This morning, I was feeling a little better (though, if this cough continues, I think a visit to the doctor may be on the cards) so I climbed out of my pit and have been pottering round the house all day.

After lunch, I went outside to see how everyone was getting on.

We have a bit of snow, apparently more than anywhere else.  Why us? Are we a special catchment area?

The boys are doing fine.

They all look well-fed and content.

Those that need their rugs, have them.  The rest don’t.  Fat and furry.

It was lovely to see everyone, if cold, which made me cough more.

It was obvious that the girls and OH had been working very hard.  Snow makes every task twice as difficult and long.

The sheeple, as ever, were about.

They have, as well as daily hard feed, unlimited silage rations which ‘Ster mostly wears about his person.

Lambie was pleased to see his BeAnne (his mini-Muzzah).

I had a long chat with Puzzah who I think genuinely missed me not being around.

The sheep are good at tidying up the silage that falls out of the fishboxes.  In this weather, everyone is fed twice a day, so a good cleaning-up crew is useful.  I hate waste.

BeAnne loves snow but, having been stuck to my duvet this past week, she has missed out this winter.

And then it clouded over and started to snow again.

So me and my camera went indoors and I took photos from the shelter of the back door.

It was nice to be outside for a change.  Still ruddy coughing, though.

The Minions have not been forgotten.

They argue with each other behind the fence in their huge field and the girls go and visit them every day.

Daisy, who is in charge of the feeding, decided they could have some silage while the snow lies and huge bales are carried down to the potentially “starving”.

However, there is still some grass sticking out from under the snow which the ponies could find if they wanted.  Or they could even dig.  They are Shetland ponies and therefore very resourceful.

But their greatest resource is their charm and Silver was in a very good mood, according to Flossie – taker of the photos.

He came up for a chat and smiled sweetly, working that field like a pro!  Of course many carrots will have been distributed too.

One day soon, hopefully, I will be able to leave my pit and go and see everyone.  The snow is melting now and I am missing all my little chaps.  BeAnne has yet to leave my side.

Daisy, Flossie and my OH are doing all the chores while I dwell in my pit not being able to help even slightly.

They have dutifully gone over to Leradale, sometimes twice a day, to make sure everyone has silage and, more importantly, water.  Their water supply has frozen solid in this weather and water is a must.

Every day the family have lugged haynets full of silage and containers full of water and I know it is very hard work.

There is also the hardfeed to give to Brá and two foals as well.

It is all received gratefully.

And Hetja gets to wash up.

It is a token gesture really as she is also a heffalump or a good do-er, as we say in the trade.

Or fat, as we say in real life – yes, we do!

I love Dreki in this photo!

Without my family, none of this would be possible. They are being wonderful.

Photos by Flossie, by request

The day before I took to my pit, when I was feeling absolutely fine and not coughing my guts up, Bjørn, our trainer, popped round to give Daisy a riding lesson and then offered to take look at Efstur.  It is always to have a second opinion and to know whether I am on the right track or not.

Efstur is a sweetie.  Very easy to work with.  Not a mean bone anywhere.  Just sunshine, smiles and lots of willingness.

First, Bjørn asked me to stand him up.  This is a show thing and one I am not particularly good at.

Efstur has been my best friend all winter so he didn’t really understand when I wanted him to look less interested in me and more of a superhero.

Yes, I know his headcollar is way to big for him but it is not really serving a purpose so it doesn’t matter.

We worked on this standing smartly special skill.

And sort of managed after a while.

Then we loosed Efstur and asked him to move around the indoor school and show us his natural gaits. There was trot, walk and a lovely tölt appeared.  All very nice.

Efstur from Thordale is two years old this January.  He is still a colt. His castration is undecided and, as he gets on very well with Taktur, then he can stay a colt for a while longer and hopefully benefit from the stallion muscle development.  He is also has a BLUP (Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) of 114 and is 5 gaited.

There is a good description of BLUP here

This is Daddy.

Sire: IS2002187662 – Álfur frá Selfossi

Dam: IS2002287901 – Brá frá Reykjavík

Whatever the future holds for Efstur, I am sure it will be exciting. He is such a nice chap.

This is the view from bedroom today. The snow has arrived, which doesn’t seem too bad but the windchill is horrid – minus 9 celsius.

Today has not been brilliant.   I can live with all the other symptoms except for the interminable headaches which make me miserable.  The coughing is not much fun either.

I am lucky, though, everyone is pitching in with the animals. The girls my OH have gone out all day distributing extra silage and making sure water is available.  I know the animals are in capable hands, which is a huge help and relief.  I don’t have to worry.