Touring the Ring of Kerry: Sheepies!!!

We took a bus tour around the Ring of Kerry.  Essentially, this "Ring" simply refers to a circular route around County Kerry.  It is beautiful to see.  Some of the roads seem a bit tight, but not too bad, and if a bus can do it, well....  Steve and I think we would come back and drive it ourselves, only stopping and staying over in some of the small towns along the way.  There were lots of festivals in the various towns we drove through, and of course, lots of tourists like this motley crew below!

The first stop on the bus was this Red Fox Inn where one could use the toilets and have coffee, Irish coffee, tea or a pint, or...We did not have time to tour the Bog Village.

Back on the bus we saw more beautiful scenery and then stopped for a sheep-herding demo.

What was rather amazing was how the sheep knew when it was their turn to come forward.  They trotted down and circled the yard like they were on a catwalk!

The sheep below had such amazing horns.  Please note that the herder did not hit them with that stick - he only used it as a pointer.  They all seemed quite comfortable around him.  Many of the sheep were breathing heavily - he pointed out that they sweat like dogs, and the rapid breath allows them to cool down, and it was a rather warm day.

The dogs were anxious to get started.

 

The sheep are way high up in the field, up by the shrub-line.  Farmers can let their sheep go above that and onto the upper parts that are available for everyone's use.  The dogs are important in herding them since they can cover such wide territory.

The dogs worked alone and together at times.  They each had their own whistles and calls.  They followed what he said even when they seemed too far away to hear his whistle.  When he did a sound that sounded like something falling, they would drop and stay.  It was very cool!