Another lovely ride on Iacs this morning with Daisy on Efstur.

Then out on Klængur (who appeared to be on a cocktail of hallucinatory drugs combined with adrenaline – I got off and walked home humming “Brave Sir Robin” to myself) with Daisy onTaktur.   Taktur remained his usual calm self while Klængur’s brain spontaneously combusted. Daisy and I have no idea what was going on.

After a quick lunch, and it was quite late for me, I went to check on the girls, Hetja and Brá (the Minions had been done earlier) who live in a good hill-park a few miles away.

I even climbed a bit of the hill, to give Brá her carrot.  There was a good view of Sandness looking over to Papa Stour with Eshaness in the distance.

Both ladies are very well and very happy.  This is a perfect field for them.

I had been told of some long-tailed ducks who had taken up residence nearby so I drove down to the beach, hoping to see them.

No luck, but I saw a Great Northern Diver from a great distance.

A guillemot in it’s winter plumage

and a shag a bit closer.

(and yes, I had to ask an expert to identify the birds for me! – I hadn’t a clue.)

I will return to look for the long-tailed ducks another day.  I quite like the idea of them and they  are rather smart from other folk’s photos.

Long Tailed Ducks © Richard Riley

And as for Klængur, the weather is turning now after some beautiful calm days, so he can have a rest and think about things. Maybe he will calm down.  Let’s hope so. He was very “high”.

An emergency dash to town (Lerwick) today as we had run out of hay and obviously needed more.  Unluckily it was a Bank Holiday so everything was shut, but luckily I thought to phone the hay supplier first to see a) if he was open and b) if he had any hay.  Huzzah – 7 bales left which I quickly nabbed.

To collect my bales, I had to be in town by 12.00, so I jumped into the van, said a quick prayer to the God of batteries and cold-starting, and off I went.

Phew!  I got there safely, collected my hay and then went on to the Street to see what shops were open.

Unsurprisingly none bar the Bank (deposited a cheque), the Post Office (sent off my thank-you letters) and one Chemist.

So, that was me.  Add a quick run around Tescos for emergency wafer thin dog ham (for the lunchtime tablets) and to grab any bargains (none I wanted) and I wended my way swiftly home before the the roads became icy.

(two swans standing on a rock – I should’ve taken my big camera, I know)

BeAnne had been waiting for my return so I took her for a walk in the hill.  Lots of ice.  Better in the hill than on the roads, though.

It was a lovely clear and calm Shetland winter’s day – just perfect for going for a ride, or two.

With me on Iacs, and Daisy on Efstur, we went out.

Our usual route. Efstur went very nicely and Daisy wants him to feel confident and have all the basics down before we change the route.

One of Efstur’s speshul skills is to halt when asked. Brakes are so important, possibly vital.

When they stopped, Efstur would get a small piece of carrot as a reward, which Iacs quickly homed in on and put in his request too!

I think we look like the horses in the Bayeux Tapestry!

With our ride completely, and everyone told they were good boys, we were about to walk home…..

… when Iacs spied something in the distance coming towards us.

Iacs: “I wonder if there are biscuits on board!”

This was a good opportunity for Efstur to meet the unusual.

Daisy told him it was all fine and he took it all in his stride even sniffing a small wellie boot!

This was my view on the way home from checking the Minions.  Not bad, eh?!

I am fed up of going over to Leradale to check the Minions, only to find them lurking at the gate, waiting, always waiting.  I think it’s all they ever do. Just stand there.  Their field is 50 acres.  They have forgotten.

Flossie gave Fivla her TurmerAid (reason: stiff old lady in winter and aids digestion – remember your LAMBIE10 discount code (10%) if you’re ordering).

Storm and Newt had a bit of a falling out.

Once the TurmerAid was finished, Flossie along with her magical bag of carrots, walked off down the hill…..

This is the power of a bag of carrots!

I was at the back pushing along any stragglers, if needed.

Maybe it’s a black Shetland pony thing – Vitamin and Waffle stopped to consider their options.

Floss had now reached the bottom of the valley and was over the deep stream that runs through the field.

A good jump from Vitamin.

While Waffle preferred to stroll over.

This is a girl on a mission.

I had allocated two pieces of carrot per pony.

And Floss carefully distributed.

Then, having finished her 2 pieces of carrot, Fivla suddenly turned away and started trotting up the steep hill behind her.

Where Fivla goes Albie follows.

And soon they were all on the move.

And that was the last we saw of the herd. Good old Fivla. The TurmerAid had worked its magic and she had taken everyone far away up the hill.

As Floss and I walked back over the stream, and up the hill on the other side to our car, a lovely rainbow appeared as it also started to rain.

Luckily we were just in time and didn’t get soaked.

This is who greets me most mornings (‘Bert was behind the house – don’t worry, he gets his fair share of everything. He is just too cool to look as desperate as this lot).

Edna has certainly perfected The Look.

While Lambie uses his Winning Smile.

This afternoon, when I went into my She-shed, I was followed.

I said he could come in, if he wanted, if he could behave himself and if he would be nice.  Some days this is rather a big deal for Lambie.

So he mooched about a bit.

Had a small altercation with the tablecloth.

He said he thought he could agree to my Terms and we had a few precious Muzzah/Lambie speshul moments, which was lovely.

And then he nodded off while enjoying Classic FM’s animal playlist.

Lambie’s a funny boy. He has issues, which he thoroughly enjoys. Me less so when he is a mood and this time of year there is a funny smell of pee standing beside me!