Spring is here!  Spring is here!  Long may this wonderful weather last. The mud is beginning to dry up.

I know this because the wild primroses (Primula vulgaris or Mayflooer in Shetland dialect). have arrived.

The Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) are also flowering sporadically around the field.  Little dots of yellow.  Celandine holds a special place in my heart as I did a school project on this flower when in primary school.  I remember it being a hard slog trying to find out information without such a thing as the internet!

Floss and I spent this afternoon sitting outside in the field with everyone (sheeps included) enjoying the spring sunshine.  I took my camera and snapped away, as ever, anything that looked pretty or one of the family!

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Les Grandes Dames enjoy the spring sunshine.  Their behaviour is completely different – Delia is slowly stopping her prescribed analgesia and I will see how she fares this summer before making any kind of decision about her future.  I don’t want to see her struggle in the warm sunshine.

Lambie and ‘Ster are learning how to be proper sheep by going outside and eating grass.  They are not keen on the mud but it is drying up now and the Boysens are now taking themselves to the fields to eat the short spring grass.  This is much better than hanging around outside the house.

Hjalti is looking wonderful.  He is such a dear boy, full of young Icelandic horse inquisitiveness with all of his father’s wonderful temperament.

Hetja, his mother, is always nearby but these days she rarely intervenes.  I think she is letting Hjalti work it out for himself.  It is the only way he will learn.

Happy sunny spring days.  I am so relieved we got through winter.

These four little ponies are going south tonight on the Northlink ferry.  Their eventual destination is Norway.

They are from Bergli Shetland Pony Stud.

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First up is Bergli Triga

Sire: Trigo of Berry
Dam: Vallendale Deliah

Then there is my personal favourite, Bergli Astay  – in her spare time she is a koala bear (it is all in the nosey) and she is also tiny, 26″ in total.  What a treasure.

Sire: Plumtree Tyler
Dam: Aswa of Berry

Then there is Bergii Watsie

Sire: Watzo of Berry
Dam:  Blackstonefolly Jessie

And last but by no means least, Bergli Red Rum

Sire:  Rum of Berry
Dam”  Rosie of Lochside.

This little lad has a huge future ahead of him – actually they all do. Darling little Bergli Shetland ponies.

And so we loaded them into the van…..

…… and left their friends behind.

We drove to Lerwick, minus Mr Grumpy, the cat, and led the ponies to the GLT (general livestock trailer).

Everyone will be fine.  They will travel well because they have each other and a big net of hay.

Safe travels, little ones.  You will be missed but you are going to the best homes.

Please sing in your best Slim Whitman voice….. No, not that one, a better one!

♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬

When I’m calling you
Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo, Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo
Will you answer too?
Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo, Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo 

♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬♫♬

This, for me, is the true Shetland pony in Shetland – (these are Miniatures, by the way so yes they are small and yes they look different from the standard sized ones).

And this is the environment they are used to living in.

A Shetland hill apportionment park, taken in from the scattald (or open hill).

Aren’t they gorgeous?

Ok, yes, they are being fed at the moment but this is because we are all waiting for the Spring grass to make an appearance.

I was told these were their last bales of silage – I am not going to be the one who tells them!

I was wondering how Hetja managed to be the wrong side of the fence from her little boy, Hjalti.  The gate was shut.

Hetja needed to get back to her little boy as he is not weaned yet.

And so I stood with my camera and watched.

Half of me thought, well done for going back for him and the other half of me felt very depressed at the sight of my fence.

This is Hetja’s triumphant smile.  Her little boy needed her so she came back for him.  Yay, great, well done but bye-bye fence.

Bloody horses.  Off to keep goldfish next.

Sometimes all I need is therapy.  Good old fashioned Minion therapy.

So I went outside and was met by “The Shetland Mafia” who were helping BeAnne guard her much-loved, but barely touched, bone.  She is that stage with it.   You know – “Mine, all mine!”

Floss and I put a blanket down outside the shed and everyone either came to talk to us or to sit beside us while we tried to complete The Guardian quick crossword.

Just sitting in the sunshine (minus the wind – we had the shelter of the shed) in Shetland is always lovely and having little Minions around asking for hugs and kisses makes everything better.  The world was right again.

Oh yes, and having The Boysenberries too!  Must not forget my Boysens.

The Minions were on extra-helping form.  Floss wanted to fill up the water buckets but she certainly didn’t need their assistance (or is it interference?)

Lambie was trying to sleep next to me.

And Ster was the other side.

We abandoned the crossword after a while……

….., for obvious reasons.

When the Minions got bored of trying to sit on our knees, they wandered off.

Then OH came back from walking Loki, sat down and finished the ruddy crossword for us!

“If you’re seeing things
Running through your head.
Who can you call?
The Minions!”