Tag Archives: Summer grazing

A Funny Old Day

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Winter seems to have returned today and we are all grumbling.  It was 12°C with a mean F7 westerly so about 8°C.  Brrrr.

I spent my morning productively taking the internet to bits.  Our whole network had ground to a halt so I repositioned the router upstairs (for better signal), reset all the extenders and re-attached them to the network.  So far, I have tripled the signal strength around the house, and am praying it stays like this.  Our internet signal is my bête noire and in Shetland, without fibre, 22 Mbps is jolly well racing along.

In need of a break from argumentative, yet invisible, technology, I took to my shed after lunch to admire my one sweet pea flower that I have successfully grown from last year’s seeds.

I made another sheep – the white one on the right – to add to my latest bag of stock.

And then it was the turn of the real sheep.  They had spent their day in a field with deep thick grass – everyone’s winter grazing for when it snows.

The grass has really taken off this year.

I could barely find Lambie.

Rattling a packet of ginger biccies, they all agreed to come inside which means all my outside animal chores are done for the day and I need not go outside again.

Even Lambie cooperated.

This is always the tense bit as I can’t double back to close the field gate and the ponies are just around the corner eating their haynets.  They could so easily run into the field.

Once through the main gate, I ran back to shut the field gate so the ponies couldn’t go in.

And then there was my follower. Today it was Barrel doing his best for an extra biscuit but the packet was finished so I had nothing to give him.  Sorry Barrel.

I Worry at Night

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Every so often I suddenly have a panic (usually at about 3 a.m.) that the electric fence is not working and the Shetland ponies will break through into the long grass.

Last night I had that worry so today the dog walk consisted of walking the track with the fence tester to check it was zapping consistently all the way round.  And it was going along beautifully.  OH had strimmed all the plants off the bottom wire and there was the same strength of zap at both ends.

However, I do feel sorry for the ponies. They have minimal grazing while on the other side of the fence it looks fantastic.

The other side is for the old horses and ponies in the winter.  It is perfect grazing for them but not for fat little Shetland ponies who don’t need to get any fatter.

This lot seem to doing very well on just about nothing and to be fair I found no evidence of Shetland pony fence testing.

The ponies could probably lose a bit more weight.  As I walked the track, it was interesting to see which plants they refuse to eat – always the marsh marigolds, the occasional orchid, and later the Devil’s bit scabious. They don’t touch it.

The dogs enjoyed their walk and started digging the inter-island tunnels that are planned for Shetland.

“Councillors have backed initial plans to connect some of Shetland’s islands with undersea tunnels, which could be in place within eight years.” – BBC

Ted did the feasibility study.

While Pepper did the actual work.

I can see why bridges are not an option.

My little chief digger was tired after her exertions.