Today is the start of Operation Lets-Make-Winter-Easier.  We need this.  Previous years have been beyond awful at times and, as no one is getting any younger, I think the ponies need easily available shelter.

Yesterday, with the help of Skippy (my yellow electric little skip on wheels), I moved all the bowls and hayboxes. Next OH and I build a new temporary fence to keep all potential helpers out of the building site while the work is going on.

I don’t think anyone needs small ponies around.

Next up, all the sheep went into a field that they can’t get out of, allegedly because there would be plant coming and going during the day.

And later on, a digger and its driver (Harry) arrived.  Huzzah!

Pepper was determined that she was the best digger around.

But I said that no one needed to know this.  I was not popular.  She sulked all afternoon.

So the soil in the wee paddock is being removed down to the boulder rock, which is not that far down and then quarry waste will be put down tomorrow. This will make the ideal surface for the two shipping containers that will arrive next week.

Dragging Pepper away, I left Harry to his work.  This is an exciting time for us all.  I am optimistic this will make our lives much easier.

I have a new job.  Ok, not a paid one but an essential one.

When Mum died, I took all the family photos in various shoe-boxes back to Shetland.  I realised that I am probably the only person who mostly knows who is who (though, my cousin might too).  So I have taken it upon myself to try and write on the back of every photograph for identification purposes.

These memories are part of my Great-Great Aunt Kate’s diaries and there is nothing better than an old photograph with the characters identified.  Otherwise it is worthless to everyone and rather annoying.

Anyway, I may be some time – I have suitcases full of photos!  So, so many.

Other than that and everything else, while writing on the back of photos, I heard a loan whinny from the next door paddock.

So I popped my head outside my shed and saw Iacs by himself.  He has a bad habit of losing his herd and then coming to ask for help.

Armed with an old dog-lead which I wrapped around his neck, I led him to find his friends.

They weren’t far away, but they weren’t helpful either.  Some might say they were hiding very quietly.

There was a small reminder about their responsibilities and Care in the Community.

And I left them all together to get on with grazing.

Obviously, I had company, which is always lovely.

Once back inside, and everyone was in a very silly mood.

Now, back to labelling the back of old photos…… I may be some time.

The track is becoming increasingly muddier in places so today I tackled one of them by making a larger layby so the ponies can circumnavigate that patch of mud as well as having a bit more to eat.

And this is my next project.  Mud patch #2.  As you can see, it is nearly up to Newt’s belly but he is small (26″ or so) and manages pretty well.

Surprisingly, the ponies don’t mind this particular patch as it is very wet so they almost swim through.  It was the mud from the first area I dealt with first that was getting them down.

But the thought of more food cheered them up.  However, I read them all the Riot Act about laminitis.

After working so hard, I reckoned I deserved a treat, so I went off to the other field with the dogs to see how the sheep were all getting on together.  Today was the first day they had  gone out together as a flock.

Everyone was around so I sat on a rock and waited.

Dahlia and Gussie came running up for a chat and that was lovely.  Dahlia is beginning to realise that Pepper is not going anywhere so she should just give up hating her and trust her instead.  It is work-in-progress.

Ted sensibly sat a safe distance away.

Gussie was on superb huggable form.

He and Pepper are very sweet together.

And this is the first time both of them have sat down close to me, which I take as a huge compliment.  These things can take time.

So a lovely morning achieving things that needed to be achieved. There’s always something.

Courgettes?

Yuck or yum…. as we say in this house.

I was given a few for the ponies from Turriefield yesterday that were unsellable so I thought I would try them out on everyone, after the dreaded worming.

To some they were definitely yum.

I think Fivla liked the fact that courgettes are soft and less like hard work on her teeth, or what’s left of them.  She struggles with the hay, as does Vitamin, but is always easily diverted with anything else.

She is an old lady – she likes soft food.  Less effort.

And, surprisingly, ,Tiddles was the biggest courgette fan.

Courgettes are his thang!  I never knew this.  Go Tiddles.

Everyone got a courgette and I left Storm nosing his one around the field, trying to work out if he liked it or not.  He is probably still there, eight hours later.

Conclusion:
To some, they are most definitely yum.
To others, they are not.
And carrots always win!

Because the sheep are becoming increasingly lame as the wet weather returns, I decided to muck out the sheep shed which was not its best.  It was only meant to be a quick job. Nothing huge.

But, like most things, this small job turned into mammoth task.

Sheep poo has a unique formulation that it sticks like concrete and we had to chip the welded blocks off the rubber matting from the whole area.

Ugh.

A few weeks ago, our electric wheelbarrow arrived and I cannot tell you just how much easier it made the task of lugging everything to the muck heap.

Dumping the old bedding was effortless and for those of you wondering how I can possibly have this – I sold a field and the proceeds have gone into making our lives (and backs) easier this winter working with the animals.

Anywho, we scraped and shovelled all morning and eventually we could see a change.

My afternoon was spent packing vegetables but when I came home…..

….. I found OH had continued with this job and the place was looking even better.

You could eat your supper off the floor.

Dahlia and Gussie were around, occasionally popping by to give encouragement.

OH had spent the afternoon cleaning and  relaying the rubber mats, which had migrated and curled up over the years.  Some needed trimming.

I laid out two bales of wood-shavings first.

And then two bales of straw on top of the shavings.  The perfect sheep bed.

I ache therefore I am so I am going to take every known painkiller in my possession and go to bed now.  That was one huge task.  Never again.