2010 Calendar - September

This photo was taken at the National Sheep Sheering Competition June 2008 in County Mayo. Being a city boy means that farm animals still thrill and mystify me. I can honestly say that I had never really been around sheep before coming to Ireland, and I have learned a lot about them while I have been here. Sheep are, in my opinion, the funniest animal I have ever been around. They are content to feed on roadsides as cars fly by, and they are in the element balancing on the side of a cliff, but their nerves of steel melt away as soon as they see a person. You really can see instant panic in the faces and hear it in their voices as they react with their one and only defense… they urinate. They are quick to run away – even if that is in the direction of danger, and try their best to hide by blending into the crowd. Needless to say, I have a new respect and understanding of why the Bible refers to us as sheep….

I try and make it to as many traditional festivals as I can each year. The sheep sheering is always a blast. The sheep with their thick winter coats a herded into large pens only to be snatched up by the neck and quickly relieved of their wool.The look of terror and bewilderment on the sheep’s face is always funny to me.

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