This afternoon was all mine, so I left these two lovebirds to go for a drive.

I wanted to see (and photograph) the newly arrived hill lambs.

This little cutie patootie made me smile.

I love everyone’s different colouring.

I was being thoroughly investigated too!

This is the Shetland hill, which is common grazing for crofters.  It is also known as the scattald.

Foula in the distance – about 20 miles west. Somewhere in that sea is the remains of R.M.S. Oceanic, a transatlantic ocean liner built for the White Star Line (same as the Titanic) in 1899.  She ran aground in 1914 on the Shaalds (3 miles east of Foula) when patrolling the waters from the North Scottish mainland to the Faroes on behalf of the Royal Navy (WW1). Wrecked in flat calm and clear weather but, one month later, she vanished altogether in a huge storm.  The Oceanic’s history is fascinating.

Apart from little lambs appearing, this is also the time of year when folk are casting their peats.

Peat is cut, or cast, with a special Shetland spade called a tushkar and laid on the heather to dry.  Once hardened a little, it is “raised” into small pyramids or walls (depending on the cutter) so that the wind can dry them better.

Then the peats are bagged up and taken home to burn to keep the house warm or for cooking on.  It has a lovely and very special smell when it is burning.

In the far distance, I saw this enormous bird on a rock. I think it is a cormorant.  It was too far away to get a clear photo.

Spring in Shetland is lovely – so much going on after the harsh winter, and the days are getting lighter and longer too.

When I arrived home, I popped in for a quick chat with Harry. He ate my camera!  The wee fatty eats everything these days.

Just shout and Maggie….

…. and little Harry come running!

A friend visited this afternoon – Shetland is in Level 1 – and I introduced her to our latest arrivals.

The team.

Maggie is very keen on food and of course these genes have been passed on to her sprog.

They both jostle and push to get the food.  It’s not pretty.

But then Maggie remembers she is a mother and if Harry is eating proper food, she can wean him faster!

Harry is looking very rotund these days.

He is very sweet but not really into people much. I demand a daily hug and kiss (the top of his head).  He quite likes that.  We are all wondering whether horns will sprout.

Maggie is a good Mum though she hates nursing and only lets Harry nurse when she says so and not if he demands.

They followed me back to the house and Harry decided he wanted to go to bed.

And so off he took himself.

However, Harry loves his bedroom.  The warmth of the straw and the protection from the weather.

He looked wistfully at his little bed.  Just perfect for a snuggling in.

And then Maggie told him to come with her.  Not asked, told and he reluctantly went back to her.  He wanted to go to bed so much but it was only 5 o’clock and a bit early.

If he ignores her and takes up residence, Maggie goes storming in and pushes him back out into the field to be a sheep. I think I am with Harry on this. There is nothing nicer than a snuggly warm bed.

I took these photos yesterday after Daisy said “Mum, quick, look in the paddock – Haakon and Lilja are grooming each other”.  We had brought them all in for the farrier, even though it has been tense these past few days so this was a major breakthrough.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Sóley was trying to attract Iacs’ attention.

“Good luck with that” we all said.

Iacs was shocked at the mere suggestion of anything “sexual” (please say this in a creepy voice!)

But I must admit, Sóley was fairly insistent.  Full marks for pushiness.

She had fallen in lerve…. again, good luck with that!

But Iacs was having none of it.

He tried his hardest to ignore Sóley’s “come hither” looks.

He ignored her, preferring grass to anything else.  Poor Sóley, she was very disappointed.  Walking backwards into Iacs achieved nothing.

Meanwhile, Haakon and Lilja were busy booking a room!

At least this lot are settled and happy.

Farrier day today – we had a few.  First up were the girls, Lilja and Sóley who were ok, not brilliant, but it was their first time in the shed for a few years and also first time using the hoof stand.

Sóley learned how to be tied up and behave.  Always a useful skill.

Then it was Taktur and, while Kappi was being shod, I drove over to check on the Minions and give Fivla her TurmerAid.

Back home, I found it was Klængur ‘s turn. He has been off work with shoes off too due to a “brushing” injury.  It has healed well (and now it has grown down a bit, we can see the damage – poor boy).

I led my boy back to his field where he met Harry for the first time – Harry and Maggie were in a separate paddock as I don’t trust the young boys (Dreki and Efstur) with a small lamb.

Maggie had been complaining all day about her incarceration so I gave in and they had some lunch to make up for their grotty day.

Harry met a chicken.

(note the food on his nosey!)

Meanwhile, our farrier, Stephen Gardiner, was shoeing Efstur.

Harry has just learned independence, much to Maggie’s horror.

He ignores her pleading to follow her and investigates everything.

He is a determined little chap.

Last up was a trim for Dreki.

So that’s everyone shod or trimmed who needed it.  A good job well done and now I will be back in the saddle.  Yay!

It was  “One of Those Days” today.

They say trouble comes in threes

• I managed to leave my Bank card at home – you know when you see yourself putting your essential Bank card in your handbag but actually it just falls onto the sofa without you realising and you set off happy in the knowledge you have it (or not!)  I limped along all day with an old credit card.
• I lost my Tesco clubcard – I saw it briefly at the chip shop as it dropped onto the floor, picked it up and then immediately vanished never to be seen again
• I threw away fish and chip lunch leftovers (thinking they were just my empty paper wrapping) which Floss had saved to take home for the cat – I hate waste. There is always someone who will eat leftover food.

I spent the day perhaps not in the best of humours.

Town was not busy.

It was Wednesday, many shops don’t open and it is also half-day closing for some of the other’s.

One good thing, however, I ordered myself a new camera and it should arrive in a few days (hurry, hurry – fly on the gilded wings of unicorns!) I am very excited. I have spent many recent evenings researching, asking advice, writing out lists of pros and cons of each camera and eventually made my final decision today, having talked to a Shetlander who has this model. I even got to handle it and the minute I picked it up, I knew that this could be my kind of camera.

I shopped local. These days especially, I feel it is important.

A quick visit to see my woollies in their field.

The colour of the town…..

And the colour of the country….

Exciting times ahead with a new camera!!!!