My Workplace

I was standing with Bear and the sheep and I looked around and marveled. "Bear, we are here in Germany with a flock of sheep. Can you really believe it."


Amazing is it not! Georg and his dogs are down below. In the shade of course.

Of course not every day can be idyllic and while I "commune with nature" Georg is working for a living. 

The days are long, the work is every single day and the weather swings from far too cold to far too hot. 

The thunderstorm did not last long and we were fortunate to be close to a picnic spot

And remember the snow and the rain from earlier blogs!!

Another thunderstorm is rolling in.



But I love my part in this. I come for approximately 4 hours six days a week. I usually come in the mornings so some of that time is taken up with sheep resting, from the sun or to digest their morning feed.

I find it an incredibly intimate, personal life with your stock. You are observing them continually. I keep an eye on Bear as he can be a devil when left to his own devices (he can have his own agenda). I watch the sheep as they too can be devils with their own "ideas". And I sometimes watch for vehicles.

Georg has it harder. He watches his dogs, his sheep, me, Bear and sometimes for vehicles. He watches not only for the pattern of grazing but also the health of his sheep. And then he has to think about the where, when and why of the grazes he chooses. As I have said before, this is not a "passive" work life. There are dozens of decision making moments during the day. You must be proactive and alert to what is the best for these animals you know so well.

 I told Georg I loved this photo. I think it is Romantic (in the literary, artistic sense). Being a pragmatic man he responded with a quizzical look 😖
(Bear and Yukon are the dogs).

And because I am talking about my workplace;

My "commute" is 10-15 mins of no traffic with this particular delight every time.