Not to long ago we were recording a Historic (50+ years old) Sheep Camp Site (which consisted of a little corral, some rusted sheep shearers, rusted cans, etc.). This got me thinking about what exactly sheep herders do. My field supervisor told me that they were probably Bask and the herders would travel around with their flocks for years at a time. The man would usually be alone with a few sheep, dogs, and horses. Well, there is nothing more exciting then seeing archaeology come to life! While we were walking we came across this crazy sight:
That is not snow on the hill side. Those are sheep! Hundreds and hundreds of sheep! The black spots are dogs (there were about 10 of them), and to the far right is the sheep herder on his horse.
This is a better shot of the man on the horse and the dogs rounding up the sheep.So my day did not end here... As we continue to hike we suddenly hear some loud noises. I assume it is the jets (see above post) that usually fly above us, but this time it was a helicopter! All day long they kept flying back and forth over us. This one got about 50 feet above us and I managed to get a good shot.
But wait! There's more! I also found this:
This is a flare from a F-16. In battle, when a jet is being followed by a heat-seeking missile they will drop these flares in order to divert the missile from the jet and hopefully the missile will hit the flare, hence saving the jet. The jet were practicing right over us and I found one of their flares.
My job rocks! : )
2 comments:
Your job is awesome. Can I come spend 10 days doing it with you? We could trade places! You watch my kids for 10 days, and I'll hike through the wilderness for 10 days. Yes!
Sounds like a great job. I'm glad you are happy. That's a lot of sheep! Where are they herding them to?
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