Today was our second tour with Jolene, and it bought about a lot of surprises, a dangerous situation for me, and two really cute baby seals.
Heading out at 9:30, our first stop was to Uradale Farm. Not only is it completely organic, but the welcoming committee is pretty stinking cute.
The welcoming committee had no intention of saying hello, since up until last night, they'd been hanging out on the farm's hills and were anxious to get back there. Still, they were really cute.
The farmer, Ronnie, told us about how he only raises Shetland Sheep and Cows. Not cows and sheep that just happen to live in Shetland, but the actual native breeds. There were very few of either when Ronnie started, but now they're thriving. These are animals that have been here for hundreds and hundreds of years, whereas most of the crossbreeds were introduced about 400 years ago. The sheep are very independent and really want nothing to do with people until it's shearing time in July. Even then, they'd still rather be roaming the hills.
Uradale decided to start producing natural-coloured yarn as Shetland Sheep come in multiple colours, and then the farm diversified into naturally-dyed yarns. Even after dying, the yarn can still be labelled as organic, as the owners take that designation very seriously. All the yarns are named using Shetlaen words, which is the official name of Shetland's dialect, or even language, one could argue. Ronnie considers himself bilingual, speaking both Shetlaen and English. His partner, Viveka is a linguist and gave us a primer on Shetlaen as a gift, and I'm going to be a nerd and read the whole damn thing from cover to cover.
Then came a very dangerous situation. I was given free rein of their wool store. Let me repeat, someone willingly let me loose in their very exclusive wool store an placed no limits upon me. Just look at the situation they put me into:
The above photo doesn't include the shelf with all the natural yarns because I can only fit so much in one shot. Plus, I just wanted to bury my face in all of it and take it home. The question is, did I?
Well, gentle reader, I did take a lot it home. No one stopped me. No one held me back and when I say a lot, I mean a lot. I picked out the wool for two projects and then wool for a family friend who didn't limit me as to what I could get. Why does no one see the danger in this situation for my credit card?
After wrestling my credit card into submission, by which I mean handing it over willingly and taking many, many, balls of wool and a couple of patterns.
After coffee, cake, wool, and learning all sorts of fascinating things, I tried again to say hello to the welcoming committee but they were still not interested.
As soon as Ronnie let them out, the sheep ran for the hills, literally. I would post the video but videos and this platform don't seem to be compatible.
As a note, Jolene is one of the few people that can get you into Uradale Farm, so get in contact her if you want to go. As a warning, their wool room is addictive.
One last thing about Uradale Farm. It does not smell like a farm. I don't know how they managed it but the place smells like fresh grass and wildflowers.
Sadly, we had to leave but not as enthusiastically as the sheep, as we still had plans to head to Eshaness for the afternoon.
The drive from Uradale Farm to the Braewick Cafe was a long one, but beautiful. The cafe is in the most beautiful setting.
Yet the setting isn't all that recommends them; they also make very good coffee according to the coffee connoisseur.
Oh yes, the food was also delicious, but I'd like to share something else, a picture of the intrepid Jolene! It's likely she's a very distant relative, and somehow, Mum will find out where she fits into the family tree.
We ate like we were never eating again and Dad had soup that was thick enough he ate it with a fork. I'm serious, he ate his tomato soup with a fork. I wish I had a picture, so as an apology here is a picture of Dad and me.
Let me digress, 10 years ago when Mum and Dad were first in Shetland, they took a picture outside the Braewick cafe that's become the wallpaper on both their computers. Dad was keen on recreating that picture today. Here it is.
And now, here's a version with me.
I did not realize until I looked at this picture about how bright my socks were. Just so everyone understand why I like these bright socks so much, they have Doods on them. I mean doodles, as in the breed of dog, as in the breed of dog we have. Yes, I miss Thora. She would spend all her time in Shetland trying to make friends with the sheep and the sheep would spend all their time running away from her.
After eating and pictures, we headed to the coast to see Eshaness proper. It was just as windy as the day we were in Skara Brae, but Dad braved it to go look at the view and the lighthouse.
Essentially, jump in the water here and swim straight, you'd wind up in Canada. Now, I'm a strong swimmer but that's a little far for me. I suspect the North Sea would be colder than Georgian Bay too.
Our final stop of the day was due to a request by me. I've seen multiple pieces on television and the internet about the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary. They take in animals from all over Shetland, and even Orkney, that need rehabilitating and release them back to the wild when they're well enough. At the moment, they have two residents, two baby seals named Frankie and Monroe. Frankie was born premature and abandoned, and Monroe was found not thriving and without a mother.
Frankie is gaining weight and thriving after a month of care, but Monroe has only been there four days, so they are pleased that he's maintained his weight given the new and strange situation.
I might've talked to these seals in a voice previously reserved to talk only to my dog. They were babies. They needed to be told they were good boys and in the best care, or I felt the need to tell them that. Six of one a half dozen of the other, if you get my drift.
Frankie felt comfortable enough to talk back. I don't know what was more adorable, the welcoming committee or Frankie talking to my Mum.
We could only stay with the seals for half a hour because it was their dinner time, so we went back to the main building where I bought some presents in support of the sanctuary and a donation was made through Jolene out of appreciation for letting us come visit. It's not a regular thing, and these are people who can take my money anytime with all the good work they do.
I also want to add that the village of Hillswick is in a beautiful setting like so many other places in Shetland.
My picture doesn't do it justice.
Our drive back to Lerwick was bittersweet because we'll miss Jolene's company. I also impressed myself as I recognized where we were for a portion of the drive. I usually have the directional sense of a deaf bat, so this was a big deal for me. Not enough of a deal that I'd feel comfortable driving here again, but still, I'm really getting to know Shetland.
We made it back a couple of minutes after five, and now that dinner's been had and the blog's been typed and Shetland is on TV, it's time to sign off for the evening.
Stats:
Seals: 2
Shetland Ponies: 29
Horses: 5
Shetland Sheep: 500
Sheep (other breeds): 10000
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