Sheep in the road

[oggbashan]

This afternoon I was touring the countryside with my wife after a substantial pub lunch (no alcohol because I was driving).

We were on an A-class road when we came to a halt in a short queue of stationary vehicles. Why?

Because three shepherds and two sheepdogs were escorting a flock of about a hundred sheep along the road from one field to another.

Is this the 21st century? This was a major road yet everyone seemed to accept that sheep crossing the road and holding up all traffic for ten minutes was perfectly normal.

Back to normal service.

Og

 

[entitled]

This afternoon I was touring the countryside with my wife after a substantial pub lunch (no alcohol because I was driving).

We were on an A-class road when we came to a halt in a short queue of stationary vehicles. Why?

Because three shepherds and two sheepdogs were escorting a flock of about a hundred sheep along the road from one field to another.

Is this the 21st century? This was a major road yet everyone seemed to accept that sheep crossing the road and holding up all traffic for ten minutes was perfectly normal.

Back to normal service.

Og

Without those that use such old-fashioned methods, i would be out both a hobby and a source of income. Shepherd power!

 

[zeb1094]

And in the countryside you expected what? Perhaps a bridge over the road for the sheep? Or tunnels under the road? The samething happens in rural America. A farmer needs to get his combine from one field to another and must use a major road to do it. Another farmer needs to move his herd across to another pasture. I still like to see it happening.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

This afternoon I was touring the countryside with my wife after a substantial pub lunch (no alcohol because I was driving).

We were on an A-class road when we came to a halt in a short queue of stationary vehicles. Why?

Because three shepherds and two sheepdogs were escorting a flock of about a hundred sheep along the road from one field to another.

Is this the 21st century? This was a major road yet everyone seemed to accept that sheep crossing the road and holding up all traffic for ten minutes was perfectly normal.

Back to normal service.

Og

It probably wouldn't phase me one bit to see something like this. I live in an area where urban meets rural in the space of about two miles, so it's not uncommon to see a combine or tractor holding up traffic on a main highway. It does my heart good to know some things remain the same in the face of urban sprawl. Someone's got to plow the fields and herd the sheep.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

This afternoon I was touring the countryside with my wife after a substantial pub lunch (no alcohol because I was driving).

We were on an A-class road when we came to a halt in a short queue of stationary vehicles. Why?

Because three shepherds and two sheepdogs were escorting a flock of about a hundred sheep along the road from one field to another.

Is this the 21st century? This was a major road yet everyone seemed to accept that sheep crossing the road and holding up all traffic for ten minutes was perfectly normal.

Back to normal service.

Og

Awww... the memories this brings back. Yes, Ogg, it's perfectly natural and not at all unmodern. I've done it several times, when my parents and I were moving our sheep from one pasture to the next one.

See, the sheep eat the grass in the pasture until it's finished, and then they have to be moved to another pasture? And why load them all up in a big truck and drive 100 metres, if you can let them walk on their own 4 feet?
Much better for their nerves.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Happens in rural mississippi with cows all the time. I've seen a deer hunt hold up traffic, when the deer crosssed the road, followed in short order by a pack of dogs and three hunters on four wheelers.

Some places still move to a rythem that is closer to the earth than to the heartbeat of the cities, thank goodness

 

[Guest]

Where I live, the cattle are disappearing, but people occasionally will hit a black bear. Not too far from my home, the state built a "wildlife underpass" -- raising the two lane road cutting though the wild area and fencing in long portions beside the road to guide the bears, deer, and other animals underneath to get to the other side.

I suppose the supremacy of the car does overtake us all, especially those of us who can't get anywhere worthwhile by walking . In the odd area where I live, what was once all farmland is quickly becoming housing developments and strip malls, but there are NO SIDEWALKS, and a 4 lane highway (now under contruction to become a 6 lane highway) stands between my house and the nearest grocery store, which IS within walking distance -- if you survive to get there and back.

At least the sheep were a reason to stop. Too often I am caught in a traffic hold up with no better excuse than someone on the side of the road (not blocking traffic) is changing a tire...and they aren't even naked.

 

[impressive]

Happens in rural mississippi with cows all the time. I've seen a deer hunt hold up traffic, when the deer crosssed the road, followed in short order by a pack of dogs and three hunters on four wheelers.

Some places still move to a rythem that is closer to the earth than to the heartbeat of the cities, thank goodness

Happens around here with Amish horse & buggy. I so hate that big orange triangle thingy they're required to put on their carts. Spoils the whole look.

 

[oggbashan]

Rural?

The county of Kent, in SE England, is not exactly like the rural US. It is almost impossible to be out of sight of a house.

Tractors and combine harvesters, in season, are common sights on rural roads. This road was a double-digit A class road, not a motorway, but still a major route across Kent that is currently being upgraded to cope with the heavy traffic.

I have been held up before on rural roads by sheep, cattle, horses and tractors but never in the last 30 years on such a major road.

Og

 

[entitled]

The county of Kent, in SE England, is not exactly like the rural US. It is almost impossible to be out of sight of a house.

Tractors and combine harvesters, in season, are common sights on rural roads. This road was a double-digit A class road, not a motorway, but still a major route across Kent that is currently being upgraded to cope with the heavy traffic.

I have been held up before on rural roads by sheep, cattle, horses and tractors but never in the last 30 years on such a major road.

Og

i was beign facetious in that other post, just so you know.

It is a pretty rare thing for a fairly major thoroughfare to be held up in that way. However, it needs to be done from time to time, especially if that's either the shortest or most convenient route for the farmer/shepherd/whatever. i've seen it happen more than once on four lane interstate highways.

 

[Guest]

The county of Kent, in SE England, is not exactly like the rural US. It is almost impossible to be out of sight of a house.

Tractors and combine harvesters, in season, are common sights on rural roads. This road was a double-digit A class road, not a motorway, but still a major route across Kent that is currently being upgraded to cope with the heavy traffic.

I have been held up before on rural roads by sheep, cattle, horses and tractors but never in the last 30 years on such a major road.

Og

Just to argumentative, the "rural US" varies quite a bit. In my particular area, there are large housing developments -- sometimes with multi million dollar houses -- cheek by jowl with orange groves, cattle ranches, and bee farms. It's an uncomfortable mix at times. The state highway that runs less than a quarter mile from my house is intersected by everything from single lane dirt tracks to multi lane interstate highways.

However, there are few sheep around here. I think there is an emu farm, though, a few miles from the conglomeration of housing and department stores taking over where I am. Oh, and some alpacas.

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

Must be Georgia.

Hee -- not quite. A little further south.

 

[CharleyH]

This afternoon I was touring the countryside with my wife after a substantial pub lunch (no alcohol because I was driving).

We were on an A-class road when we came to a halt in a short queue of stationary vehicles. Why?

Because three shepherds and two sheepdogs were escorting a flock of about a hundred sheep along the road from one field to another.

Is this the 21st century? This was a major road yet everyone seemed to accept that sheep crossing the road and holding up all traffic for ten minutes was perfectly normal.

Og

How curteous of you. I went to New York recently and it was not much different than anytime - loads of road kill and mostly deer and lots of injured cars and taking 5 hours rather than 2 because of over populated Bambis we did not want to hit to save our own lives and theirs. Humans are the animals that balance nature We would hardly think of saving the cockroach or reptiles from extinction, but we like cute furry animals. Fair? I am not sure.

 

[Guest]

This afternoon I was touring the countryside with my wife after a substantial pub lunch (no alcohol because I was driving).

We were on an A-class road when we came to a halt in a short queue of stationary vehicles. Why?

Because three shepherds and two sheepdogs were escorting a flock of about a hundred sheep along the road from one field to another.

Is this the 21st century? This was a major road yet everyone seemed to accept that sheep crossing the road and holding up all traffic for ten minutes was perfectly normal.

Back to normal service.

Og

Og... that made me giggle...I love it...you need sheep crossing signs

 

[Liar]

Speaking of sheep...

The King of Sweden has sheep.

Probably as part of some odd dutchy aquired in past times, or just by some weird old tradition that said he should probide the Royal Guard with wooly mittens or something...I really have no idea why. But he has a big ol' herd of them. And their grazing grounds are just a bike ride from the suburbia where I grew up.

When I was 14 years old, me and some friends went there one night and...well...did a little harvesting. One of us had lived on a farm and shaved the critters before. His dad even had shearers in his garage. So the next morning, two of His Majesty's sheep had gotten cute little poodle cuts.

But that's not the end of it. Apparently, we didn't manage to close the gates behind us when we left, so the whole bunch had decided to take a road trip and ended up camping on a nearby summer house lawn.

 

[zeb1094]

Speaking of sheep...

The King of Sweden has sheep.

Probably as part of some odd dutchy aquired in past times, or just by some weird old tradition that said he should probide the Royal Guard with wooly mittens or something...I really have no idea why. But he has a big ol' herd of them. And their grazing grounds are just a bike ride from the suburbia where I grew up.

When I was 14 years old, me and some friends went there one night and...well...did a little harvesting. One of us had lived on a farm and shaved the critters before. His dad even had shearers in his garage. So the next morning, two of His Majesty's sheep had gotten cute little poodle cuts.

But that's not the end of it. Apparently, we didn't manage to close the gates behind us when we left, so the whole bunch had decided to take a road trip and ended up camping on a nearby summer house lawn.

Now that's a good one! A knee slapper!

 

[Liar]

Now that's a good one! A knee slapper!

It was news enough to become front page stuff in the local paper. Yes, I used to live in Boredom Central.

 

[zeb1094]

It was news enough to become front page stuff in the local paper. Yes, I used to live in Boredom Central.

Did you ever go cow tipping?

 

[Liar]

Did you ever go cow tipping?

You won't get me close enough to a cow for that.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

Things like that used to happen around her but not very much anymore. Now even seeing a horse and rider on the roadside is quite rare. When I was growing up it was a daily occurance.

But about 10 years ago with the boom in the realestate market, all the farmers who have been scratching out a living growing rocks, (that's mostly what farms in this area grow) suddenly realized that they were sitting on 40 -100 acres of land that was going for $250,000 an acre.

They all sold out and moved to Florida. Now it's yuppie land.

 

[zeb1094]

You won't get me close enough to a cow for that.

In the middle of the night you sneak up on them while they are asleep and give them a shove. They fall over and lay there until morning! Hehehe!

 

[Guest]

In the middle of the night you sneak up on them while they are asleep and give them a shove. They fall over and lay there until morning! Hehehe!

Unless the farmer with the rocksalt in the double barrel has insomnia that night...

I grew up in Redneck central and in highschool, there were certain guys who thought cowtipping was THE thing.

Oh no, now I can't get the scene from Heathers out of my head. I blame you.

 

[Liar]

I grew up in Redneck central and in highschool, there were certain guys who thought cowtipping was THE thing.

Yeah, because nothing impresses high school girls as the ability to tackle bovines.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, because nothing impresses high school girls as the ability to tackle bovines.

Well, after enough cheap beer, I guess the hiked up pick up trucks and the spitting weren't enough...