At the moment, all I am good for now is walking.

I am determined to keep walking for as long as I can and for as much as I can and if anyone wants to come along, then off we go!

Today’s walking buddies were BeAnne….

Lambie and ‘Ster (‘Bert is with his lady-friends – he appears occasionally and then returns to them)…..

And Haakon, my 24 year old Icelandic horse.

We all set off together but it was early stages.

Lambie and ‘Ster were quickly diverted by the charms of the hill sheep and vanished. They will probably come home tomorrow looking for their breakfast.

We left them to their friends and continued onwards.

On the home track no one needs a lead.

But once on the road, then everyone’s safety is paramount.

Haakon wanted occasional food breaks.

But mostly we all walked nicely together.

Haakon stopped to look at the locals.

And we had one moment when it all went a bit wrong.

But we trundled along as a happy little team.

On the way home, there was another rather determined snack stop.

Walking with Haakon is always easy.  Since he was a youngster, when I led him, he has always gently touched my hand with his nose every so often just to tell me he is there.  It is very sweet and good to know.

We needed to go to Lerwick today.  Daisy was my chauffeur.

I limped around with my camera.

(can you see the cat on the street?)

It was lovely to see the street looking so busy.

There were two enormous cruise ships berthed in Lerwick harbour and everyone appeared to have disembarked to enjoy the sights of the town.

As well as the cruise ships, there were some beautiful boats in.  I was very drawn to Albertine, a superbly restored Norwegian wooden boat built in 1939 and had a chat with her owner.  I tried to sound like someone who knew a little about boats.  I hope I was convincing.

Two dive boats, MV Valkyrie and MV Valhalla, were over from Orkney.

Plus many other visiting boats.

It was like being in the Mediterranean!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, everyone is fine and pleased to see us.

Daisy and I briefly popped by for our daily check-up.

We couldn’t stay long because we were due at work packing veg for Transition Turrifield.

I felt bad. I haven’t seen my little ones for a while but I will go back and sit with them another day.  It is a bit difficult because I can’t drive now.

I think they have many visitors as they were hanging around the gate looking hopeful at any passing traffic!

Things are not good. I can barely walk now.

I am climbing the walls with pain when I lie down, my left leg feels like it has been encased in mud and when I walk, then suddenly it all threatens to give way and I can’t move which is very scary.

I have a Doctor’s appointment on Friday to discuss this. I don’t know what to do.  Worsened spinal stenosis, I think.

Anywho, enough of me.  I am beginning to bore myself.

Meanwhile, Miss BeAnne is happy.

She is playing a lot which is lovely to see.

I found a secret stash of her squeaky bally balls which have all her attention.  She is back to eating properly and lying through her teeth so everyone feeds her something.  Seven gravy bones today and counting!

Sorry, crap blog.

The vet phoned this morning to ask if they could change the day for Efstur’s planned castration to today as they had a visiting student who could help.

So, thinking of preserving my back, we quickly changed our plans and agreed.

The girls caught the three boys who always “travel together”.

Obviously Efstur is a lovely boy but he is not destined to be a stallion.  He will make a much better gelding.

The pre-med went in.  Efstur went wobbly.

And then down, with a sheet over his head to protect his eyes.

Daisy was multi-tasking – kneeling on Efstur’s neck while holding the rope on his leg too.  From the sidelines, Hjalti was offered encouragement.

Castration is obviously a spectator sport.

The operation was quick and after the important bit done, the vet left us to it.

Eventually Efstur woke up and was a sensible gelding.

Instead of thrashing about, he sat for ages gathering his thoughts.

Dreki and Hjalti looked on in a supportive way.

Hjalti even nodded off with his nose on the gate!

Eventually, with a huge sigh, Efstur stood up.

We put down shavings, a little haylage and a bucket of water and we left Efstur to recover.  Hjalti and Dreki were in the bigger stable with food and water too.

A few hours later, the three boys are all in the small paddock where there’s loads of uneaten grass.

I think it all went very smoothly.  So a different day to what we expected but I am glad it is done.

The good news is that since I publicly declared I would probably sell “Wee Nook”, Monster has taken to his man cave.

I secretly knew he would.

Meanwhile outside, the rain it keeps raining for a few more hours and you can feel the ground breathing a huge sigh of happiness and relief.

Hopefully the grass will grow properly now.

The garden is trying again after the thrashing it got from a devastating storm (we were south at the British Championships) a few weeks ago.

That cheers up my OH who loves his garden, even if the sheep and I are evicted.

I crept round it this afternoon in the rain with my camera taking these photos getting wet.

Today, I have been prescribed, and started, buprenorphine transdermal patches for my spinal pain.  This is a whole new ball game and I hope, at last, I have found something that works with my body and therefore my endless miserable pain.  I will admit I have been struggling these past few weeks and it is all getting a bit much.

So everything crossed, meanwhile onwards and upwards.  Once the rain has stopped I will go for a walk.  I must keep as mobile as possible.  That is really the only way forwards for me.

I will go back to riding in a few weeks if at all possible.