One year I found myself working odd jobs to keep busy. The construction industry in Idaho had ground to a halt and folks were begging for work. Winter was near when a friend called me and asked if I would be interested in lambing at the ranch where he worked. I'd tried my hand at lots of jobs over the years: logger, sailor, iron worker, stevedore, oyster shucker, finish carpenter on luxury yachts, apple picker, welder-n- fitter. So it wasn't unusual for me to try something different. I explained to my lady why I thought it was a good idea and headed to the ranch before I could change my mind.
Lambing is tough, one of the most difficult jobs I've ever had, but I really enjoyed it! The ranch I worked had many thousands of ewes, so the lambing season was about 4 months long. There's no time to get bored when you're working 12 on and 12 off 7 days a week. When spring came and it was time for the sheep to head out to the pasture lands, one of the herders was missing a camptender. He asked me to go with him until his help returned from Peru. If lambing was good, herding was GREAT! Here I was getting paid to ride a horse, cook on a woodstove or campfire, wash my clothes in a creek, chase the woolies, smell the wildflowers, count the stars...
I herded 6 years before returning to construction. Herding gave some of the best days of my life, and some of the worst. Would I do it again? Maybe... For now, I'm enjoying chasing 'em with a camera.
