You think those postcards are joking about the "Scottish traffic jams"?
Scotland has more sheep than cows, in fact, Scotland has more sheep than people. So it's not surprising that today's Friday Farm Animal blogging is devoted to some of the sheep I saw on my recent trip to the Highlands.
We were driving from Fort Augustus to our cottage in Foyers one evening, stopping often to take photos of the amazing scenery. Several times we literally stopped in the middle of the road. There was very little traffic; in the 45 minute journey I saw a single car. We did, however, have to stop for sheep in the road.
We waited patiently for this bedraggled ewe to cross the road. She was losing her fleece in bits and pieces—since shearing sheep costs more than the wool is worth, many sheep are now bred to lose their fleece naturally, saving the farmer the cost of shearing his ewes, and putting sheepdogs out of business.
Finally we found a designated pull off, and since we were itching to pull out our cameras and get some good shots, we stopped the car, right where some sheep had decided to cross the road to get a look at the view too.
A sign nearby named this the Suidhe viewpoint. Here's someone's YouTube video of what it looks like. Breathtaking scenery, especially in the evening before the late summer sun sets.
I always say sheep have the best views, since they're often grazed on hillsides in some of the most picturesque countryside in Britain.
These sheep have views of two lochs, Loch Nan Eun and Loch Tarff. Lucky sheep.
A lamb by the side of the road.
More Highlands sheep:
And if I wanted to make a car advert, I couldn't choose a better place:
