A Northern Journal

Was out in the car the other week and just couldn’t help stopping to take photos and visiting the Standing stones of Stenness in the glorious spring sunshine.

Old Finstown Road

Old Finstown Road looking towards Rendall

Standing Stone

Standing Stones of Stenness

Stromness Harbour & Scapa Flow

Hares dancing in the sun’s first ray

Change and growth and new beginning

Twelve hours of night and day.

New born lambs run and play

In the meadows greening

Hares dancing in the sun’s first ray.

The cockerel crows and hens begin to lay

Life from the sun in the east renewing

Twelve hours of night and day.

Darkness overcome by light and day

Yellow primrose and daffodil rising

Hares dancing in the sun’s firsts ray

Twelve hours of night and day.

FMS 2006

So, it has been a while since I last posted. It is not that I have been particularly busy but the last vestiges of winter yuckiness has kept me at a low ebb for the last few weeks… well I suppose I have been busy in that I have been plugging away at work, and spending much of my time at home writing the next stage of the Dungeons and Dragons adventure which is due to start this Saturday.

The bright wonderful sunshine of the last three or four days has managed to  bring me out of my winter stupor and the garden is looking (slightly) better for it… the raised beds weeded and prepped for veggies, as well as the boards and some fencing being painted. Got some seeds planted in the greenhouse, and most (except the corriander and Echinacea) have germinated. Got loads more to sow. Going to try 6 different varieties of tomato this year… yellow ones, stripy ones, plum shaped ones….. Seed tatties need to go in, but that will have to wait a week or so yet. Whilst working in the garden, I always have an audience. If it isn’t a pony or three, it is a cat or four. I think the cats have an ulterior motive as they do like to watch me till the soil just until it is the right consistancy to be used as a cat litter tray… going to have to get more pepper dust! Of course, they now have the biggest sand box a poodie cat can dream of … the ponies winter turnout and exercise area has been covered with sand. Thankfully there wasn’t too much shovelling of the gritty stuff to do as hubby borrowed his parents tractor.

Jem has returned home. It took ages to catch her, but food eventually won the day. She appeared to be pretty pleased to be home, and Sigurd was absolutely delighted and promptly tride to sook her. Thankfully she didn’t want to know and ran away! They are now as well bonded as ever, but Sig shares his time between Thorf and mum. In fact, all three seem to be closer than ever.

The ponies got a visit from the farrier last week. The Hobbits got their feet trimmed… thay are still not too keen on standing on three legs, but are learning. Thorf got an old set of shoes put back on in readiness for starting the fittening process (I am very late starting this year). Today I pulls him in from the field to go out on a hack to discover the sod has pulled a front shoe. It will be in the mud somewhere! Surprisingly I didn’t swear but I was annoyed because getting the farrier back will cost me again! He should be back later this week so in the meantime I will exercise Thorf in the sandy turnout area.