Today, I bought a croft.

It is called Liradale.

It is situate about 2.5 miles away from home, Thordale.  We can ride over.

16.4 hectares (approximately 40 acres) of green meadow as well as hill pasture.  The perfect combination with good fencing.

There is a hay park.  A park is a field, in Shetland.

A little vegetable garden.  Let’s not hold our breath on that one!

And a wonderful derelict croft house.

I am totally in love with the whole place.

The house is magical.

As completed today, Daisy and I went round in the pouring rain.  Hetja and Brá will be moved there next week, once the rain storms are over.  They will stay in the green pasture until they are near term and then they will come home to foal.

Efstur will be weaned.  The time has come.

The Minions will go over to the hill a bit later on.

So, Daisy and I lugged wooden planks to block the entrance to the house.  It is not a place for horses (or small curious Shetland ponies).

The house is amazing.

I have this huge desire to live there.

This would be the best long-room.

OH wants to call this croft East Thordale but it will remain Liradale, which is perfect for obvious reasons.  It is just what we all need.  I can see myself making S’mores in my sleeping bag with Storm trying to help!  Roll on summer!

Someone said, and it has been mentioned by others, that they don’t know who everyone is when I write about them.

So I think I should have a Cast List.

The Minions

Waffle – 12 year old midi Shetland pony gelding (rescue).
A dude – easy and helpful, a total sweetheart.

Silver – 12 year old midi Shetland pony gelding (rescue).
An aloof dude but gentle and kind.

Tiddles – 11 year old miniature Shetland pony gelding (rescue)
A total sweetie.  Never a mean word.

Albie – 9 year old miniature Shetland gelding (an orphan).
Gorgeous, a darling. A Mummy’s boy who has grown up to be a little handsome chap.  He worries.

Newt – 9 year old miniature Shetland gelding (“free-to-good-home” on Facebook).
Tiny (27.5″ high), possibly a Russian spy with his Book of Revenge.  No one is safe but utterly enchanting (this is his pathetic face – it fools no one).

Other Shetlands

Vitamin (aka Vitamoobag) – 31 year old standard Shetland pony mare (retired).
Going slightly dotty in her senior years but still the boss.  She is magnificent.

Fivla – 29 year old midi Shetland pony mare (retired).
Quiet and calm, an absolute darling.  Always helpful, kind and never pushy.

The Big Horses

Haakon – 31 year old Icelandic horse gelding (retired).
My boy. My horse forever.  Gentle, kind, exciting and totally trustworthy.

iacs (aka Bibble) – 30 year old Icelandic horse gelding (retired).
Glass-half-full kind of chap.  An optimistic goldfish with the brains of a bunny rabbit.

Kolka –  30 year old Icelandic horse mare (retired).

Other Family

Lambie – 10 years old neutered Shetland sheep (fleckit).
My little soldier with a Winning Smile.  He likes classical music and marmite on toast.

‘Ster, short for Lambster – 10 year old neutered Shetland sheep (katmoget).
Mostly full of confidence but can be needy.  Has terrible separation anxiety.

‘

‘Bert, short for Lambert – an 10 year old neutered Shetland sheep (moorit).
A sensible boy who loves his carrots and his hugs.

Madge – Edna’s daughter and a Shetland/Suffolk cross. Nervous but trying very hard to be tame.  Mostly failing on that score.

Maggie – a shaela Shetland hill sheep who adopted us.  She just turned up.
Who knows how old but arrived pregnant, wild and desperate to be loved.

Harrel-the-Barrel – a 4 year old shaela Shetland neutered male
who arrived in his Mummy’s (Maggie) tummy. Spoilt, happy, pushy and very greedy.

Dahlia – another who-knows-how-old hill sheep who wanted to live here. Sholmet in colour.

Gussie Fink-Nottie (or Gussie Hot Water Bottle)
Dahlia’s lamb from last year (2024), so now 1 years old and a total sweetie.  An enchanting little boy. We luffs him.

Monster – ex-tomcat rescue around 12 years old.
Huge, strong, talkative, laid back family cat who settled in immediately.

Pepper – our little 4 year old Patterdale girl. Determined, wilful, feisty disobedient and funny.

Teddy – my mother’s dog who I promised to look after.  Ted is about 10 years old.  He is learning our ways and is very good with Pepper and getting better with Monster.  He sometimes looks like a greasy Muppet.

So, there you are and now you know xx

Funny old weather at the moment – no light but at least it is warm.

We decided to go a-Christmas visiting.

There were volunteers.

But everyone would have to be on a lead/harness as they tend to eat gardens and I couldn’t be arsed with the argument.

So we took Fivla instead.

Yup, that would be Fivla who appeared in National Geographic and many newspapers/ magazines all over the world. Yes, that would be her.

Her diet remains work-in-progress but it is working.

I also took an elf to carry the Christmas presents.  Needs must.

Everyone (animal and human) loves visiting out neighbours.  They live about 1/3 mile down the road from us and we are good friends.

You may be able to tell that Fivla has visited them often!  She knows how to behave.

Fivla has always been a very people-person.  Horses/ponies are people.  That’s how we roll in this Shire.

BeAnne instantly made herself at home.

Food was given for the effort!

And everyone participated.

BeAnne decided she wanted to stay.

As did Loki.  My animals all want to live here.  I was told that Wussums had recently been seen lurking about too.  Typical!

With the mission accomplished, we wended our way home.

At the moment, there is barely any daylight.  I am sorry for the crap photography but, to be honest, I don’t want to take my good camera out until there is not rain, wind or mud!

How we suffer!

I have been noticing, these past few days, that the fur on Newt’s head is falling out in tufts.

He is especially woolly all over but it is like he is losing his foal coat whilst getting ready for the summer as if the underneath one is coming through.

But it isn’t.  There is no coat growing underneath – just bald patches (as you can see).  This is not right.

So, feeling worried, I rang the vets and they dispensed a dose of Switch Equine (an external pour-on permethrin for lice and sweetitch).  It was difficult trying to decide on Newt’s weight so we just estimated hopefully.

While we were treating Newt, we looked for signs of “rabbit’s friends and relations”, but saw nothing moving!  However, he is very scurfy in his thick woolly mammoth winter coat.

I now feel very riffy!

Newt was a very good boy.  In a 30 acre field with helpers, he just stood there while Daisy applied the nuclear deterrent.  No headcollar, no nothing, no need.  He saw us and walked up with his little Shetland pony foal noise and his nose a-wuffling.

Obviously, there were helpers. There always are.  They are experts in everything we do.

Dear little Newt has settled in very well.  I am hoping this is just a small healthcare blip and he will be fine.  It has been unseasonably warm this winter so all sorts of revolting things may raise their ugly heads.

Newt is definitely a speshul soldier.

Yes, and so is Albie.

Yes, and so is everyone else.

Going to talk to the Minions always reminds me of Joyce Grenfell….

And Sue, we don’t want GRUMBLERS in our fairy ring, do we?  We only want smilers.
Yes David, you’re a smiler – so is Lavinia – and Peggy and Geoffrey. Yes, you’re all smilers.

The weather outside is pretty dreary but us Taylors are made of tough stuff.

As it was not actually raining, we decided to go out for a ride on our Icelandic horses.

Floss rode her horse, Klængur (pronounced Klang-gur)

Daisy rode her stallion, Taktur (Tack-tur).

And me?  I was on Haakon (Haw-kon), King of the North.

This is probably my most favourite view in the whole world.  There is nothing like it.  No other horse, ever.  I instantly feel safe and happy.

Haakon likes to always be first and the others follow along behind.  Haakon would race if anyone went past.  He likes to think he is not old and still the boss.

It was windy out so there was some mad hair going on!

On a ride out, there are not rules except for have fun and stay safe.  Everyone went along at whatever speed they wanted – turn up the sound if you want to hear the wind – it was blowing hard.

We walked.

We tölted.

Some trotted (I am so not doing that).

I didn’t have to worry once about anyone on the ride.

The horses were behaved beautifully and despite the wind blowing, it was a wonderful ride.

(I think I even saw an alien spaceship landing, though I could not be sure!).

Going out, all three of us, is rare for whatever reason but when we do, it is fun.  Great fun.

Riding out with my two daughters is my happiness and a treat.