Bright and early our visitors arrive fresh off the boat tomorrow morning. The house is immaculate and I have cooked 3 different curries and a very British cake (Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge) – Floss did the icing.

As a reward for all our efforts, and because they must be checked daily, Flossie and I went to see the ladies at Sandness for some time out and relaxation.  We deserve this.

(you could eat your bloody supper of the floor if you wanted to – please don’t)

Fivla is looking very well.

Flossie checked her for “wellness”.  Fivla is Floss’ childhood pony (ride and drive) so now in my book Fivla is what is known as an SEP – Someone Else’s Problem – Flossie’s!

Lyra is also very “well” or well-rounded.

Lyra has given up her usual Summer feral behaviour, which is always tiresome, and now embraces life and anyone who turns up.

We don’t take carrots so this is a genuine happy-to-see you hug.

The old ladies could be found a little way up the huge field.

Vitamin has put on weight since being released from her enforced diet lifestyle with Fivla.

And I think it suits her. Being on a permanent diet to accompany her best friend, Fivla, has no doubt helped Vitamin but she is allowed to put on weight in the Summer. Everyone else does.

Delia is looking wonderful.

She is an old lady and Summer makes her happy.  That is all that matters.  She walks very freely and there is no stiffness.

We are all keeping a very close eye on Fivla and her weight.

It is a fine line and I can see that.

Come the winter, Fivla will have nothing extra but the contents of her hill field at Lyradale and she will have to share it with The Minions.

It is always difficult, when you do something nasty to a foal, to work on their forgiveness.

They are so very young and such a blank canvass.

But my mot du jour is to leave them for a while with their mothers, with little human impact, to get over it.

A constant “are you ok?” from me is not going to do any good.  Just remind them of what happened – the dreaded headcollar and microchipping episode.

But for me, the best answer is to be left alone to get over it, learn from it, gain perspective about it and, best of all, move on.

Lilja is all forgiving because she loves best in her whole world to have a nose kissey and anyone’s attention.

Dreki is still thinking about it. He is that kind of chap.  Being his friend is earned, not an immediate entitlement and I can work with that.

Best of all, the foals are busy growing up being foals.  They are eating grass.

(one is a giraffe in her spare time too!)

Meanwhile, Bardy had a horrid fall – all my fault – I thought he was stronger than he was and he fell from a great height and had a terrible gluff.

After a trip yesterday to the vet, who confirmed he was bruised and possibly stunned, Bardy (LD) has been on strict cage-rest.  I feel awful but every day he is getting a little stronger and more determined to get back to where he was.

The vet said Bardy was a good weight, so that was encouraging.  This bird parenting lark is torture.  I have never worried so much.

I just pray there is no lasting damage.  My nerves just can’t take it.

We have visitors coming over from USA for their holidays.  They are popping up to see Shetland, and to meet the Minions.

So, a huge dilemma faces me.

Do I clean the house and …..

and do some cooking?

Or do I sit with everyone and forget all that?

A lick and a promise should be all my visitors need to believe we live in a filth-free environment.

Maybe I can ask them to take off their glasses/contact lenses before they come into the house.

I just can’t waste the day cleaning.

I can cook every evening but not be as prepared as I should be.  We have Pimms and prawn cocktail crisps.  They will love that and not eve notice the time passing while I cook curry!

Being the perfect host is just not me.

(I wonder if Newt has ever actually walked underneath an Icelandic horse!)

So, dilemma.

To hug or to clean?

Decisions, decisions.

Yup, you guessed it, I hugged.  Cleaning is so over-rated.  So excited, though, to see my visitors!

First off this afternoon, on my way to work, I had to check the girls in their park in Sandness – 4 miles down the road.

Everyone was pleased to see me.  This is Lyra, looking magnficent.

I am not thinking that Fivla has put on weight again.  I refuse to entertain this thought.  She is happy.

Vitamin is the same old Vitamin. Still in charge of everyone and just the bossy as ever.

Delia is looking positively shining.  She moves so freely and happily in the warm sunshine.  Summer suits this old lady.  Winter takes its toll.

After my brief check on the ladies, I went to my work at Transition Turriefield – helping to set up the veg boxes.

I took LD or Bardy, as he is now known, with me as he has bonded only with me and gets difficult with strangers trying to feed him. At the time, it seemed the easiest solution and he travels well.

Bardy spent the first few hours in a travel purse around my neck.  He was perfectly happy there and it left me with two free hands to do my work without worrying about him.

When Bardy became a bit fractious and tiresome (probably hot), I put him in a washable veg box to enjoy the breeze of the door.

He was perfectly settled and happy there.

And so we got on with what we had to do – fill the veg boxes, label and pack veg for various local shops.

I think Bardy enjoyed the trip.  He behaved beautifully and was no trouble at all. So, take your Bardy to Work Day!

Hjalti had a lesson in having his hooves trimmed and then we ran him round the indoor school and put him through his paces.

It is always good to see him move and developing.

Next up was Efstur, who is our resdient yearling giraffe at the moment.

But we forgive him, because he has a nice trot.

He also offers a very natural tölt without being asked.  So all is good. The youngsters are doing very well.

Next up was me on Haakon.

We have lost our tölt.  It has gone for a number of reasons.  Haakon is fat, unfit and hasn’t been ridden for a while.  He has also only had front shoes on for a few months, which does not help.  I have not ridden him for months due to various reasons.

Over the past few days, I have been trying my best to find Haakon’s tölt but, to be honest, I have not done very well.

So I asked Bjørn, our Level 3 FEIF instructor, for help.  Not even 20 minutes later, Bjørn had us tölting round the indoor school like old pros.

Now, we just have to remember what he asked us to do so we can practice it forever.

And then it was everyone else’s turn for lessons.

Flossie rode her horse, Klængur.

And Daisy rode Kappi.

We are very lucky (I realise this) and Bjørn was invaluable. He taught us all so much and we spent the afternoon learning. To have a Level 3 FEIF Instructor on our doorstep is wonderful.

Meanwhile, some of us just watched.

(yup, Bardy goes everywhere with his Muzzah – how easily did I fall into this trap?)