Tag Archives: Shetland Islands

Frozen Fingers

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Not great photos today. It was too bloomin’ cold and my fingers felt like they had frozen off.  I am currently sitting at my desk playing soothing music while I thaw out – my feet are on a hot water bottle and I have one on my lap.

Anyway, this morning produced a lovely surprise – everyone was together.  Even Madge is coming out of her shell, which is something I never thought I would see.

Gussie is rather taken with Maggie – he is ginormous now, possibly the biggest of all the sheep.  Quite the heffasheep.

Maggie spends a lot of her time in the hill field with Gussie and Dahlia which is fine – as long as they turn up for breakfast so I know they are alright and not lying somewhere upside down in the 30 acre field.

And Lambie remains, well just Lambie really.

We had a sprinkling of snow this morning with a few snow/hail showers all day.

In the afternoon I went into my shed to finish a sheep while watching a Hallmark Christmas film (my determination to find some Christmas spirit and inspiration).  Pepper was having a non-eating day and quickly learned that, if she made sick noises by the door, I would let her outside and then, free at last, she could run off hunting, probably looking for more carrion to eat.  Wee turd.  I am not pleased with her one bit.

Doing the afternoon chores afterwards (I now start at 3pm as it is dark by 4), I fed the ducks/hens, put them to bed and then poo-picked the Shetland ponies’ track.  Newt nearly had the wheelbarrow over (I would’ve happily throttled him if he’d succeeded) and I honestly think my fingers have never been so cold.  I am going to find my freezer-food gloves for tomorrow. I never want to feel like that again. I felt sick with the pain.  Once finished, I went to bed to huddle and warm up.  Monster came to annoy while Ted whined on about “what time is tea?”  Pepper sensibly stayed away.

Oh yes, Pepper said she could only eat cat food for tea. Give me strength.

Cantering Old Fools

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Everyone else had come up the hill for their breakfast, except for the Icelandic horses – Kolka, Haakon and Iacs. They were still on the other side of the stream expecting me to lug their buckets down to them.  Think again, I told them.

In the end Kolka crossed over and cantered up the hill to her bucket.  She knows I am more stubborn than she is.  I don’t offer waitress service in this field.

Meanwhile Haakon and Iacs eventually crossed the stream walking very slowly and then Iacs pushed Haakon up the hill.

At one stage, Haakon turned around to tell Iacs off while I was standing at the top of the hill with their buckets thinking to myself that I might put Haakon back on his very expensive boswellia supplement if he was finding walking so difficult.  Poor old man.

And then I turned my back to put their buckets in their usual spot, only to find Haakon and Iacs cantering up the hill, moving perfectly well for all their old age complaints.  So the boswellia thought quickly vanished and I realised they are absolutely fine.

After chores, I went into to town to get a big bale of hay.  I did a few messages on the Street and stopped off to see if my little town field needed filling.

It was in a bit of a mess so I tidied up the stock and breathed a sigh of relief that I have now reached a less frantic time of the year on the sheep-making front, though I will still keep going through the winter to build up stock.

Then home and I made another sheep, happy in the knowledge there is no mad rush anymore.

Dark and Dismal

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It’s been a dark and dismal day with constant wind and rain.

Ugh!

None of us wanted to go outside – there are days I would gladly swap lives with Monster.

Still, I donned my full wet-weather gear and plodded outside with buckets for all.  I honestly think there is nothing more depressing than trying to complete Wordle in a driving wind and drizzle (got it in 4, thank you for asking).

Later in the morning, on my way out (to see a friend and work on her website (Squarespace)), I went via the sheep shed to see who was hunkering down.

Surprisingly, they were all outside on the long-side of the big shed which was offering full shelter from everything.  Sensible sheeps.

I had a quick chat with Lambie.

And immediately I could understand the advantages of this well-chosen spot.   Everyone was there, except for Gussie and Dahlia who were long gone into their hill field, either eating or resting.

Of course all the Minions had shovelled themselves into one of their containers.  When I went inside, it was warm and dry.  I think they spent the day there – their choice – and I hung up some haynets when I got home later.

And so Pepper and I set off on our expedition to the other side of the island to build this website, which we did with a modicum of success and Pepper behaved beautifully.  Ted stayed at home with OH as he would’ve only let the side down.

Moved Them

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This morning Vitamoobag and her not-much-of-a-friend Kolka escaped and went walkabout around the croft.  It was all my fault. I didn’t secure the gate when I brought the breakfast buckets and it swung open in the wind offering a lovely escape route.  Obviously, they took it.

Kolka was easy to catch (with a dog-lead attached to the world’s smallest Shetland pony/foal headcollar (so shoot me, it’s all I could grab) around her neck like a necklace) and I returned her quickly to her field before she had another independant thought.

Vitamoobag was not so helpful and had wandered to the house. She had no intention of being caught ever again but using the old “I’m not holding a headcollar and I don’t want to catch you” ruse, I got her and put her back too.

While we did the slow walk back to the field, I mused that as the weather was going to disintegrate, perhaps this herd would be better off in a more sheltered field, as well as having more grass to eat.

So using the now successful method (patent pending) of leading a horse/pony without the right equipment, I put  my teensy tiny headcollar/dog lead contraption around Haakon’s neck and told him to come with me, which of course he did (such a well brought up chap).

Everyone else followed.

And now this lot are happy in a field with lots of grass and shelter.

One problem, though, three of them are pretty much the same colour as their background.  Spot three horses!

There you go.  Two….

Plus one.

But at least I can see Fivla and Vitamoobag still.

Poor Little Newt

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“Poor little Newt” is not a phrase I thought I would ever be saying but today was that day.

This afternoon, we were down to one haybox (the other is being repaired by OH) and so I stupidly thought everyone would share nicely.

I was wrong.  I should’v known.

I hung my second haynet in one of the containers and showed it to Newt so he could get his fair share.  He was being bullied off.

Newt quickly got the message and I smiled to myself when I saw him clamber into the container to have a good go at the hanging haynet.  And it also left space outside if anyone else wanted to share, like Silver.

So I was disappointed to return to find Tiddles in the container with sole ownership of the haynet.

I guessed where Newt was and I could sense his misery.  Tiddles had no intention of letting Newt have any haynet.  These days, these two don’t get on well.  Tiddles is the bully.

Poor little Newt!

So I went back and filled up another haynet for Newt and hung it in the inside back corner.

So Tiddles wanted it too.  Of course he did!

I told him to go away, and leave Newt alone. His behaviour was unbecoming.

Tiddles left Newt to his food (for once, he listened to me – a good idea!)

And then I left everyone to it.  I had things to do – poo to pick around the track, water to fill up, etc.  I also moved another haybox into the paddock – probably something I should’ve done in the first place now I think about it.  Duh!