Habetrot

Sheep Cyclone

 

 

 

 

Mountain, Moor and Loch

 

 

This postcard of Scottish Blackface Sheep in the Highlands of Scotland was mailed in 1906--106 years ago.

And here's a modern look at some of their descendants, from the breed association webpage linked above.  

 (Click images for big.) 

 It's nice to know some things don't change a lot through time.

Aesop's Fable: The Shepherd and His Sheep

 

(Click for bigness)

A Shepherd driving his Sheep to a wood saw an oak 

of unusual size full of acorns, and spreading his 

cloak under the branches, he climbed up into the 

tree and shook them down.  The Sheep eating the 

acorns inadvertently frayed and tore the cloak.  

When the Shepherd came down and saw what was 

done, he said, "O you most ungrateful creatures! 

You provide wool to make garments for all other men, 

but you destroy the clothes of him who feeds you."

Silly shepherd.  
The illustration is from a Greek manuscript dating to 
around 1480.  
Here's the full page: 

Scenic Swiss Sheep

 

(Click for big)

Now say the title of this post three time fast.

 

Where's Bee??

 

 

Who, me, resist a cute lamb video?  I don't think so.

 

WooHoo Five!!

 

        Well damn.  I went and slacked off right past my fifth blogiversary, which was August 8.  

Baaaad blogger.

Le Berger/The Shepherd

 

Here we have "Le Berger" by Julien Dupré (1851 - 1910), a French realist painter.   He was last seen in these pages here. 

While Dupré was better known for his herculean French peasant women pitching hay and for his paintings of country scenes with cattle, he did from time to time turn his attentions to scenes with flocks of sheep.

The image of a shepherd or shepherdess with a flock of sheep and a sheepdog is one of my favorite motifs, and Dupré's "Le Berger" stands out amongst the many I have seen.

(click for bigness)

In the distance we see sandy dunes and lowering skies, while sheep graze calmly in the middle ground.  In the forground is the back of the shepherd, with his dog at his side.  Overall, the colors are uniformly washed out greens, tans, and greys--except for the shepherd, the dog, and the one black sheep in the flock (who appears to have locked eyes with the dog).  The three of them are depicted shades of dark brown and black.

I like how the shepherd and the dog reflect each other.  Both are rather scruffy and worn around the edges.  You can even see just a bit of a brushy moustache on the shepherd's lip that looks like the dog's coat. They must have been working together as a team for a long time to so resemble each other, don't you think?

 

Meeehhhh!

 

 

Max

 

All his life, Max insisted he was a Border Collie.

With thanks to TheGeorg.

Merry Merry!

 

May your holiday season be filled with light and love,

and may the New Year bring you all good things.