We’ve given up on being clean let alone tidy in this house.  There really is no point. These two stop only to sleep and then it is full on again!

I just watch a blur of fur rushing past me at 100 mph, with the occasional squeak when someone goes too far. So far, things have never descended to a fight.  They are equally matched.  Pepper doesn’t give up, ever, and Ted has weight and height on his side.

Just play, play, play, play …….. (keep typing until one of us goes to sleep!)

But it is very funny to watch and I am so pleased Ted and Pepper get on this well.  Ted has been here a week and it feels right.  One of the family.

Meanwhile, it is a bit of a love-hate relationship with Monster who gives as good as he gets.  I think Ted wants to play with him like Pepper does and assumes it will be alright. It will not.  I have told him.

Monster can always leave if he wants to.  I am not concerned (I am worried, however, for the hens especially Ted got one in his mouth today – we had words).

So that’s us. It is good to be home.  So much to organise, though and it is not that easy.

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We’ve still got the snow. Last night sounded hellish but I just tell myself there are many out there that need to lose weight.  Lots of weight.

I don’t think Vitamin actually believes me when I tell her.

Even Fivla has rolls of fat and a bit of a cresty neck.

It was the warm autumn – there was a flush of green grass that has done no one any favours.

And despite their beguiling smiles, I remain tough.

One small piece of carrot is all they get.

We are not are popular as we once were and I even refused some freebie pony-sized little carrots from Turrifield (where I pack veg) as I know no one needs them.

Needing is different to wanting, I tell them.

No one would look at me. Like I said, we are not very popular anymore.

We are gently introducing the dogs to our crofting life.  Pepper, in my absence, is very comfortable with the sheep.  I think it is the fact that no runs away removes any ideas of sheep being fun to chase.  My sheep would rather sniff the dog and they genuinely liked BeAnne.

And as the sheep are comfortable with Pepper, I brought Ted into the shed too to watch his reaction and he did the same – just wandered about sniffing.

We are trying to set everyone up to succeed.  I think it produces better results.

And, so far, things are going fairly smoothly on the sheep front.  Even Maggie is being less stampie and has stopped butting.

Pepper is very fond of Harrel, though.  He is her best sheep buddy – apparently they have been known to play together.

However, we are not going to introduce anyone to the Minions for the foreseeable. They are less dog friendly and absolutely untrustworthy.

There was something odd going on when Floss and I went over to see the Minions.

Ok, Newt was fairly normal for Newt.

He just wanted to be first in the queue for the carrots. That’s normal for him.

Everyone else had very muddy noses and we didn’t know why.

And then we turned around and saw….. a mud “pond” had suddenly appeared.

There is no need for anyone to stand in mud, let alone eat it! Plenty of unmuddy food around.

Waffle walked out of his quagmire for his carrot from Floss and then walked straight back in.

He started pawing the waterlogged ground and we could see that the ponies had been digging out some water-plant’s roots which they obviously loved.  We left them to their happy muddy ways.

Meanwhile, at home, these two have played and played until they collapsed in an exhausted heap together.

Ted arrived with a large sack of toys. I brought them all with us thinking it would be good for him to have familiar things around him in an unknown environment.  One of the “toys” was this treat hiding puzzle.

So I put little cat treats (beloved by every dog I know) in and set it up – Ted walked off instantly bored.

But Pepper was intrigued.

“What is this, Mum?”

“Maybe if I just sit and look at it, all will become clear”.

“I can smell the nummies and I will get them out”.

Ted wandered in, again refusing to have a go (probably because he knew I would give him his fair share of treats without asking for the effort!)

Pepper was in her element.

And so was Ted!

They’re all doing ok. The odd hiccough – like Ted nipping down last night to steal Monster’s early morning breakfast (in a bowl with a timer on its lid).  Monster was furious and told us all about it every ten minutes from 4 am onwards!  I know it wasn’t Pepper because she spent the whole night beside me, softly snoring and I did hear the soft pad of a small dog on the stairs going off to steal.

But we can move the cat’s bowl and work around these tiresome tribulations.