Re: [Blackbelly] good movie about sheep
Glad you liked the movie, Michael. You'll be glad to listen to the commentary; it helped a lot. That cussing scene was followed by that whining A'hole phoning his MOTHER, not his friend! And at the end he said "I really like to torment her like that." I really hated that jerk. My favorite scene was in the beginning where we see just a few sheep lolling around the paddock. Then the REST of the flock comes in, all 3000 of them. And I particularly liked the magesty of spending months herding those sheep through the mountains. You probably didn't realize that they weren't shooting to kill those grizzly bears (which would be a federal offense) but were shooting near them to scare them off. To answer your other questions: 1. I thought it was unnecessary to toss that lamb on top the other lambs, but at that age, they are made of rubber and I suppose it didn't hurt the lamb. They get much worse treatment from being butted by other sheep. It's just hard to watch a human being so rough. 2. The point of pushing the orphan lamb up next to the lamb being born was to mingle the birth fluids that were pooling underneath across both lambs so as to cause the ewe to think that both of them were hers. Some ewes can't count past 1. 3. The lady dragging the lamb into the pen to coax the ewe in with it was simply saving her back from having to carry the lamb. Again, you probably thought it was a little rougher than necessary, but wool lambs are a lot heavier than blackbelly lambs and it is probably easier to drag them than carry them. With small blackbelly lambs, I just hold the lamb in from of me and back into the pen, making sure the ewe sees and smells the lamb the entire way. I've had no luck putting the lamb into the pen and trying to get the ewe to go in afterwards. If I don't keep that lamb right in front of her nose, she loses interest or goes off in a different direction to search for her lost lamb elsewhere. It's less of a problem with experienced mothers than first-timers. And most blackbely moms need no help at all. Woolie sheep need constant attention at lambing. That's why those farmers were taking the lambing duties in shifts--24 hours around the clock. 4. Yes, the lamb pelt was skinned from a lamb that had died earlier. They were dressing an orphan lamb into the pelt to trick the ewe into thinking the orphan was the lamb she had given birth to. I hope that some others on this list are now intrigued enough by this discussion to rent the movie. You won't regret it. Carol At 03:03 PM 8/24/2010, you wrote: Carol. I watched this movie using streaming on my iPad. Fantastic! Thanks for the suggestion. Had to show some of the good parts to my wife. Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [Blackbelly] good movie about sheep
Carol. I watched this movie using streaming on my iPad. Fantastic! Thanks for the suggestion. Had to show some of the good parts to my wife. Beautiful scenery. The movie's pace forces you to slow down and do things on their time. Very effective. My favorite scenes were the one where the herder is fed up and cussing up a storm, then calls his friend from a mountain top (to get cell reception) and tells him all his woes. Hilarious and also--you feel for him. In both cases, the scenery is incredibly beautiful. Also, the older cowboy seems to take things in stride...always talks nice to the animals and seems to have a great affinity with them, his dog and his horse. I tend to be more like him... The streaming version has no commentary available, so I'll have to get the DVD. Not being a rancher, I had a few observations/questions which some of you might like to answer: 1] when the ewes are all lambing, and they are trying to graft that little ram onto a lambing ewe, why toss it from a few feet away, on top of the other newborn like that? seems unnecessarily harsh. 2] Also there's a scene where a ewe is just giving birth and they appear to be putting another lamb in there right at the same moment and touching the lambs together. I imagine this is to try to graft the other lamb onto this mother? 3] the one lady who is trying to get the ewe into a lambing pen with her newborn, is gently dragging the newborn across the ground into the pen. Is that to leave a scent trail? I have no problem getting ewes into a pen by simply placing the lamb in there, and applying some pressure from behind, to urge the mother in. 4] They appear to be putting a Onesie on one of the orphaned lambs, and make comments that the ewe will "think her dead newborn is back to life". Is that a lamb pelt from a newly dead lamb, or something made of cloth? (The streaming video is not that clear) All in all very enjoyable. I'll be ordering the DVD so I can see a clearer version of it, and to get the DVD commentary. -Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies. On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 8:10 PM, Carol Elkins wrote: > I watched a good movie called "Sweetgrass," available from Netflix at > http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Sweetgrass/70128353?trkid=226870 > > Actually, I watched it twice, once without the audio commentary and then > again with the audio commentary turned on. The movie is a documentary about > a family of Montana sheepherders as they drive their flock of 3000 sheep up > into the mountain range and then back down when the 2002 grazing season is > over. I think everyone who raises sheep will be captivated by the movie. It > documents the last sheep trailing done in this area of Montana, the end of a > 104-year ranching tradition. People with herding dogs will enjoy watching > the dogs on the trail. People with LGDs will enjoy watching the LGDs protect > the sheep against grizzly bear. There is very little dialog, and what there > is is often streams of profanity by one of the men herding the sheep. But > the sheep noises are really important to the film, and you miss all of this > with the commentary turned on. That's why it is worth watching twice. The > commentary explains a lot of what is going on. If you subscribe to Netflix, > I highly recommend this movie. > > Carol Elkins > Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep > (no shear, no dock, no fuss) > Pueblo, Colorado > http://www.critterhaven.biz > > ___ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[Blackbelly] good movie about sheep
I watched a good movie called "Sweetgrass," available from Netflix at http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Sweetgrass/70128353?trkid=226870 Actually, I watched it twice, once without the audio commentary and then again with the audio commentary turned on. The movie is a documentary about a family of Montana sheepherders as they drive their flock of 3000 sheep up into the mountain range and then back down when the 2002 grazing season is over. I think everyone who raises sheep will be captivated by the movie. It documents the last sheep trailing done in this area of Montana, the end of a 104-year ranching tradition. People with herding dogs will enjoy watching the dogs on the trail. People with LGDs will enjoy watching the LGDs protect the sheep against grizzly bear. There is very little dialog, and what there is is often streams of profanity by one of the men herding the sheep. But the sheep noises are really important to the film, and you miss all of this with the commentary turned on. That's why it is worth watching twice. The commentary explains a lot of what is going on. If you subscribe to Netflix, I highly recommend this movie. Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
