I am feeling very bad.

Edna is on the hunt for a man.  She has been shouting her head off to the hill sheep as they pass by on their regular trek trying to entice them over.

As she refused to give up, I lured her with a bucket of food, along with Madge (who was surprisingly helpful and well-behaved) into their small paddock behind the house where no ram can get them.

‘Bert came along for the ride too – this is their joint let-us-out face.

And Madge’s.

She ate the fence at me to show her disgust at being shut in.  I felt like the meanest jailer.

‘Bert and Lambie were around, outwith the field.

Lambie was his usual supportive self.

The three stayed in their field while OH and I secured the perimeter fence a bit better.

I held out for a good few hours, feeling absolutely rotten.  The heart wants what the heart wants.

Meanwhile, those on the “outside” worked their magic on me and I went out with a packet of biccies for everyone – two each.  The sheepie ration.

With chicken wire now added to the outside fence, and a fresh new 12 volt battery attached to the electric fence (zappity zap), I gave in and, as it got dark, freed them from their prison. They have promised me to behave.  We will see. If we have little lambs, then we will manage.  We always do.

The girls are home.  Daisy and I went to fetch Hetja and Brá during a brief weather window yesterday.  They have come back as the farrier is visiting this week and the field they live in (not one of mine – they are total squatters) is being re-fenced.

I can see them from my house (just, in the far distance) and I must admit I get a warm fuzzy feeling (probably from the amount of money in petrol I am saving from not having to drive over every day!)

The plan is that they will stay for a few weeks.

Here are some photos of BeAnne that I took t’other day. Ever the rock chick!

She likes to sit amongst OH’s guitars, or “kindling” as I like to call them, in the morning (part of her routine),

Lambie is on fine form.  He, along with ‘Bert and ‘Ster, go out on nice mornings onto the hill and then realise that absolutely nobody (sheep) wants to talk to them so they come home pretending this is absolutely fine. They do stick out somewhat.

I shovel biscuits in while telling them just how much their Muzzah loves them, and who needs hill sheep anyway.

They don’t need to visit the poor.

They wait for me.

All of them.

There is no escape.

They are always there.

Sometimes appearing out of nowhere.

Watching…..

Always watching.

With their spikey hair…..

And little faces.

So I fed them all a carrot, Fivla had her TurmerAid and sent them on their way!

Muchos giggling.

And shoving and pushing. Like school kids in the school corridor when the teachers aren’t watching.

And with the wind in their tails, they galloped off and left me.

But I know they are always watching….waiting.

Daisy and I “did feet” the other day – Albie and Vitamin were on that day’s list.  The others all hung around and watched, unhelpfully twanging the fence (thank you Newt), which infuriates me.

Daisy and I made a tidy job of the hooves and, after carrot distribution, I sent the herd away to get them away from my poor fence.  Loitering only causes mud and more mud.  They don’t need to stand in the same spot all day.

Waffle stopped, turn back and stared at me in disbelief – that I would actually want him to leave my side.

The wind was blowing hard now and I insisted they left.  In a silly-bill mood, they bounced off like little Shetland pony Tiggers!

And then there was Tiddles. You can see him thinking about this.

I called his name and he turned back to look at me as if to say, why wouldn’t you want a Tiddles with you at all times?

Sorry, Tiddles, no.  Run wild, run free – or in other words “go away and leave my poor fences alone!”

Après Minions, I go and check that my two (older) ladies, Hetja and Brá, are happy and healthy.  They live about 5 miles away.

Their field is enormous and Brá is, as ever, about as unhelpful as she can be.

Hetja is always on stand-by waiting for carrots.

But Brá needs her fair share too so I climbed up the hill (which was like a cliff-face and I am not good with heights) for her.

The old bat wouldn’t come to me when I asked her to.

Oh no, because I am only trying to feed her daily carrot.

Being the nice person that I am.

And therefore being totally ignored, but always being watched….

So I clambered up the steep hill, almost on my hands and knees….

And delivered the carrot.

Which she kindly ate.  Oh, well done.

And the second one because Hetja had two.

And then, knowing the ladies both absolutely fine, I scrambled down hill and drove home.

(trying very hard not to think about just how ungrateful Brá is (or how fat!)