Gouda-evening.

It's monday night. The night I have to myself - or as a friend recently put it - the night i tie scarves on my wrists and ankles and dance around to fleetwood mac. In reality; the night I snack on cheese all night and drink wine and try on all my jewelry at once and smoke a single cigarette...all alone.

I listened to a podcast of Lucien talking about his experience trailing the herders for a summer in the mountains. He talked a bit about the giant pyrenees mountain dogs that live amidst the herd and will fight to the death when wolves or bears come around looking to eat a sheep. Curiously, in the movie you see the dogs one evening devouring something that looks a lot like a lamb...

Lucien explained that although the dogs are often starving (only so much kibble can be brought in to replenish the cowboy's supplies) they would never kill a sheep. But! as soon as a sheep is dead - they tear into it. Like white on rice. I find this so fascinating.

Also want to tell you the pyrenees mountain dogs are thick as bricks. Very different from the working collies that rally and round up the sheep.

Also also want to tell you that apparently sheep farming has been declining in the US for decades. Americans simply don't eat lamb and don't wear wool. (In fact last night Eric and I fashioned a pizza with lamb sausage, carmelized onions and ricotta. I would say it was the best pizza we have ever made. A welcome break from our mostly vegetarian regimen which is boring, but important to me. Sadly most lamb you find in groceries comes all the way from New Zealand, where sheep farming is part of the national identity.)

Also want to tell you that Lucien said that sheep farming is the one of the few industries that has not been vertically integrated into the modern farming system - that is to say that sheep can't be brought up in feed lots.

I really want to have a sheep farm someday. or next year.