I made an effort this year and planted out pansies in all the Belfast sinks.

I learned my lesson from a few years’ back that the only flower I can actually grow sucessfully are pansies. Everything else hates me and promptly dies, including all herbs.  I proved this theory by managing to kill two thyme plants within a week of planting them.  Even mint hates me.

OH is really in charge of the garden. This is his domain so I can credit him totally with these gorgeous pink lilies which this time of year usually get caught in a good gale and end up being cut down to come into the house so we can appreciate their glory.  This year, they are surviving in the garden. 

OH also built himself a rockery and has been keenly tending to this adding more plants every time he goes into town.

And when I was on my spring plant buying spree, I bought five strawberry plants, that swiftly vanished and were taken over by some rogue potato plants that I had no idea existed.  So tatties instead of strawberries, which is not what I anticipated.

Meanwhile, in the world of duckling, these two are still surviving, which is pretty miraculous.

Mum is her usual cowbag self so I am quick with the food and water changes just in case she makes good on her threats.

I am sorely tempted to let the little family out but a) the ducklings are still edible and b) I don’t trust anyone so I won’t for the time being, until the little ones are a bit bigger and less defenseless.

I laughed out loud when I saw who was greeting me at the field gate this morning.

You have to hand it to Gussie, no one gets in the way of his breakfast.  Unlike the others, he has no fear of the horses or ponies.  Food is his motivator.

Ditto everyone else.

It was a very midgey day – bitey little bar stewards.  When I went outside I was suddenly attacked by sharp tiny needles.  It was screamingly awful.  So I went back inside, to find my invaluable mosquito net for protection.

Lambie particularly hates this weather. He goes into a complete decline and just wants out so he can find the highest spot on the hill that might have some wind.  I let him out and he ran off never looking back.

Later, I came back from packing veg to find that Lambie had moved nearer the house again, so I shouted over to him that he could come home if he wanted.  There was now a slight breeze so the midges had gone and he seemed much happier about life.

He pottered back.

Like a good boy.  Lambie knows the drill and he asked to go in with the others in their field.

Poo-picking and I found Tiddles, as usual, by himself.  I wonder why he’s not interested in the new long grass.  He seems perfectly content to eat the very short, almost invisible stuff.  The others are the same.  They are not very keen to eat it either.  Not obsessed, like usual.  I brought them all up last night and put them in their paddock so they could have some time off from the grass.  I might do the same tonight, if I can persuade them again.

This is the muddy bit that I was talking about yesterday.  It may not look much but believe me when I say it is about 3 foot deep and very bouncy. I know this because I stuck my stick in it,  right down until I hit bedrock.

So, after feeding everyone their breakfast, I shut the Shetland ponies in their paddock and took my trusty fencing kit out to the boggy bit.

I pulled the electric fence back from it’s original track first to create a lay-by for the ponies to use instead.

And then I fenced off the boggy bit so no one will be able to walk over it.

Then I switched the electric fence energiser on full blast and went back up the hill to let the ponies out of their paddock.

I told Waffle what I had done and how I expected him to make sure everyone behaved themselves in the new bit.

This was last year’s slippery slope – when I refenced a boggy bit and they all escaped…… and it then went so horribly wrong.

(but this time, OH strimmed under the new fenced off bit so there will be no part of the fence not zapping away on full blast).

It took the chaps a while to work out what I had done.  They didn’t get to the new bit until the afternoon.

And it was interesting to watch who ate where.  Tiddles ate some grass and then wandered away.

The others were the same eventually.

Although this grass is deep, there isn’t actually much lush stuff.

It is mostly the finer hill type with tons of flowers etc too.

So, please God no laminitis and no escaping.  Please.

I have absolutely nothing to say about today because absolutely nothing has happened (which is how I like my day to be, if I am honest).

I made a quick trip to town to get some essential supplies and to fill up my shop field with sheep.

A large boat was in – Viking Vela (998 passengers) – and the town was fairly busy with folk wandering around.

I came home and went straight into my shed to make more hand-felted sheep.  This is a never-ending project.  The weather was very muggy, windy and headachey.  There was a threat of a thunderstorm coming our way but I think it has given up.  I hope so.

Later, poo-picking, I checked on the boys who are all fine, so they tell me, but there is a very boggy bit at the top of their track which needs to be avoided. Tomorrow, I will keep them in their wee paddock while I make a diversionary track around it for them.

I don’t want to lose anyone in a bog.  That would be awful.  Ask Tiddles.  It happened to him in 2016 – https://myshetland.co.uk/omg-tiddles/

A day I never want repeated.

I think I have a new friend.

Last evening, when I was getting the sheep to bed, I saw this little chap (?) sitting on a rock very close to me.  He was very close and didn’t seem to want to fly away, just kept coming back to me, a few feet away.

Girl or boy?  What do you think?  And is it this year’s fledgling or an older adult.

And then I saw him (he will be a he unless proven otherwise) again this morning, sitting next to me on a gate.  I think it is the same bird and, again, not scared of me and was just around while I was doing stuff.  Most strange.

I just pray others don’t take advantage of wee bird’s apparent tameness and obviously I now need a name for him.

They both have form on the bird front and I would be sad if they succeeded.

I’ve not had a proper bird friend. At the moment, I am mostly just sworn at.