Tags
dog, dust, flock, goat, photography, road, Rodna Mountains, Rodna National Park, Romania, Rotunda Pass, rural, sheep, shepherd
From Bistrita we headed north towards the Rodna Mountains which boast one of the longest continuous ridges in Romania, over 50 km from east to west. Our chosen road formed part of the perimeter of the Rodna National Park and crossed this ridge at the lesser used and second highest pass, the Rotunda. In the eastern Carpathians, close to the Ukranian border and away from the main through routes and larger towns, this area is something of a quiet backwater and the 567 km² of Park wilderness is home to brown bears, lynx, grey wolves, black capercaillies and eagles – sadly we didn’t see any ….. but then in some cases perhaps it was just as well 
As we began to climb, fir trees moved in to flank the road, their foliage darkening the slopes around us. We had already passed small groups of cattle being brought down from the high summer pasture but soon our road was submerged beneath a sea of sheep and goats, tended by shepherds and a pack of fearsome looking dogs; shadowed by a growing cloud of dust. 
We pulled over to one side and the tide of animals flowed unchecked around us with the sound of bleating, tinkling bells and trampling of cloven feet filling the air. Getting down low for a more intimate shot one of the battle scarred dogs came in for a closer look but moved on once satisfied that I posed no threat to the flock. 
A swaggering goat soon followed but the jaunty step and wicked gleam in his eye had me wondering whether being down at his level was quite such a good idea! 
Eventually the end was in sight with a few stragglers taking up the rear …..
…… and finally they had passed. 
(All images are copyright to Noeline Smith)
I remember scenes like this when I was growing up, I believe it is banned now here. Great images Noeline.
Not the best photos ever but it was a great part of a very memorable day.
Sheep and cattle are still taken up the roads here but not often and only on the smaller roads. Having said that, Freemen of the City of London are entitled to drive sheep over London Bridge – now I’d love to see that!
Lovely images Noeline. Been caught like that myself a few times.
Thanks Chillbrook. I think they’re OK images but they remind me of a great day …. and I’ve been caught a couple of times in Devon and Cornwall too
Your images and words really brought the whole thing ALIVE ! I could hear the tinkle of bells and smell the dust and animals, even. Love the images. Thank you!
What a great compliment – thank you June!
There is a wonderful sense of place about these images, particularly the first and the last with the clouds of disturbed dust. They are perfect examples of capturing the multi-sensory response to a happening/occasion we were discussing recently. And, of course, your commentary complements the pictures and completes the record. But don’t be afraid of the black and white collie sheep dogs. Although they are very bossy with the sheep they are by nature very gentle and friendly.
Thank you Louis – I think the last is probably my favourite for capturing the atmosphere.
Fortunately I’m a ‘dog person’ so I don’t have any problems like that. There must have been a pack of about 15 in total, mostly the creamy coloured type in the second shot, so they don’t show up well. All bore scars from serious scrapping but I guess they need to be pretty tough as their job is to keep the wolves and bears at bay!
Great post, Noeline, like the photos very much, such tranquil scenes; there´s still a lot of em in Spain, even on the outskirts of big cities, but when you encounter them furthest from civilisation is always the best
Greetings, Ron.
Thanks Ron, much appreciated. We haven’t encountered any droves during our visits to Spain – wrong time, wrong place probably.
On a vaguely similar theme we were on a small mountain road and came around a corner to find a workforce on their chairs in the middle of the road brewing up a drink and having something to eat. I don’t know who was more surprised to see anyone – them or us!