Wandering by the Rusland Pool beck this ewe was keeping an eye on me, as I was her
with her embellishment which is a practical identification but also gives her a blue punk style I found enchanting.
Returning back along the trail she was still there but now taking her
ease in the sun and still posing. Despite there being about 3 million sheep in the county I never tire of taking pictures of them, they don't fly or flutter away, hide in the undergrowth or have any camouflage. Of course it depends on the breed but these ones are placid, their thick wool making them look round and plump like this .
The artist is
Reece Ingram who says he is "
fascinated how closely the sheep resemble the landscape they live on. Each sheep looks like a gathering of hills". He too is fond of sheep and has made many representations in stone and sandstone. This is one is made of oak, the national tree of England, like the sheep it has endurance in all weathers. It is one of six called "
Sethera" in Ridding Wood. I could only spot four so the other two must be hidden somewhere waiting to be found. Or should I say I could only spot methera and the other tyan are hidden for the artist has used the old shepherds counting system and sethera means six. Long gone out of use its final death-knell I imagine with the 1870 education act providing schooling for all. Each valley had its own counting system although they had their similarities. The method may have be been brought here by the Celts or Norsemen in the ancient past. Today only one (or should I say yan) is used in dialect; yan =1, such as "can I have yan of them"
Ready to count? 1 yan, 2 tyan, 3 tethera, 4 methera, 5 pimp, 6 sethera, 7 lethera, 8 hovera, 9 dovra, 10 dick, 11 yan a dick, 12 tyan a dick, 13 tethera a dick, 14 methera a dick, 15 bumfit 16 yan a bumfit, 17 tyan a bumfit, 18 tether a bumfit, 19 methera a bumfit and 20 figgot. In some parts of the county 15 is mimph but the child in me prefers to say bumfit.
13 comments:
wow! Love your sheep photos and fascinating post ~
Carol of (A Creative Habor) on blogger ^_^
ewe did well
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
I love the shots of the ewe and the sculpture is wonderful. Great post for E.
Very interesting post with the old shepherd's counting system, - I am always delighted to see ewes, - they and their offspring were probably the most enjoyable part of farming when we had a flock of 400 and I'm not sure how you would express that in old shepherd's counting language.
Punky. A one in a million ewe!
What beautiful creatures and a great sculpture too. Lovely photo-series of both sweetly-plump finds and the letter E.
I never grow tired of sheep pics either. Nice shots.
Great post and I love this sheep! So cute
I thought of ewe as well in my post! Thanks for sharing about Reece Ingram.
Love the sculpture and thanks for the counting lesson.
What a beautiful bling and makeover!
Catching up with ABC Wednesday entries on Valentine's day!
I hope you'd come and check out my Eskimo
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team
That sheep and the sculpture looks great but I found the counting in that language strange Joy - Dave
This is very interesting! I like to find out the influence of ancient languages on our modern languages. I heard that old norse has had a great influence on English. Words like mail are derived from the Viking word " mål" which means speech or language.
Your sheep photos are lovely! The statue is ma gnificent!
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