I am not popular.  The ladies are still complaining so, as the wind is dropping now, I will drive them back to their herd tomorrow. Just don’t say I didn’t try.

Anywho, this morning, armed with six large carrots I went to check on the Minions.

I took my big camera as I wanted to take some nice wind-in-their-manes photos.

If they weren’t sticking their tongues out or making weird faces, the Minions looked like hairy hippos.

I got a few nice photos but nothing special. Just eating and more eating.

Thank you, Tiddles.

Oh, Albie.

Yup, hippos.

And then there was this so I gave up and went home…..

…happy in the knowledge that everyone is very fatty, fat, fat!

I refuse to lie awake at night listening to the pouring rain and howling wind thinking they are all melting or even suffering.  Shiver off that fat, lads!  You are all hippos.