We drove to Lyradale to show some friends our Prehistoric site.

(please feel free to play Spot The BeAnne – just look for a small and sulky bottom!)

While OH was showing my visitors around Lyradale, I stayed behind for a spot of hugging and nose-kisseying.

Once I had told everyone how much I loved them, etc, I walked off to join the walkers in the far distance.

(spot the BeAnne)

Then I looked behind me to find that a certain someone had decided to leave the herd and to follow.

And, suddenly, almost everyone was following me.

I walked over two streams (burns) and kept going, determined to join the humans.

There was a rush of hooves behind me and I was overtaken.

Little fat galloping bottoms!

With Tiddles bringing up the rear.  He is not the fastest.

I stopped with our visitors to take a few prehistoric Shetland pony snaps.  Like you do!

Silver was looking magnificent.

Shetland ponies in their natural environment.  There is nothing better.

 

And then there was BeAnne!

And Loki!

My visitors and OH walked to the top of the hill.

They admired the view – you can see Delia (ancient Shetland pony mare) in the far distance having been left behind.  She was shouting her head off.

So, now what to do?  I took off my coat, for a headcollar, and wrapped it around Delia’s neck and lead her across the two streams so she could see the others and make her way over to them.

It was quite a schlep for her (poor thing, she was puffing at the long walk) but she successfully found them.

Phew!  Because I would’ve gone back later to make sure they all met up.  I hate ponies being distressed because they have lost each other.  I can’t sleep.

BeAnne went for her usual swim.

And then grumbled about having to come home in the car.

There is something very magical about Lyradale.

 

Lyra is going on a Big Adventure.

We have known for a while about her journey.  For the last few days, Vitamin (mother) and Waffle (boyfriend) have been living together with Lyra.

Once Daisy had caught Lyra, Waffle followed them down to the gate.  Vitamin was not giving up her grub for anyone.

Eventually she followed Waffle and Lyra.

We are hoping Vitamin won’t miss her daughter.

They have been parted before.

I know I said that Vitamin and Lyra would always stay together but, if I am perfectly honest, neither pony actually need each other.

In my head this makes sense.

We took Lyra into the school, brushed and cleaned her ready for her trip south to the mainland.

She loaded fine and for 15 minutes she was on her own. She didn’t care at all.

En route, we stopped and collected another Shetland pony mare destined for the ferry.

We drove to the ferry in Lerwick.

The two mares were unloaded and put into separate livestock pens.

We said our goodbyes to Lyra.  We were upset, I won’t lie, but for Lyra, she is ready to spread her equine wings and to take on the world.  She is a lovely mare with incredible bloodlines, who is wasted sitting in a field with her mother and a selection of old ladies and Minions.  We don’t do the showing or the breeding thing anymore.

When we got home, we went and caught Waffle and Vitamin who were waiting by the gate.  Now they needed their friends.

We immediately took them over to Lyradale.

They were so happy to see their friends.

I hope we have done the right thing by Lyra.  In my heart, I know we have.

We wish Lyra the best and a future that she deserves.

 

Every day I go to see my chaps and chappesses a few miles down the road.

I hate them being away from home and I need to know they are alright.

In their field, there is now muchos grass, hopefully enough until Spring next year.

Always waiting is a small little Storm.

He loves his Muzzah or is it the carrots in my pocket?

He practices his Winning Smile on me and I always fall for it because it is Storm and he will always be a Mummy’s boy.  Storm was the first one.

So I go, laden with carrots which I duly distribute.

I am followed down the field.

Everyone hopes I bring more than one carrot (there is one each).

Tiddles and Storm are the best of friends.  All is fair in love, war, carrots and Muzzah!

I have fed everyone but still Storm runs after me as I walk away.

Everyone needs a Minion.

I have stayed awayfrom Lyradale for too long.

The minute the ferry docked at Lerwick Harbour first thing on Sunday morning, we drove home, had a quick breakfast and then went out in the horsevan to move the Minions.

While I was away south, a friend had been looking to my little herd and I had been receiving regular updates,  It was becoming increasingly evident that, though rather fat, the little guys needed to be quickly relocated.  Their field consisted mostly of trodden down grass and poo.

So we moved them over to Lyradale – a large croft I bought last year.

It was two month’s early than last year (i only bought it in December).

We moved Silver, Storm, Tiddles, Fivla and Delia over to Lyradale whilst taking Lyra, Vitamin (her mother) and Waffle to another park.

The ponies may look fat but soon winter will get the weight off them.

Don’t worry about Waffle, Lyra and Vitamin – they all be reunited shortly.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Lambie has lost a horn and so is now covered in a delightful turquoise antibiotic spray.  Before, he looked like someone had stabbed him in the head – blood everywhere.

Hopefully the spray will prevent any infection from his bloody little stump.  I am sad. I was rather hoping Lambie could manage a bit more than 1/2 inch of horn but it is not to be.

Now I have finished my Oxford graduation photos, I decided I could enjoy some freedom and so I spent this afternoon showing a visitor the beauty of my Shetland.

I drove her around Shetland and while we nattered, we stopped occasionally to take photos.

I actually think Autumn is the most beautiful season in Shetland.

We all decided the best way to spend our post-graduation afternoon was to wander around The Ashmolean Museum.

I will try to describe who is who – but I may fail.  I was just mesmerised by the whole thing and didn’t really look at the details.

The marble statue of Athena.

We all went at our own speed and where we wanted, catching occasional glimpses of each other.

A beautiful garden sculpture that I could just see outside my house.

Halls and halls of beautiful antiquities.

Into the Egyptian bit now….

A pottery lion, dated to 2,325 – 2,175 BC – polished red ware.

Loving the paws.

The Shrine of Taharqa – 680 BC

Model boat – they were keen on their little boats.

Shabti – Faience shabti (glazed earthenware funerary figures) from the 21st dynasty (about 1000BC)

Canopic jars for your viscera (or sweeties, if you are my daughters who made them in Primary School!) and a sarcophagus.

Statue of the ram of Amun (and it was at this point that I headed off a sheep/animal theme).

Sobek, the crocodile god, from the pyramid temple of Amenemhat III – he was gorgeous and had a lovely smile.

Now this was fascinating.  I was totally mesmerised.

In 2011 a CT scan was made of the body of a male mummy child.  Then, on 111 glass plates, British artist, Angela Palmer, created ink drawings to represent a moving 3-D image of the boy.

Apparently the boy died of pneumonia and was aged 2 years old around 80AD.

You can read more about this project on the artist’s website.

After ancient Egypt, I headed off towards ancient Britain.

I could be wrong, very possibly, but these are the sort of artifacts of the same age, perhaps, as Lyradale.

 

I remain hopeful that we will find a few of these torcs lying casually around!

Oh, there was masses of wonderful pieces.  I wanted them all!

A carved ivory dragon seal – Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644)

Greek bronze statue of Zeus throwing an imaginery javelin.

Now someone has a sense of humour….

The sniffing bull!

Ivory sewing box.

Nandi, the bull of Shiva – he has a nice look about him.  Sort of Lambie-esque.

A muzzle for a horse.  Now who could we use that on?

The Queen’s College Boar.

Diskobolos- discus thrower – of Myron

Beautiful paintings.

Lion mane unicorns – Huh?

Now this was a favourite painting.

Lambie is the one sitting down.

‘Bert and ‘Ster on the other side (‘Ster at the front, obviously).

A small sheep definitely loved by his Muzzah! Uncanny likeness all round.

Larger sheep (probably goat) making his feelings known about being chased by dogs.

Dog walks we have known.

Horses we have also known!

A stunning Japanese vase

Oh, the treasures were endless. An ivory and metal crosier head,

The Alfred Jewel

Stunning nautilus shells.

So much stuff!  Suddenly one afternoon didn’t seem enough.

I think, of all the photos I took, this has to be my favourite picture (that, and the Lambie one in my arms, of course!)