A Quiet Sunday - Sheep and Shotguns at Dawn

Since returning from our trip around the mountains of southern Aragón we have been enjoying the last of the beautiful warm autumn weather here at Monte Pego.  We live in a cul-de-sac on the far side of the development and, with all our immediate neighbours away, it has been incredibly quiet here.  On a Sunday morning the sun comes up over the mountain in almost complete silence.  Until, that is, a small band of hunters start blasting away with their shotguns at anything that moves - as well as quite a few inanimate objects.  At times they are only 100 metres or so from the house and while it was a bit unnerving at first we have grown used to it and we amuse ourselves by cheering on the local rabbits as they bid to escape the hunters and their dogs.

This Sunday morning, unusually, the hunting was disrupted  by the sudden reappearance, after months of absence, of the local herd of goats and sheep.  Many of those of you who have visited us here over the last 4-5 years will remember them fondly.  We have wiled away many a half hour watching their antics as the flock makes its way across the hillside below us - young billy goats getting lost and rescued by the sheepdog while sheep graze fearlessly on seemingly vertical cliff faces. 

The small line of dots are sheep - we must get a zoom lens...

The hunters were not amused.  It is fair to say that the unexpected appearance of a couple of hundred sheep and goats with bells ringing somewhat cramped their style and we imagined the rabbits all legging it while shooting was suspended so that the herd could pass.  By 9.30 the hunters had trudged off and the last of the sheep had disappeared over the hill.  The excitement was over and silence settled once again over the valley.