Sheep etc.

Ed Sutton said:
I like dogs, but having been bitten (admittedly only a play bite, but it drew blood) by one that was running free on the local playing field I'm in the keep the bloody things under control camp! There are now signs asking/telling people to keep their dogs on leads on most of the playing field. Not that much heed is paid.

It's the first time I've seen any sheep on this field which has a newly popular footpath running it's full length. Which could well explain the signs. I wonder if they'll last. The one on a gate to the canal bank, which has no public access but is walked, didn't last long. Still, I expect these sheep will be moved in a week or two.
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A play bite shouldn’t draw blood! I suppose possibly/understandably you drew your hand back?

I’ve had my share of dog bites from other people’s dogs and (I’m told, I have no memory of it) I was attacked by a dog when I was a toddler and that it shredded my coat and was then killed by the family dog — an alleged husky cross :).

The same farm I referred to earlier is bit casual about its sheep getting out onto the road too -- not a moorland or quiet but a busy A class road but narrow and winding.

I’m just saying there’s responsibility on both sides.
 
Ed Sutton said:
Sharp puppy teeth. ;)
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Ah, now you mention it I have had those! In fact my puppy basenji was a devil at biting my arms (I had him at 6.5 weeks and nothing I could do would stop him. It wasn’t until someone told me how much their male basenji loved puppies no mater how much they bit him that I hit on just relaxing and let him get on with it, whereupon he lost interest and problem solved!

More recently when I got a terrier puppy, also very young, I had a basenji bitch who’d had 2 litters before I took her on (because she’d started fighting with the breeders other bitches). The terrier pup kept leaping at her face with teeth bared which she avoided and then suddenly tossed him on his back and grabbed him by the throat. I thought “Oh s***!” but she was just pinning him so I let her get on with it. She let him up after a bit and the whole thing repeated itself but only once and then he’d learnt the lesson! Nowt so queer as dogs … and other folk :LOL:.
 
There's something altogether calming about eye contact with a sheep in a field. For me, anyway...
 
The weather beat me for sheep dog trials this weekend. Yesterday was too wet for me, today was too wet for the dogs and the trial was cancelled! Suffering withdrawal symptoms I caved in after lunch and went for a run up one of my favourite hills, the southernmost fell in England, knowing there could be Lonks to be seen on the way there. Sadly they were in the field next to the one the footpath runs through with a flock of halfbreds ambling away from me.

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I walked up the hill and stopped by a gate and some of the Lonks were coming my way. The sun was in my face, and low, making exposure tricky but there was a chance of an interesting sky in the background so I hung around. Then I saw a quad bike enter the field. Feeding time and the troughs were close by!

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I thought I knew who the sheep belong to and a chat with the young man confirmed that he is Steve's son. When he laughed and said the other sheep thought they were getting fed too I turned round and nearly tripped over them! Amazing how they stop being scared of strangers when there are bags of sheep nuts being emptied. :LOL:


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Lambing time is approaching and fields near to farmsteads are full of pregnant ewes down from higher ground. Up on the fell the views are great. The light was promising to be spectacular, and changing all the time, but the stiff breeze brought in low cloud and haze. Then it was time to leave for home.

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The first time in ages it's looked as if there'd be enough light to make it worthwhile going to a sheep dog trial. So that's what I did today. I even managed to find the venue which I hadn't been to before, but only after a slight detour and following a car with a sheep dog in the back!

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There was a lot of making new versions of old picture ideas.

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I confirmed that the gear I have isn't best suited to photographing frame filling pictures of dogs in action. But when they stand still it's okay.

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Time to send the sheep back for another go. There's always one that won't play nicely...

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Late on the sun shone. No need for a lead when you have a crook.

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That's all folks. Time for the results.

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"Shut that gate & keep it shut".

Was a big Withnail & I fan back in the day and that shot in particular made me chuckle.

Another great set of images Dave. If only that enclosure had been level with the horizon in frame 8... Sometimes I wish my OCD wasn't so bad...
 
Harlequin565 said:
"Shut that gate & keep it shut".

Was a big Withnail & I fan back in the day and that shot in particular made me chuckle.

Another great set of images Dave. If only that enclosure had been level with the horizon in frame 8... Sometimes I wish my OCD wasn't so bad...
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Thanks Ian.

Have you ever gone on holiday by mistake? ;)

There's not much level with anything up ont' moors!

I got a few more 'useful' pics today. Maybe the lay off did me some good.
 
I was trying out my new lens today. The one in my left eye! I only intended to stop a short while at the trial, and to use my right eye as much as possible. As it turned out not many dogs were booked in to run and all was over after a couple of hours, I got there late too. It's a funny thing how some days I think I've got nowt worth keeping and find a few gems when I get the files on the PC, or (like today) I think I've got lots of crackers only to discover they're mostly pants!

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There was a chilly wind, so this was the view most people were having of the proceedings.

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A few details.

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Some action.

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After the final run the sheep had to go back over the road.

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Nice assortment. I wonder what the sheep think of it all?
 
sphexx said:
Nice assortment. I wonder what the sheep think of it all?
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Thanks. They're a bit better than I initially thought.

I'm not sure sheep do much thinking. A lot of reacting as in: see dog = move away from dog. It always amuses me to see them stop to nibble grass when they're being herded. A lot of these were pretty wild today and wouldn't play nicely, kept heading for the hills, which these inexperienced, young, nursery dogs had trouble countering. When the sheep that had already been round broke out of their pen during on run that was game over!

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Ed Sutton said:
I'm not sure sheep do much thinking.
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I once made a similar remark to a farmer as we were stood near his sheep and he replied they are a lot more intelligent than people think ;).

Ed Sutton said:
A lot of reacting as in: see dog = move away from dog.
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Actually, they don’t react except with mild interest if they see a lot of dogs nearby if the ‘dogs’ are going about other business and the sheep are not in any way confined, ie on moorland.

I remember looking up at a sheer cliff in Cumbria that had narrow path on the face of it with a couple of Herdwicks on it when a fell hound appeared at one end and I thought “Oh sh1t” but in fact they just stood their ground and seeing it could not pass the hound turned and left. Of course that’s a bit of a special case.
 
sphexx said:
I once made a similar remark to a farmer as we were stood near his sheep and he replied they are a lot more intelligent than people think ;).
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Apparently they have a good memory for faces. Ovine and human. They certainly have a sheepy intelligence. But still manage to get themselves into pickles they can't get themselves out of.

View: https://BANNED/DanOrmeShepherd/status/1484830744748994564
 
Ed Sutton said:
Apparently they have a good memory for faces. Ovine and human. They certainly have a sheepy intelligence. But still manage to get themselves into pickles they can't get themselves out of.

View: https://BANNED/DanOrmeShepherd/status/1484830744748994564
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Seems like a lot of work to get a good meal, I think I’ll stick with the supermarket :LOL:.

Joking apart, good work!
 
Ed Sutton said:
It'll only do it again!
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Indeed, it was probably just resting before going back up! I guess it didn’t fall, it looks as though there is a sort of path (from a mountain goat* point of view) down to there though you can’t really tell anything from a little video clip.

*I dare say you’ve seen those videos of chamois (?) going up a reservoir wall :LOL:.
 
I hadn't planned on going to the sheep show and sale today but I thought I needed the practice. Which turned out to be the case. It turned out to be an 'interesting' day of adventure. But more of that later!

It was a multi-breed in-lamb show and sale. For the hill sheep aficionados the Rough Fells were the main attraction with the Swaledales a close second. For some reason sheep photographers are dismissive of the Blue Faced Leicester, it gets mocked for looking more like a camel than a sheep, but I think it has a regal look to it. BFLs also seem more inquisitive and friendly at shows.

Some BFL pics. Apologies for the watermarks.

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I was trying to be clever with this one, using the sheep on the banner to mix in with the actual sheep. The childish reaction to the flock name was a bonus!

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At this point I had (so I thought) gone old school with a 50mm and a 28mm lens on my cameras. I was surprised how 'long' the 28mm seemed compared to the 50mm. I put that down to getting used to the wider angle. After all I was finding the 50 like a telephoto. When I got home I noticed in Lightroom that it hadn't been my 28mm. I'd picked up my 35mm by mistake. :rolleyes: Definitely out of practice!

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Over friendly BFL.

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To be continued...
 
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I did spend some time with the other breeds, but my heart wasn't really in it.

Rough Fells. Almost a set of traffic lights.

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On to the Swales. When the marts reopened after the first lockdown some installed screens around the ring.

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A Dutch Spotted. A breed growing in popularity.

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Some children have no option but become sheep fanatics. :)

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Last bit next...
 
By one I was burned out. The sun was shining and it was a bit blowy. I thought I'd take the scenic route home over Bowland. There are only three roads across the fells, with no connecting roads until you are right over. It's bleak, but I love the area.

The following photos are mostly just to illustrate the story.

While most of the sheep are Swales there are Lonks to be seen in a couple of places. I can't resist a Lonk! Sure enough when I got to the sheep pens and old sheepwash (I think @sirch will know the place) there were Lonks. I had to slow down for some.

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One was grazing in the pens.

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I feel as if I should go and spend some time at the sheepwash and make a concerted effort at photographing it.

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When I'd had enough of being blown about I carried on my way. The sheep were getting a bit fed up of the howling gale too and a couple of groups were taking shelter behind a wall.

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I was over the tops and heading for civilisation.

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Down past the Cross of Greet, over the bridge and up into the small patch of pines when....

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As I was taking this photo I wondered if I might just squeeze past on the left when I heard a loud creaking. That was followed by the sound of splintering wood and the leaning trunks on the right came down on top of the ones across the road. I jumped back in the car and made a hasty U-turn! My fifty odd mile journey home turned into one of eighty odd. What a day.
 
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Ed Sutton said:
Ta. I don't know when the first trees came down, but it was a bit scary hearing the others start to go!
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I think when one goes others that had been growing protected by the first are then exposed to wind and go over. At least that seems to happen in more of a forest, might not be relevant with a line of trees. Lucky escape!

I like the BFLs, rather stylish.
 
It's time for the in-lamb sales. Today was a multi-breed sale - plus a handful of pygmy goats and llamas! I don';t know why but I wasn't on form at all and kept getting exposures and shutter speeds way out. :banghead:

The main breeds were Lonks, Gritstones, and Cheviots which all had shows, but there were a lot of Woodlands entered in the sale.

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To ensure buyers know how many lambs they'll be getting all the sheep were scanned on site. Not an easy thing to photograph.

The person doing the scanning sits in a small, dark crate with their right arm in a long plastic glove. What a life!

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Other than that it was the usual stuff.

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superpippo said:
Please can you explain how, if it was an auction, there was also a show of the breeds and rosettes.
Do they sell the show animals?
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They have the shows before the sale starts. The prize winners might have their auction prices boosted, but it doesn't always work out that way.

Not all sales have a show beforehand, but most of the breed society sales of breeding sheep do, and some fatstock (stock going to the abattoir/butcher) sales too.

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