Every spring they come to eat weeds and grasses, reducing fire hazards around our area. This year, Mary and I were lucky to come upon a place where they birth their lambs. It doesn't get much cuter than a newborn lamb. And on a hill across the nearby freeway, the shepherds' marvelous dogs were driving the largest flock/herd of sheep we had ever seen, thousands of them, toward a gathering place. The pictures I took with my phone didn't come out well.
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As I was looking for old springtime posts, I came upon this one:
They drove sheep through town until 1970 when modern life caught up with them. I think it's great that sheep are still useful, helping to reduce the risk of fires around our town. I often mention the winds here and if you look at the trees in the background, it's easy to see how they are affected by the more or less constant winds. The prevailing winds come from the west or north-west here and all trees get bent accordingly.
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As I was looking for old springtime posts, I came upon this one:
The Franciscan Padres were the first to bring sheep to California in the late 1700s. And sheep have been a large part of farm and ranch life in this area for centuries. Large sheep drives of up to 10,000 sheep came through the Tehachapi valley in the late 1800s on their way from California to New Mexico.
For many years, sheep ranchers in the San Joaquin Valley hired Basque shepherds to drive their sheep from the valley to the mountains, where they would spend the summer grazing in the mountain meadows. The Basque shepherds still bring sheep up to our town and the surrounding countryside. While it's a serious business to get the weeds eaten, it's also lots of fun for us all up here to see and enjoy the sheep and watch the marvelous sheep herding dogs at work.
They drove sheep through town until 1970 when modern life caught up with them. I think it's great that sheep are still useful, helping to reduce the risk of fires around our town. I often mention the winds here and if you look at the trees in the background, it's easy to see how they are affected by the more or less constant winds. The prevailing winds come from the west or north-west here and all trees get bent accordingly.
