En famille we went to catch Fivla and Vitamin to take them home and get them ready for Friday.  It’s a long well-thought out process. You can’t hurry natural beauty, you know.

The girls know the drill.

And finally home.

We had everything ready.

Water had been heating up all morning.  We also kept a kettle on the go too.

And so to work.

We decided to only wash the bits that will not be covered by the Fair Isle sweaters.  It is the wrong time to be washing ponies and not fair to take all the natural grease out of their coats with winter on the horizon.  We not fans of washing at the best of times.

Vitamin was getting stroppy about not being near her best friend.

So I tied her up to the van where she then quickly settled down.

Next up, it was Vitamin’s turn.

She also makes a good shelf!

Vitamin was easier as she was not as obviously filthy as Fivla.  White is a bad colour to be.

Once done, we put the ladies in the stable, gave them some hard feed to cheer them up and left them to keep warm.

They will be dry hopefully by tomorrow and then they can go out into a little garden/paddock to eat and stay clean.

Fivla’s legs are always black.  She was pure black when I got her and is slowly turning white.  Just some bits are still black.  I will have another go at her tail tomorrow.

Fivla, 19 years ago!  Amazing, isn’t it?

Snapped this morning….. two peas in a pod.

I know they’re fabulous, but it’s not all about the Minions and the ladies-what-wore-the-sweaters.

Sometimes it is about the others as well.

So today, three lovely Wool Weeker Ladies came to visit us for the day and I duly introduced them to everyone, even Lambie (who behaved appallingly and refused his Cheesey Wotsits – oh, the shame).

I proudly showed off my Icelandic horses as well as my idiot Shetland ponies.

If I had to make a decision, I would say that  I think I was most proud of my Icelandic horses.

They had good manners and behaved impeccably.  Especially Lilja – she was wonderful.

Storm, on the other hoof, was embarrassing.  He tried to unravel my visitor’s hand-woven scarf and was obssessed with it.  We had words!

It is always good to get a phone call (01595 809 432) asking if folk can visit the Shetland ponies, especially if I haven’t already had their daily check.

Today I introduced the little herd to four ladies who are in Shetland for 2019 Wool Week.

Newt, Vitamin, Tiddles and Fivla were in the top field happily munching away.

And I introduced the visitors to each pony telling them their story and character.

Newt is getting very good at posing.  Maybe it’s his new talent – being nice.  Who knew?

Poor visitors.  It became swiftly apparent that the other four ponies were not going to come up to talk so I asked if anyone minded clambering over a low fence to meet Albie, Waffle, Silver and Storm.

Of course they didn’t and it was well worth the effort.  Albie was especially thrilled to meet folk.

I even managed to leave the visitors photographing the chaps while I tied up a gate that needed to remain close – (*** cough *** leave it alone Storm, please!)

And then we went back into the first field for more photos of Newt, who everyone wanted to take home of course.  He would happily fit into anyone’s suitcase.

28″ of pure gorgeousness.  Why wouldn’t you?  No trouble at all, he promises.

And, by the way, so you know, Vitamin’s still got it.  Even as an old lady (25 yo), she is still beautiful.

So that was my afternoon.  Showing visitors to Shetland my little world and my little ponies.  Never a chore, always a pleasure.  I quickly did a headcount before I left just in case Newt had been smuggled out of the field.

Today our Shetland ladies, Fivla and Vitamin, tried their Fair Isle sweaters on.  It’s been a while but it had to be done as they are on show at the end of the week for Fair Isle Friday at the Shetland Museum.  They had originally worn them six years ago in 2013 for the Visit Scotland advertising campaign..

We cleaned off any obvious dirt (I had stood them in the stream first to wash the mud off their legs).

First we tried on Fivla’s red Fair Isle sweater.  It had been knitted for her.  Other’s might have worn it but it was her very own sweater.

Then it was Vitamin’s turn. Her’s was the brown Fair Isle sweater.  Vitamin remembered the procedure and had her usual little “talk”.  I love her for this.  She has always done it.

It was pretty clear that the sweaters were much smaller than they once were.  I think they have been washed a few times and shrunk quite considerably since we last saw them.

The Minions watched in their field. Their eyes were on stalks.  Albie was green with jealousy.  He could just see himself in his very own sweater.

We undressed the girls and put them back into the field, happy in the knowledge that the sweaters would be fine for Fivla and Vitamin’s return to the limelight.

Next everyone needed a good brush and tails were trimmed too in case we have any Wool Week visitors.

Now the sweaters are currently hanging up drying in my kitchen.  We seem to have gone back in time.