Pastures New

     The sun smiles on Owyhee County this morning.

     Or at least endeavors to. I came across a bit of agriculture in action this morning. And with great pleasure was able to bring another post to the site.

     The sheep have come down out of the hills and are now currently grazing in whatever pasturage their owners can arrange. Generally these are fields of what was alfalfa seed.

     There's not much to eat on these plants since the harvest so the shepherds must keep the sheep on the move. The shepherds live with the sheep, thus the camper in the photo up above. The sheep know what's going on, so many of them will stick close to the camper as it's driven to the new pasture. (Note the funny lines on the sheep above. They've been recently sheared, and the shearing tool is flat while sheep are roundish. This leaves behind a bit at the edges.)

     The rest follow behind with a couple more shepherds and their more helpful dogs. (A couple of the dogs got distracted sniffing around in the fields nearby.)

      With this fellow bringing up the rear. These gentlemen came all the way from Peru. They don't speak much, (English, anyhow) but they're quite friendly. They'll always smile and wave, if a bit shyly.

     Constantly on the move, these sheep know how to travel and are quickly past. In the more remote corners of the west its not uncommon to come across these bands. If you do, be patient. The people and animals here are just as eager to be off the roads as you could be for them to be off. Just stop your car, open the windows, and enjoy the pleasant sound of hundreds of hoofs on the road.


     A little side note: The total page view history of this site passed 5,000 the other day. I realize that as far as the Internet goes, this is not very many. But all the same, I'm surprised and very grateful to reach this number. Thank you all!