Yesterday I came home from checking/feeding the Minions and decided to press on with my stable tidy-up, which like everything else in my life, is work-in-progress.

But this job I actually finished and feel proud of. The rugs on the right are for a friend to collect. I swept up all the old hay from last winter and shoved it into the sheep shed as bedding.  I even vacuumed (I actually don’t know myself now!)

This morning, Edna came in to eat her yummy breakfast cereal and I stood with her admiring my hard work while daring her to make a mess. Being Edna, she didn’t.

Other chores these days consist of trying to do at least 30 minutes daily (the most my back can take) of pulling ragwort in the fields that are going to be cut for silage.

A few months’ back, I was talking to our feed-merchant. He was sucking his teeth about whether there would be hay or not this winter in Shetland due to the rising price of fertiliser.  Most of our hay is imported from Scotland and costs a kidney or your first-born anyway.

Knowing we would need some kind of food for the horses this winter, I decided to set aside my usual summer pasture for silage.  I can’t put the Minions here anyway as the grass is too rich, so it makes sense to use it as winter food.  Hence the ragworting then.

So much to do, so little time.