After I had sorted out all the animals, including Lambie who was determined to be in exactly the wrong place, I drove into town to find out if all the rims on the horse-van’s wheels were knackered.

It was a morning all about learning and I learned about how find out if steel rims are useless.

The magical process (which I now know) confirmed that all four of mine are completely shot.  The man at the tyre garage was incredibly helpful.

This is not my world but one I am finding out about.  So that’s it.  The four wheels on my wagon are no use.  I need new ones (of course I do. Is this not always the way of my world?), they have been ordered and might arrive next week.

Afterwards, I went to get some hay – four square bales to stuff into the back of my little car instead of one large round bale in the van.  This is what will have to happen in the future until the horse-van is mobile again.

I made a quick stop-off at Jamieson’s Knitwear to re-fill their field.

Lunch on the go (sitting in Tesco’s carpark) and then home to make another sheep.  The cruise-ship season is just starting up.  This will contribute to keeping the horse-van on the road for the hay collection.  I can see the Minions will stay on soaked hay all year.

Imagine my horror to find the probable cause of all my troubles.  I wonder if the van even has brakes now?!

I am not hopeful.

I walked the dogs today and went down to the Shetland ponies’ field to a) count fence posts as I am having wooden ones put in where I built the new track and b) see how everyone was doing.

They’re all doing fine, thank you very much for asking.

Though, I think they all look fatter but I won’t know this for sure until they are weighed.

How the ponies can be fat on virtually nothing remains a mystery to me.

I am now telling myself that all Spring grass is rocket fuel to them.  I was told this by a Shetland pony breeder whose father told her.  So any small blade of “rocket fuel” will not helping their waistlines.

Still, they can all move and spend their day listening for the slightest thing so that they can gallop up and down the hills regularly checking whether I have left some chocolate cake out for them, which I most definitely have not!

After lunch, Monster followed me to my shed, which was unusual but as OH was away, I guess he was bored and had no one else to annoy.

But annoy he did.  Monster sat exactly where I wanted to work.  It was like he knew.

He quickly made himself at home.

I was prodded, regularly.

And then Monster wanted to play the in-and-out game, which I totally refused to participate in.  I knew where that was leading.  “I am here to work” I told him, while he said he wanted to go out and then probably in and then out again, ad infinitum.  Absolutely no!

So Monster sat in the wool bags and sulked a bit.

Back again on my table, but this time I told him to SIT DOWN!

Everyone else knew what to do in my shed.

It’s not rocket science.

But apparently it is to some.

Then there was the shouting.

And then getting stuck in a place he had no need to investigate but did.

By 3.30 p.m. I had finished (I know not how) my hand-felted sheep and was ready to go into the house and got their tea early because I was fed up with the nagging.

Once done, I then escorted two ducks from the house who were looking at the porch as Real Estate!  “No, absolutely no!” I told them.  “This is not the place to lay eggs and make a nest!”  Imagine ducklings in the house.  Well, I can but I know OH wouldn’t.

Well, as I type this, that’s Flossie off on the plane going back to her home, job and life south.

It was lovely to see her and she was a huge help, as ever.

She gave my back had a well-earned rest from lugging anything heavier than a kettle.

Every job was shared so took half the time and effort which was also wonderful.

I think I can safely say we are all going to miss her.

Hopefully it won’t be long before she’s back. One word – Eurovision!

I spent my morning building a new track extension to miss out all the depressing boggy bits that appeared last year.  They really were very deep and Newt struggled to get across. I hated watching that,

Although, I had originally intended to just block access to these areas, I quickly realised that the ponies would lose a lot of grazing and it also took away the circular effect of the track.  Knowing my ponies, I also realised that the Shetland ponies would stay down in the farthest point refusing to move or come home to bed every evening.  I have watched their antics before.  To get them to come home is a lot of work and a lot of shouting.

Hence the track extension.  It took me a few hours but Pepper and I worked hard creating what I wanted et voilà!  We achieved a creditable and straight track that linked up with the far side.

Dear little Pepper was fast a-bye-byes all afternoon after “helping”. I didn’t have such a luxury and made a sheep instead.

Anywho, afterwards, I shouted for everyone to come home and surprise, surprise, they all galloped up the hill immediately which was good. They had a new piece of grazing (tis Monday after all) and I wondered if they would play silly-buggers.

Tiddles was tail-end Charlie but look at him go.  What a lovely trot.  That made me smile.  You have no idea.  When you think how he was just a few month’s back.

I’m not going to lie, but I am exhausted now.  Supper is warming up (leftovers from yesterday’s Thai banquet what Floss and I created) and I have the last of the gin too.