This is our first daffodil flower that has come out despite the awful weather doing its very best to flatten everything yesterday.  My heart lifted when I saw it whilst lugging three buckets for the horses.

There are other signs of spring too around so hopefully we are on our way out of winter soon.

It’s been a long haul but the lighter mornings and evenings help hugely with my mood.  Who knows, one day we might see some sunshine.

Haakon had a bit of a sit and a sleep this morning.  I think the bad weather takes a lot out of them.

The old ladies were glad to be outside too.  By their request, they had been indoors for much longer than usual yesterday, fed up with the constant wind and rain.

I poo-picked the field, which I had’t managed to get to before, and saw Newt was around.

Still resembling a woolly mammoth then.  He is very cute but terrifically evil these days, backing into his container companions and kicking them when I put the food out.  We have had words.

The weather has been beyond horrible today.  I have no words because I have no dry clothes, and have been battered, with bits of feed-shed door frame falling on my head.  Everything revved up after breakfast so at least we managed to get sheep, ponies and horses fed and out, for a little bit.

I asked the sheep if they wanted to go out into a field and they did for an hour or so.  As the weather was deteriorating, I opened the gate and they all rushed back into their shed, where I had put out some haynets.

I was feeling very frazzled by now.  Battling with the elements takes it out of you.

So I found a dry feed-sack, put it on the bedding and sat down to gather my thoughts and get my breath back.

Little Maggie was very keen for me to talk to her so, as it was non-optional, we had a long chat.

Lambie, of course, refused to acknowledge my presence.

Lucky I have Maggie then.  She refused to leave my side.

And Madge almost, so very almost came to say hello.  But she didn’t because that would’ve been a step too far in her book.

A grotty day.   Windy and then the rain arrived.  We are all wet and miserable now.  Meh!

My morning started feeding everyone. It hadn’t started raining yet and I was sitting on the step when I took this photo waiting for Kolka to come around the corner on the hunt for Iacs’ bucket.

She duly appeared and, as he had already finished his breakfast, I let her clean the bucket.

Iacs was not impressed by this arrangement but ,as Haakon had arrived late to his bucket (mucking around trying to get me to bring it down to him – no chance, you have four perfectly good legs), he wasn’t as fast at finishing his food.

I stood between everyone and Haakon protecting him from the circling vultures – Pepper doesn’t count as she is just on clearing up duty.

Then a quick breakfast for myself and I drove off to Turriefield to do some planting.  Lettuces today.  Bloomin’ small fiddly seeds.

Once planted, we took them down to the polytunnels and I thinned out the coriander and dill.  I know this because they tasted delicious!

Home, lunch and then into my shed (trying to avoid eye contact with any ponies – ok, it is raining and very windy (F10) but it is warm so stay outside, please) – and I made another sheep to add to my collection to eventually go to town.

I am now back in from putting the ponies inside, feeding, etc.  Soaking wet too.  Double meh!

When I was six, my father remarried a lovely lady who already had four children, a farm and two ponies!

I already knew how to ride (regular lessons) and now I could ride a pony when I visited my father in the school holidays.

Mr Wonderful and I adored him – a scruffy 13.2hh brown farm pony.

Mr Wonderful had two wall eyes (blue eyes), he was fat, always a mess and I adored him more than anyone else in the whole world.  My best friend.

I rode him every day, all day, as much as I possibly could. If I couldn’t ride him, I would take him for walks, sit in his field, just be with him, anything.

My mother was in hospital all summer around 1977, so we lived with my father and step-mother at the farm and I had a whole summer with “my” pony.

I think because I was riding every day, Mr Wonderful lost weight, which was quite an achievement.  By then, he was old, had arthritis, yearly laminitis (and lived in a calf shed all summer) and I would give him a sachet of bute before I rode him out.

When he died, I was away at school and no one dared tell me.  I had never known such instant  pain and loneliness when I found out.

Mum never met Mr Wonderful. He belonged to my step-mother but she asked an equine artist to paint him for me for a Christmas present using some of my photos.  I remember Mum at first refusing to give me the picture, saying she was embarrassed and no pony could be this ugly. When I did get it, I burst into tears and said that it was perfect and exactly what he looked like!

I have never forgotten Mr Wonderful.

It’s not the weather for anything today and also I have sciatica.

So, I will be brief mostly because I didn’t take many photos, haven’t taken any painkillers and I don’t have much to say, for a change.

Two strays turned up last night at the front door.

Monster looking rather Monster-ish.

Feeding ponies in a “moderate gale”.  Buckets were flying.

And asking Fivla if she wanted to go to bed this afternoon.  Note the sudden burst of speed at the end!

(So I’m off to find some painkillers for my sciatica.  I am not feeling much love for anything or anyone today – sorry).