Walking on the South Downs

What a pleasure to come from the greyness of the end of winter to the green of England. We took a hike on the South Downs, starting in Ovingdean and ending in Lewes. Along the way we saw many recently born lambs and a field full of ewes who were shortly to give birth.



The land goes up and down affording delightful views of the varied fields. I felt a bit like a character displaced from a Jane Austen book, walking from town to town as that was the only mode of transportation available to me.



There is a sense of camaraderie as each person you pass must be greeted as well as the dogs and horses! One lamb had managed to find itself on the wrong side of a fence. It was bleating pathetically, not sure how to get out of its predicament. It took three of us to coax it through the gate we held open. What a sense of relief as it gamboled up the hill to rejoin the flock.



New growth is sprouting everywhere. Nice to have a taste of spring.

North Streymoy - Faroe Islands

Photos: August 7, 2014

Everywhere we looked in the Faroe Islands there were steep hills, cascades of water and sheep on the slopes - not big flocks, but a few here and there. They seem to be able to climb the steepest slopes.



We went on a tour of the northern part of Streymoy, stopping here and there to admire the views. We stopped near a lake and one of the travellers went down to the shore. Suddenly, as if an announcement went out, the swans swam towards him; the sheep nearby headed his way; then the sheep on the hillsides came dashing down the slopes.



I guess they were hoping for a handout, but it was just a photo op. Sheep (as in Iceland) come in a variety of colours. They graze on the hills all summer and are rounded up in October. We were told that people collect their slaughtered lambs and hang them to dry in a shed. They are eaten at Christmas (the smell is supposedly quite strong). You can read about it here.



Like Iceland, most of the Faroe Islands is treeless which allows for long vistas.



We took a boat trip along the bird cliffs near Vestmanna. The cliffs towered over us. As much of the rock is basalt, a fairly soft rock, it has been carved by the sea, leaving caves, arches and other interesting rock formations.



Our boat went through arches, around sea stacks. Many birds nest on the cliffs.



Through an arch (you can see the poles at the back of the boat).



It was impossible to photograph to the top of the cliffs - they rose over 800 metres.



Back to Vestmanna. The village perches on a hill. Nearby there are pipes coming down from the top of the mountains. Water is diverted through them turning turbines inside to generate power. More and more the Faroe Islands are using natural sources of power: hydro-electric power and windmills. With only about 50,000 people, the power demands are not that substantial.

More photos: Iceland and Faroe Islands album

Edderton

Edderton, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Photos: August 5, 2011
It is wonderful to wake up to sunshine, even if it doesn't last the whole day. It was a beautiful morning for a walk in this rural area. Sheep and cows were plentiful.



The countryside soundscape is full of baas and moos. From a distance we could see some highland cattle - but we hoped to see some close up.

Back in the car to head closer to Thurso where we would get the ferry for the Orkneys. We stopped in Golspie to admire the beach and wander through the town.

The beauty of the countryside is only exceded by the beauty of the people - friendly, helpful and welcoming. As we were driving northward I spotted a herd of Highland Cattle and luck was with us - there was a parking area near enough for us to stop and gawk.



I'm not sure how they see; their hair droops over their faces. After admiring them for a while we continued our drive, taking a small road to see some standing stones.



These stones at Achavanich have been standing here for about 4000 years. They are unusual in that unlike most stone circles, the sides of the stones, rather than the flat surfaces,  face the centre of the circle. These stones were in a remote field, reached by a one track road. Fortunately with the treeless landscape it was easy to see if someone was coming and you could pull into one of the passing places.

For more photos, click here

Day 255: Sheep Herding

Day 255: Sheep Herding, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Instinct - that's what the gentleman spoke about as he demonstrated how his border collies herd sheep. They are bred for herding and it is remarkable to watch them focus solely on herding the sheep. He explained that in training them he does not reward or praise them, just lets them know through tone of voice that they are off the mark.

The dogs understood spoken commands as well as whistle commands and obeyed completely (well not quite completely), never taking their eyes off the sheep.

I'm just reading Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness in Room 56 by Rafe Esquith. Our students are much more complex than these dogs. Instinct alone will not help our students develop. But the respect for the capabilities of our students and the belief that they can achieve is common to the approach of both Rafe and the dog trainer. As for the sheep - we have to help our students see that following the flock and banding together isn't the best path to growth!