National Geographic Trip to Mongolia – Day 9, June 19, 2017
Shearing Sheep
After breakfast we headed to the Tugregiin Shiree to walk where dinosaurs once walked. We were in no rush. Our caravan made its way through the desert, again forging new paths and kicking up dust. As we crested a hill, we suddenly saw a herd of sheep and goats being sheered. Of course our caravan stopped and we all got out, cameras in hand. The family’s ger was across the road, with two motorcycles along the side. But the family was all participating in the shearing.
There was the grandmother who was trying to keep track of two younger boys, there was the father who had his lasso and whose job it was to catch the goats. There was the mother who was pulling the wool from the sheep and painting their backsides green when they were done. There was the grandfather who was shearing. And there were the older son and daughter who helped catch the animals, hold them (by sitting on them) while they were being sheared or painted and who seemed to do whatever else was needed. It was a true family affair.
