En route from seeing my pregnant Icelandic mares I noticed in the next door field that all the black standard Shetland pony mares were fast a-bye-byes.  These are the beautiful Bergli Stud girls belonging to our trainer, Bjørn.

So, of course, being me, I climbed over the fence with my camera to take some photos as I adore seeing sleeping ponies.

I was barely noticed.

Well, no one moved – they just looked drowsily at me.

Everyone appreciates the Shetland sunshine – probably because it is such a rare occurrence this time of year.

Lovely long bottom lips of total relaxation.

Barely open eyes.

They were all very relaxed.

Meanwhile, along the road, some of my lot were enjoying the break in the weather too.

Albie and Newt were happily sitting in piles of pooh.  I dispair, I really do.

And Tiddles was “en garde” for the sleepers.  Like he would deter anyone.

Everyone happily snoozing so that’s all that mattered.  I love sleepy ponies.

I have a secret yearning for a little shed of my own.

Somewhere I can make my own workshop and not have to clear up after any project so that others can use it afterwards.  Space is a valuable commodity here.

One of the reasons my films are so short is because I only have at most a couple of hours to work in and have to clear up afterwards so that the area can be used for something else, like horses. I do find it very frustrating but am using the short time periods to learn the process of animation rather than launch into my epic film.

In the long getting-darker evenings, I peruse Pinterest looking for ideas and inspiration on how my little studio would look inside and out.

My Dream Workshop Cabin Pinterest Board

I might even put in Loki’s old enormous comfy dog bed for a certain visitor to recline in if he felt like it.

I might also have to make a cover for the bed, though, as certain folk are not 100% continent!

(yes, you Lambie)

One day I will realise this dream.  It is at the imagining and planning stage at the moment.  It will be definitely insulated, with an electric supply and wifi.  Probably wooden.

I need a shed!

I drove over to the other side of the island to drop off some horserugs for mending and afterwards I thought I would take the scenic route home and enjoy the autumnal colours.

The sea was very blue but the wind was described today as a “strong breeze”.

It is a north-westerly so there is a bit of a nip in the air.

All of a sudden Summer feels like a brief interlude.

The colours in the landscape have changed as quickly as the weather.  One day it was Summer, the next Autumn.  Too quick.

I drove past some Shetland ponies grazing in a hill park.  I quickly stopped the car and took a few pics.

They looked very at home in their natural environment.

Driving southward along the Lang Kames to “Halfway House”, there was a viscious squall coming across the hills.

And yes, we have trees in Shetland. Who knew?

This is a small copse in Kergord. I found this article on t’net, which made interesting reading.  It is about the tree management here.

I enjoyed driving around, listening to an audio book as I go, and seeing a different part of Shetland.  It was a nice peaceful way to spend an afternoon.

It was blowing a hoolie outside, with intermittent buckets of water being thrown out at us from out of the sky.  I had ridden Haakon (he is really trying hard for me), Daisy was bibbling about on Iacs and, as I was returning Haakon to his field, I suddenly decided to grab Hjalti and bring him into the school for a little training.  He was easy to catch and left the herd without looking back, despite Efstur squealing for him at the fence.

Today’s lessons consisted of the rocket science that is learning to stand quietly tied up.

Daisy continued with her bibbling.

Standing still is an essential skill to learn, so Hjalti pawed the floor for a bit, generally fidgeted while I ignored him.

Eventually I noticed Hjalti had managed to undo his rope but as he didn’t bother to do anything about it, I didn’t react or make a fuss.

And then it was Hjalti’s turn.  Daisy taught him to lead nicely.  It was more of a reminder really as Hjalti already knows the basics.

Hjalti was a good boy and did very well.  I took over and taught him “back, back” (walk backwards when asked) and “move over” (always useful).

I learned too.  Hjalti is clever.  Teach him something once and that’s it, he’s got it. This may be a good thing or more of a case of “be careful what you wish for”.

We didn’t do much and we didn’t take long. Hjalti is young and I don’t want to bore him. His  reward was a nice long roll in the sand.

So, that’s what Hjalti learned today. All useful foundation stuff.

We have just been through our first gale of the Equinox, Storm Ali.  The wind blew hard(ish) and there was lots of rain so, after battening down the hatches, putting out new candles, checking all the animals had everything they wanted, we went inside and weathered the storm.  It was noisy but not destructive.

So the upshot is that I haven’t been out taking any photos today.

At a loss for the blog, I went through some on my iPad and found the Norwegian boat, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, a three-masted barque rigged sail training ship that had berthed in Lerwick – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statsraad_Lehmkuhl.  I had popped into town last week for a meeting and ended up eating my fish and chips looking at this beautiful boat.  The light was going but she was still very beautiful sitting in her mooring.

Then of course there is Her Maj who is doing very well, having finally forgiven us for leaving her in June for the Icelandic Horse British Championships.  It has taken a while and she now eats her food and stops looking resentfully at us.

In fact, BeAnne even smiles.  I love my special little dog.  She is the other half of me and we need each other very much, though I mostly go for my daily walks on my own or accompanied by sheep.  BeAnne rarely offers to come along unless I drag her along on a lead. I think daily walking is good for both of us.  My back has certainly benefited these last few months and I am almost back to normal, even riding Haakon every day.

And lasty, Monster Chubblie.  He has chins.  ‘Nuff said.

Hopefully tomorrow will be back to normal.  Well, as normal as it gets around here!