Sunday, July 14, 2013

Everybody Loves a Parade

This morning I stepped out of the motorhome with Tucker and Gypsy for the first walk of the day. I could hear that the men were still cutting up the trees stacked near the campground (the community cuts hundreds of trees into firewood for the needy)... but it seemed they were having a lot of trouble with their chain saws. They kept starting. Stopping. Starting.
It sounded just like sheep ba-a-a-ing. Wait a minute.... I was hearing sheep! Lots of them. The sound I was hearing wasn't chain saws! The sheep were making their summer migration through McCall. How exciting! I watched hundreds of sheep moving along the road just up the hill from our camp site. A bit later, Mr. Dreamy and I became trackers, following the signs. When 2000 sheep go through, it isn't especially difficult to follow the trail! We determined where they were going, and went around to catch them from the front. For me, it was as exciting as a parade - so, yeah... I may be a bit strange!

Here they come...

They surround our car...
 

... and grab a little snack here and there.

We are in a sea of sheep.


Big ones...

... and not-so-big ones.

Three shepherds controlled the mob;
one who walked ahead to alert cars, 
one near the front to get the sheep moving,
and one bringing up the rear.
Well, actually the guys doing the real work were the dogs;
we saw at least 4 Border Collies and 5 Great Pyrenees.
It was difficult to get an accurate count of the dogs.
One of the shepherds told us how many sheep they had,
minus three we saw in the back of a truck with a 4th shepherd.
The sheep are moved about 90 miles. 
They will be driven back to their winter pasture in the fall.

Several of the horses and mules just followed along. 

It was a wonderful way to start the day!



12 comments:

  1. I would find that exciting to see, I am with you on that. How neat that the horses and mules just follow along without riders.

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  2. It is a beautiful operation to view when everyone knows their job.

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  3. It's been a while since I've seen sheep herded. That's great that everyone sticks together, even the riderless horses.

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  4. How cool. The stories old pops tells from years and years ago about the sheep and how far they travel. Amazing. There are a few old sheep camps here on the ranch. They used the rock bluffs as fences on one or two sides and dogs. Its amazing those sheep dogs. Gotta love hard working dogs.

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  5. Wow! We thought we would check out your blog since you visited ours. What an amazing sight that must have been. I've got some border collie friends who would LOVE to herd sheep! We will have to read more of your posts to find out what you were doing in a place where they can herd large numbers of sheep by your camp.

    Glad you enjoyed my post about Beaufort,SC. Mom, dad and I all LOVED it!

    Garth

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  6. that is a neat thing to see!

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  7. That is so cool!

    I've only recently seen actual working dogs. In the past, I've only watched the dogs work sheep in a pen at dog shows, etc. To see them move an entire herd out in the open was amazing. I actually looked forward to my morning drive to work each day for about two weeks, before the sheep got moved to a different area.

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  8. That is amazing! I love it! Having a Sheltie, I love herding. Wow!Cool!

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  9. I would not want to be the pooper scooper at the end of that parade. :-)

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    Replies
    1. They washed the streets yesterday. I think the migration must be over for the summer!

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  10. What a cool way to start the morning..what a sight. McCall is a beautiful area:)

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