The land, the flock, the dogs and I. I wish to expand on the last blog post, which was titled pastoral ease. Moves with a lot of animals are not easy but they do have a feeling that is hard to replicate elsewhere.
The word pastoral is described as land or farm used for or related to the keeping or grazing of sheep or cattle; associated with country life. The origin of the latin word pastoralis is ‘relating to a shepherd’.
I seldom use the word but when it comes to mind I think it is this that the dictionary might also mean but missed out on:
Pastoral is one of those times when no other personal or worldly problem exists.
the drought is not here, the imminent sale of animals is forgotten, your next move is not a concern. With each step along a move with livestock you slip deeper into existing right here and now and you know the world is right for right now. Therefore it’s a good time to be alive and present.
I do not think or feel pastoral thoughts when I am out and with the dogs and the flock on a move. But instead the activity of moving across a landscape with a group of livestock is rich with pastoral nature and thus I become infused with it. When the moment is shattered or the move is done the feeling is too, however, it always, always leaves an indelible mark upon ones soul, because that is the nature of Nature. That is to be pastoral.