Here we are, at long last, introducing….

Sóley from Thordale

Out of Hetja frá Skeiðháholti (IS2002287901)
By Taktur frá Velli II (IS2009180242)

Colour: Chestnut with a blaze (Rauðblesótt) or maybe red dun – we shall see.

Sóley means meadow buttercup or sunflower in Icelandic and she most definitely is a little yellow flower.

There are also quite a few Sóley’s registered in WorldFengur so I think we are fairly safe with this name and it will be accepted.

Sóley the Foalie!

We all love her very much (and she is beginning to show a toof – I saw it today).

Lilja remains Sóley’s greatest fan.

They spend most of their day together.

I saw them both sleeping in a heap at Hetja’s feet this morning which was beyond delicious.

Surely Hetja knows these are her two daughters.

So there we are.  Finally a name and we think it is the perfect name for such a lovely addition to our herd.

What I am looking forward to most (in maybe a few year’s time) is lining up Hetja with Sóley and Hjalti – they will be three peas in the pod.  Mum with son and daughter.  Lilja be in a different family photo.

I have a feeling, though, Moonpie will be Sóley’s nickname.

And Sóley will be her posh Sunday name which we will call her when she’s done some heinous crime.

Sóley the Foalie.  Awwww

❤️🌼❤️🌼❤️

We needed a muzzle urgently for Brá.  What with pregnancy and losing her foal, she is even fatter than she already was.  I mean seriously fat.  The kind of fat that leads only to laminitis and disaster.

So I asked around for recommendations and ordered a Shires grazing muzzle. It arrived yesterday in the post.

Knowing Brá is a bit “donkey on the edge”, we tried it on and fitted it to Iacs first.  He was very happy to oblige and thought nothing of sticking his nose in a bucket!

So I went and caught Brá – she trusts me.  With Floss occupying Miss Lilja, Daisy and I attempted to introduce Brá quietly to the muzzle.  She said she was having none of it and threatened to rear, getting quickly into a panic about it all.  But we persevered talking calmly, not letting her have A Thing, showing her what we wanted, fed her a few carrots in it and we gently put the muzzle on and fitted it.

We showed Brá she could eat with this new contraption on and then we left her to it.

My main hope was that being an Icelandic horse, Brá‘s brain would kick in and the panic would leave and she would soon settle down to working out how best to put up with the situation.

I went back every couple of hours with some tiny carrot sticks so I could get near and checked everything was in place and that, more importantly, Brá had worked out how to eat and drink with the muzzle on.

Lilja is, as ever, very supportive!

I keep telling Brá that we have to do this.

The muzzle is the only answer.  I would hate to move her from her herd considering the mental state she is in over the loss of her foal.  The herd is all she has and I can’t take her away from them, restrict their grazing or keep her by herself.

So this is, hopefully, the answer.

Today was a day in the town. Despite being “Cruise-Ship Friday” (a day without parking), I needed to go in and deliver my Heart❤️Felt sheep to Jamieson’s Knitwear shop on Commercial Street.

The street was buzzing and there were visitors about.  Always good to see.

I dropped Floss off at her appointment and went on to herd my latest flock into their new field.

Both types (woolly and curly) sheep are a huge success and any spare minute through the day will find me making more sheep.  I try to make at least one and a half sheep a day to keep up with demand.  Hopefully when the tourist season dies down, I can keep making and create a bit of a stockpile at home so there is less of a rush.

These are Jamieson’s shop windows based on the poem “Shetland Gairden” by Vagaland.  I think it is a beautiful and inspired idea to match their immense wool range with the colours of Shetland’s wild flowers.

The weather sadly deteriorated through the day but we found a nice spot for lunch (fish and chips sat in the car) while being watched by a scrounging seagull.

And now we are home with our messages done and friends caught up with.  You always meet someone you know on the Street.  I also managed to deliver my Minion leaflets to various strategic tourist information spots so I feel we have achieved.

Lambie is pleased I am home.

🌸🐝🌷🐝 🌺🐝🌼
Oh yes, sadly Buzzy Bee 🐝 died last night.
Rest in peace among the flowers little Buzzy.
I am sorry we could not help you.
🌸🐝🌷🐝 🌺🐝🌼

It has been raining all last night and all today.  Everyone is very wet but it is warm so I am not worried.

I popped into Clothie where the girls live to have a little chat.  Yesterday from a distance I noticed Hetja is letting Lilja talk to Moonpie for the first time.

There are strict Rules which Lilja knows she has to follow – you can almost hear Hetja telling Lilja in this photo!

Little Moonpie, although soggy from the constant rain, is absolutely fine.

She is also utterly delicious.

She was desperate to talk to me but……

In the end her curiousity got the better of her and she came over as long as I promised to stay very still.

Lilja is intrigued and enchanted by her sister too.

They are very alike in character.

Lilja wants to tell Moonpie her Rules, Moonpie pretends to listen and then completely ignores them.

One rule is that only Lilja can talk to me.

Moonpie agreed and then marched up leaving Lilja behind.

I am totally in smitten and adore Lilja even more for wanting to get to know her little sister.

I think these two are going to be inseparable.

Meanwhile Buzzy Bee is trying hard to commit suicide.  We found Bee upside down this morning and have transferred him/her to a clear Perspex lidded box (also known as the cheese grater) and he lives near the cooker trying to warm up.  He is still very dopey but drying out a bit now having been drenched from his night-time acrobatics.

The daily Minion check with a friend found me a Shetland bumblebee – well really a non-buzzy more comatose, bee.  So I picked it up off the ledge, emptied out the Minion donation cash float tin kept in the car and placed “Buzzy” in and we drove carefully home.  Sort of like a Bee Ambulance.

Poor little thing was barely moving, let alone buzzing.  Daisy did a quick internet search and found we needed first aid in the form of sugar and water.  I felt more like dunking Buzzy into a sticky mess. There were few signs of life.  The odd leg twitch.

But slowly Buzzy became more animated whilst we read all there is to know about Bumblebee first aid.  We transferred Buzzy, with the aid of various kitchen utensils (I mean what kind of spoon do you use for bumblebee movement – what is the acceptable etiquette here?), to a flowery type sauce for better dippage and drinkage.

Today I learned a lot about rescuing bumblebees and I hope we have done right by our little invalid who now is having a quiet moment in a box in the kitchen while I write this.

This film shows little Buzzy drinking the sugar water and then the second part shows it after transfer to the saucer – the breathing is normal (I checked).

So we shall see if Buzzy survives. I do hope so. I love bumblebees and this one obviously needed saving.