"She’s a shepherdess now"

December 20, 2023 10:47 AM

A runner near Puy de Dôme, France inadvertently became a shepherd when a flock of sheep began following her through the woods; artist Eleanor Scholz captured the sheep's fun run and provided a brief update.

I don’t actually know how long they’d been following her, but I believe the runner was leading the sheep back to a pasture when I encountered them. I don’t speak French so our conversation was pretty brief, but she let me know that they were lost and without a sheep dog, followed her instead, and she was leading them back towards where she’d seen some pastures. It wouldn’t have been difficult to ask around in that small community and figure out who they belong to, since the sheep were all painted to identify which farm they came from.

posted by uncleozzy (17 comments total)

That is the coolest thing I think I've ever heard of in terms of running stories! The closest thing I ever experienced was coming across some goats at the end of a long run here in Philly, but these were not lost, and they were also wearing sweaters.
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:13 AM on December 20, 2023 [4 favorites]

Were the goats' sweaters made of goat hair? Not sure if that would be cute or horrifying TBH but I would like to know either way
posted by echo target at 11:23 AM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Unexpected animal buddies are great. One of my favorite travel experiences was when two escaped hunting(?) dogs joined me for exploring a small state park that was otherwise deserted but close enough to houses and town for that to feel slightly eerie or less safe. 100 sheep is a lot of animal buddies, though.
posted by eviemath at 11:25 AM on December 20, 2023

A couple times a loose domestic dog joined me on a run. Not chasing, just casually strolling along with me. One was a rural area and I kinda figured the dog might just allowed to roam and maybe their owner was also a runner. The other time was just recently, I had head phones on and it wasn't until someone honked that it was obvious some escaped toy breed dog had followed me a couple blocks and crossed a busy street.
posted by midmarch snowman at 11:35 AM on December 20, 2023

That's great!

Maybe too late to warn others: the Instagram links obliterate the "back" function in the browser, you can go to Insta but you can't get back here
posted by anadem at 11:41 AM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

I love sheep, love meeting them on bike rides, and this would’ve made my year.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 12:06 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

I was joined by a wild boar during a run once. That run turned into an impromptu tree climbing event. The big pig rooted around for some truffles for a bit and then fucked back off to a nearby creek bed.

This also happened with a bull once, but it more just looked at me as I picked up a bunch of speed in an orthogonal direction.

Running in the country is exciting!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:31 PM on December 20, 2023 [7 favorites]

I love this post. As others have mentioned above, there used to be this delightful horse that would wait for me on my bicycle to pass by his pasture and race me for a bit until he reached the end of the fence. Kentucky, naturally.

In another pasture was a sign that read, "If you cross this field, I hope you can do it in nine seconds. The bull can do it in ten."
posted by effluvia at 12:44 PM on December 20, 2023 [4 favorites]

Oh Jesus Christ! Fenton! Fenton!!!!
posted by hippybear at 1:51 PM on December 20, 2023 [7 favorites]

Were the goats' sweaters made of goat hair? Not sure if that would be cute or horrifying TBH but I would like to know either way

I don't believe so, no.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:57 PM on December 20, 2023

Were the goats' sweaters made of goat hair? Not sure if that would be cute or horrifying TBH but I would like to know either way

I don't believe so, no.

Not Scythian goats, then.
posted by AdamCSnider at 2:50 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sounds like a solid life plan. Next she can move up to Nashua, get a nice little spread, fine more sheep and tend to them.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:47 PM on December 20, 2023

Noth hierth malk man
hiolk han merth han!

He yelled the rhyme aloud, and the goats came to him. They came very quickly, all of them together, not making any sound. They looked at him out of the dark slot in their yellow eyes. Duny laughed and shouted it out again, the rhyme that gave him power over the goats. They came closer, crowding and pushing round him. All at once he felt afraid of their thick, ridged horns and their strange eyes and their strange silence. He tried to get free of them and to run away. The goats ran with him keeping in a knot around him, and so they came charging down into the village at last, all the goats going huddled together as if a rope were pulled tight round them, and the boy in the midst of them weeping and bellowing.

“A Wizard of Earthsea”
Ursula K. Le Guin
posted by m2ke at 10:35 PM on December 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

If only. We have 15 sheep. I was immensely chuffed last Sunday when I "pushed" them through a gate all by myself. They won't be "pulled" by me at all at all . . . unless I have a bucket of sheep muesli && they can remember the last time they got such treats.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:10 PM on December 20, 2023

That video was hilarious! And what a huge herd of sheep! (I guess 100 sheep is believable. I tried counting them myself but I kept falling asleep.)
posted by Umami Dearest at 2:47 AM on December 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh Jesus Christ! Fenton! Fenton!!!!

Still the greatest video on the internet (IMHO).
posted by LooseFilter at 6:32 AM on December 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

This definitely calls for some Handel
posted by hydropsyche at 6:55 AM on December 21, 2023