Today I received a lovely parcel in the post from some across-the-pond friends.  The contents were wonderful and hugely appreciated by us all.

In the box were presents for all the family, including the horses (appley treats that smell like real apple), tennis balls for BeAnne and catnip fish for Monster plus muchos lovely things for the hoomans.

The box was also included in Monster’s appreciation.

This is Monster now a bit zonked out.  He is such a druggie!

I also spent the day watching hawklike the lightning threaten.  Apparently we had a huge lightning storm last night which, luckily, BeAnne missed as we have blackout blinds in our bedroom.  Both she and I were blissfully unaware until this morning when we discovered our internet down.  A good few hours on the phone to Plusnet who denied all knowledge stating everything was fine their end and could I just find another router to test the system with and so I duly up-ended the house, found one only for them to say it was actually an outage in Edinburgh!  The rest of the morning was spent putting the house back along with the spare router and yes, I grumbled.

Anywho the thunder/lightning warning has apparently been stood down for Shetland and the sky looks like this.

I have to say I am not too convinced.

My day started well. I walked over the hill to collect Haakon, Iacs and Klængur from their field as we were going for a ride or two.  I had brought headcollars and put them on the chaps.

I stupidly thought to myself “I trust these three, they know what they are doing, they will walk (as they always do) through the hill and home” and opened the gate.

But no, to a horse, they sniggered, kicked up their heels and went off into the infinite hill.  Iacs even did a happy little buck!

Daisy and I got them back with some persuasion and then went on our ride(s). *** sigh *** – Why don’t I ever learn?  There was definitely something in the air today.  They were very fast rides!

And then, after a marathon of cooking this afternoon, I decided I had earned some peace and quiet and went to sit with the sheeps.

‘Bert immediately plopped himself down beside me.

And we tooks selfies together – Bert’s such a dude.

Little Missy Madam spied me in the field and immediately came over.

She is a very inquisitive little girl.

and she likes to nibble.

Certainly one of the herd and we all adore her.

BeAnne sat behind me waiting to go back inside.  She is not a huge fan of sheep anymore ever since Edna told her what she thought of dogs. To be fair, Edna had just had Missy so was not in the best frame of mind.  BeAnne now tends to steer well clear.  Probably wise.

As you may, or may not know, I am a crap gardener but I like the idea of growing things (ditto for knitting and sewing – crap at them too).

So, today, I went with a friend to Lerwick to collect her treasured (and huge) Kaffir lime tree which she was giving me.  We took the van, gave the tree a massive prune, and drove it home.  It is now living in my she-shed as that is the hottest and sunniest place.  I am very excited – we all adore Thai curry and this is an essential ingredient.

I have decided we will eat the greens in the tray – a microleaf salad of some description and then I will concentrate on growing weird plants like ginger, galangal, ginseng and turmeric on my windowsill, possibly reclaiming the very useful table again.

This is my home-sprouted ginger just beginning to appear.  I am very proud of myself.  This is an achievement.

Outside the two courgette plants are doing their best and we might even get a courgette or two to eat which will be a gardening triumph.

I also have golden thyme kept in a prison of wire as the birds nearly ate it all.

My pink fir potatoes are a complete mystery.  Despite being planted on the same day, they come in three sizes.

Left to right – Medium, Large…..

And far right – small.  I have absolutely no idea why.

I told you I am not really a gardener.  More like someone who likes the pretty pictures on the seed packets and then wants an “instant garden”!

A friend asked if she could bring her mother over to see the Minions.

Not trusting the Minions as a herd, especially with Lilja and Sóley close by, I decided to bring Fivla out of the field for the meet and greet.

I handed out a couple of brushes and put everyone to work!

Fivla was utterly perfect. I knew she would be.  She always is.  A good, quiet and trustworthy lady.  She didn’t put a hoof wrong.

Behind the fence – and, oh, I was very glad there was a fence and they were behind it – there was some horrible behaviour going on.

I had to tell them to stop.

Shameful.

Obviously attention seeking.

Meanwhile, Fivla remained her usual perfect self.   I think the visit was a success.  It was nice to see people again.

You can tell Fivla knows she is the bestest, goodest little Shetland pony ever.  (She has her smug face on – the others do not.)

Daisy had a riding lesson today, so she packed up the van (with help).

Got her noble steed ready.

And off we drove (luckily only 15 minutes away) to an outdoor manège.

Having shown Kappi the venue (he likes to see everything first), Daisy tacked up while I watched the previous lesson end.

Daisy was having a riding lesson with Hamish Cameron, a visiting instructor who comes up from Scotland to Shetland fairly regularly.

(Hamish got me back on Haakon after spinal surgery so we rate him highly and his lessons are excellent.)

Anywho, Daisy had a good morning. She said what she wanted to achieve with Kappi and off they went.

Kappi settled and found his concentration head.

He loves a good lesson and they both got a great deal out of it.

I just stood on the sidelines and snapped away with my camera.

…. and relax and rest.

A jolly good morning for Daisy and Kappi. They both did well and worked very hard.  Thank you Hamish.