Flute lesson day and then on to Lerwick to do the last of our Christmas messages.

There were some beautifully Christmas decorated windows.

This is the Shetland Times Bookshop.  Excellent (ps – they sell two of my postcard books – they were published a few years back but I am still proud of them).

Just sayin’.

Shetland ponies are …..

The book is based on this film.

Flowers from Shetland

Then onto Jamieson’s Knitwear.  I love the wool ball Christmas tree.  Very clever.

As usual, there was the Christmas tree at the Market Cross.  The tree (plus another for Scalloway) are gifted, I think, to Shetland as a gesture of goodwill from Norway to commemorate the Shetland Bus – “a Shetland based boat operation to and from Norway, that took place during the Second World War (1939 – 1945).”

The Shetland Bus, by the way, is an incredible part of Shetland’s history.

Father Christmas is called Santie or Santy here (in our house, I am sorry but he is Father Christmas and always will be). So, here he is playing a guitar at High Level Music.

Charity shop are hugely popular in Shetland and do very well.  We are huge fans and many a-bargain is found.  This is the Red Cross and we always pop in to have a quick rifle through.

Living Lerwick’s ran a competition for the best town centre Christmas window display.

And this is the winner!   Ninian – “Ninian showcase exciting collections of Shetland knitwear designed by Joanna Hunter“

It was nice wandering down the street, seeing friends and stopping for a quick natter.

That is the way it is here.  You always see someone you know.

And then we all wended our way home.  The full moon was looking glorious.

So are we pregnant?

Hetja?

Brá

I think we are going to be a grandmother, if The Gods smile on us.

Can I just say that absolutely no one is getting any extra feed.  Hetja must be pregnant because if she is just fat, then she is a heffalump!

Yesterday, I moved the mothers and sons out of the mud and into a better field.  I had some reservations based on Hetja’s shape but she is feeding for two and from now on what is inside will be developing and growing.

I found this on ‘tnet – “By 180 days, the foal will weigh nearly ten pounds and will be growing whiskers and eyelids that are capable of blinking.”  Hetja is around 26 weeks pregnant while Brá is 25 weeks.  So exciting.  The Sire is Daisy’s stallion, Taktur.

However, the boys are still with their mothers, though Hjalti is weaned (from last year).

Hjalti is a year older and just there as company for Efstur.

Brá is doing well.

She is still feeding Efstur occasionally but I watch her trying to dissuade him from nursing, ie wean him.

As Brá looks good, I am not worried about her.  We will shuffle everyone around in a few weeks and wean Efstur as well and then the girls can concentrate on growing their babies.

I want Efstur to be weaned as unstressfully as possible.

Hopefully being with the boys, including Taktur, and his bestie, Hjalti, then everything should be ok.

We will see how it goes.

(gosh, it gets dark early – I took these just after lunch yesterday).

Flossie had a riding lesson this afternoon with our trainer, Bjørn Roar Larsen.

Daisy, as observer and chief pooper-scooper, plonked herself down on an upturned bucket and made herself comfortable.  BeAnne took up her usual residence on Daisy’s knee.

Earlier, the Boyzenberries had been let out of their field and were now having a mosy around.

Lambie was feeling very chatty.

‘Bert was intrigued watching Flossie and Klængur.

Support and help was offered.

‘Ster wandered in and out of the shed according to how he felt and what he could find to eat or wear.

So while Flossie was riding Klængur,…..

…. the Lambie and ‘Ster watched – like Statler and Waldorf.

The riding lesson was going very well.

The others eventually got bored and left but Lambie stayed with Daisy.

First it was the bin’s turn.

And then he decided to go through the rubbish and find a potential food bag to fling about or up-end himself into.  The last time he did this, he vanished into it and gave himself a panic attack!  It took ages to calm him down.

At the end of the lesson, Klængur had his food and Lambie desperately wanted to join in.

Everyone achieved.  A good afternoon’s lesson.

Daisy and I have just come home from a lovely carol concert in town hosted by the Shetland Choral Society.

As well as beautifully sung carols, there was a constant supply of tea/coffee and cake!

In my opinion, this has to be the nicest way to listen to carols – eating homemade cake!  Shetland is the best place for home baking!

We did our bit and were very supportive.

So, every time a sheep was mentioned in a carol, being lowly or otherwise, Daisy and I would look at each other and smile, thinking to ourselves about our happy little flock.

The Boyzenberries are all on wonderful form.  For once, they are in a good routine and almost do as they are told.  If anyone wanted real sheep for a real Nativity play, these boys would be perfect for the part.

‘Ster has been working on his sincere face.

‘Bert has perfected his own Winning Smile.

Lambie is trying out a new meaningful face.

Blue Steel …..

or Magnum?  You decide.

He also has his usual nose-kissey face.

Darling sheepy boys.

I feel there may be a Nativity market here I could be tapping into with three very tame sheep.

It is probably just as well we do not all live on mainland UK.

Lambie also has a cynical face and so do I!

I popped by the indoor school to find Daisy training her horse, Kappi.

They were just coming to the end of their session.

I truly enjoy watching them and they worked very well together.

Let it be known that I try very hard not to be a “Dance Mom” and it is not easy for me, as a control freak, to let them get on with it by themselves.

But I keep telling myself that it is their relationship together.

Not mine.

Once they had finished, Flossie and her horse, Klængur, came into the school.

We try to colour coordinate!

Flossie and Klængur are working very hard on their teamwork and communication.

I am helping Flossie at the moment.

Klængur is a complicated little chap.

One minute he is happily tölting round the school and then suddenly…… trot!

Now where on earth did that gait come from?

Klængur never trots with me.  Never.  Perhaps he knows I would instantly fall to bits.  The two beat trot really hurts my back.  Sort of ow-ow, ow-ow, ow-ow and I ache afterwards.

At the end, there is nothing like a good stretch.  You can almost hear just how relaxed Klængur was.  They both worked very hard.

Meanwhile, Bjørn rode Taktur outside.  He is the black dot in the distance.

Today, me and my feet stayed firmly on the ground.