Cats life in Shetland

Ever since we were married we have had cats and we moved to Shetland with one of our cats -Furbie.

Furbie didn't like the trip up to Aberdeen calling all the time, he did enjoy the Scottish air when we stopped at Jedburgh &  Stonehaven for a break and he joined us for a short walk (in a harness) along the sea front.

That was his introduction to big white birds (Gulls) which he had never seen but wanted to get to know better. We boarded the ferry and put him in the pets sleeping quarters. Luckily we travelled mid April and in the middle of the week so he was the only customer.

He seemed glad to see us in the morning and was too tired to meow as we made our way down to our rented home in Sandwick. He was very restless in this house and was glad that we moved out 3 months later into our new permanent home.

He soon settled and made himself at home on our bed. He didn't like the workmen who came into our home the next few months, they disturbed his sleep and other routines .

He passed away after a illness and we were thankful to the staff at Scalloway vets who made is last days bearable .

We vowed never to go through the suffering again until a friend contacted us who was moving to Africa and was looking to home her two cats, not wanting to split them up

We met Tinker first, he seemed very timid and hid away and didn't want to be picked up.

Teddy above was the opposite and came up to meet us and seemed very settled. We took both back the short distance over the hill to Sandwick and let them out of the cat baskets. 

Both fed well and went to sleep, it had been a traumatic few hours. The next morning they ate well and made for our bed settling down together

Although not true brothers they work well together with Tinker chatting away to Teddy to let him know a meal is out. Teddy on the other hand never spoke to us for many months, perhaps he couldn't get a meow in edge ways

Both are house cats and they like the fact we have big windows and spend time looking and chattering to the birds we have in the field in front of the house. 

They have never caused us any problems and are very well behaved. They don't even touch the Christmas tree unlike our other cats which brought the tree down numerous times.

Cats do what they want , when they want but always respond to treats. We wouldn't be without their company.

 We have been in Shetland nearly 8 years and are so glad of their company, 

New Year in Shetland

 Happy new year to one and all. For Shetlanders it was a quiet one with most people staying at home, we didn't hear  any fireworks this year which was surprising. Down in Sheffield we skyped Diane's sister and had a great display for over 20mins, very loud and colourful

I headed down to the beach, one of the great delights living in Shetland having been 70 miles from the coast before moving here

The weather has been stormy to stay the least and tonight (Monday) we are having around 60-70mph winds with torrential rain and a few snow showers. We are on a yellow alert for flooding tomorrow although people up north have said some coast roads are nearly impassable due to debris.

Snow and server gales expected for next few days as well and freezing temperatures. This is to be expected and it can create dramatic light and clouds

I am always amazed how some people don't even prepare for a visit to Shetland. I had a request on Facebook- Shetland Aurora Hunter asking for the best way to get to Shetland. He set off at 4am this morning, didn't even know where to catch the ferry or how long it would take. He had also not booked any accommodation and was only planning a 3 day visit.

He posted late to today and has ended up at Thurso in northern Scotland, not taking a right towards Aberdeen. He would have missed the ferry anyway as it set off 5 hours early due to stormy weather conditions, he made the best choice, i wouldn't like to be on that ferry.

So my plans for this year are coming together, having had a success with my `Shetland Aurora Hunter' book selling 500 copies i now am writing another book, this time on Shetland Puffins and this should be out late April. I have already been booked for a few illustrated talks in Shetland and on the mainland, which i always look forward to doing

I also wrote several articles and sold lots of prints and canvas so hope to repeat that and also continue to have photos published in magazines and newspapers

I hope that the wildlife continues to thrive, the seabirds seemed to have been recovering but the recent wrecks of Puffin and Guillemot are concerning to say the least (More to come on shetlandsfp.blogspot.co.uk)

Humpback whales are increasing and we had 15 in Shetland waters last month which is great to hear. Anyway i hope to keep on photographing and running photography courses, all booked up for Learn Shetland this session up to June.

Hope you are enjoying the photos , more to come this year. All these photos are from a trip down to Quendale bay in the south mainland.

Check out Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook, already 6800 members and growing each week. 

Blogs

Shetland sfp.blogspot.co.uk

shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk

Have a good year where ever you are and stay safe