A sextant is an navigation instrument (as seen in the next photo down) that measures angles between two points using stars and probably magic. It would give navigators the latitude of the ship. Maybe longitude too, but that's probably an entirely different instrument with an equally odd name. It probably wasn't very accurate, which might account for why a lot of early explorers didn't land where they thought they were going ("America...ooops").
Actually, farmers mark their sheep so if they graze in communal or jointly-owned fields, they can later sort out whose is whose. At least, that's one reason sheep get painted.
The Sextant. If the names that dirty what must the owners be like? I can only imagine, yet I really don't want to lol. Keep up the great posts, and great work! x
Hey Jorge, nice pictures! :D Well, as you know by now I'm actually living in Ireland but, yes, I still think those sheep look hilarious (spelling?) and very fancy ^^ But it wasn't until this summer I actually saw them being painted. It was in England though and it was cows, but anyways. We parked our car outside a shop in the middle of nowhere to buy some stuff and we heard this really loud sound that cows make, you know. And I was like: What the hell? The world's loudest cows? So we went to check it out and there they were, and they were very many and it was these people that were spraying the colour on them XD And the next day a guy told us that they were marked to show that the belonged to a certain herd. Like one herd may ave green sheep and the other pink ^^ And sometimes they have 2 colours to show if they have to be slaughtered or something :P Hugs, Julia.
Is that instrument Ireland's version of" the all-purpose, all uses utility knife for only the great price of $19.99, and we'll even throw in an extra one..."? Anyway, great pics, love the painted sheep.
I like your sheep dyeing comment, since I have a good friend who dyes yarn (after the wool has been processed into make the yarn). I just thought it was cute.
Haha lads, the sheep are marked as a form of identification of who they belong to, but I always laugh when I see em with splodges of red and blue up the mountains!
Also, the markings on the sheep are actually a kind of spray on chalk which washes out when they use the wool. When I first moved to New Zealand - where there are more sheep than people, I thought they used the red and blue markings to distinguish the gender of the sheep, but then we started seeing green and yellow ones which left me pondering their ambiguity.
Too easy
What the hell is a "sextant?" (Sounds dirty)
Those sheep are pretty with the red on~
ReplyDeletekeep posting pics~
hug ^^
Jorge, you crack me up.
ReplyDeleteSo, you don't know me but I am a huge fan of Lost and you are my favorite character. I almost named my cat after you. Darn, now I sound crazy.
If you are ever in LA, come on by, we love to bbq and you sound like our kind of people.
Keep your blog goin', it's cheap entertainment.
... not that you're cheap...
Is that really why the sheep are dyed before they're sheared?! (Was that just the stupidest question ever?)
ReplyDelete"Great Gas"? as opposed to "Bad Gas?"
ReplyDeleteA sextant is an navigation instrument (as seen in the next photo down) that measures angles between two points using stars and probably magic. It would give navigators the latitude of the ship. Maybe longitude too, but that's probably an entirely different instrument with an equally odd name. It probably wasn't very accurate, which might account for why a lot of early explorers didn't land where they thought they were going ("America...ooops").
ReplyDeleteGoogle knows all.
HYSTERICAL - love the Great Gas picture. I so would have done the same thing.
ReplyDeleteIs that 'gadget' Ireland's version of a Swiss Army knife?? LOL The sheep picture, very colorful indeed.
Yep, dyeing the sheep ahead of time saves hours and hours of labor, I hear. And the sheep feel pretty fancy, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteActually, farmers mark their sheep so if they graze in communal or jointly-owned fields, they can later sort out whose is whose. At least, that's one reason sheep get painted.
ReplyDeleteJorge,
ReplyDeleteAfter you left the gas station that little smiley guy on the pump wasn't smiling!
Love the pics. I hope to get to Ireland someday.
ReplyDeleteDyed sheep.......
ReplyDeletewonder if the sheep LIKE being painted....
"Hey - I wanted to be PURPLE!!!"
1/6th of a circle: sextant
ReplyDeleteDoes everyone leave that station full of ( good ) gas?
If those sheep were mine, I would have used numbers.
The Sextant. If the names that dirty what must the owners be like? I can only imagine, yet I really don't want to lol. Keep up the great posts, and great work! x
ReplyDeleteDIRTY PICTURES!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you went into that bar.
Sextant is an great herbie Hancock album.
ReplyDeletei think my gynecologist uses a sextant on me during my annual visit...
ReplyDeleteHey Jorge, nice pictures! :D
ReplyDeleteWell, as you know by now I'm actually living in Ireland but, yes, I still think those sheep look hilarious (spelling?) and very fancy ^^
But it wasn't until this summer I actually saw them being painted.
It was in England though and it was cows, but anyways. We parked our car outside a shop in the middle of nowhere to buy some stuff and we heard this really loud sound that cows make, you know. And I was like: What the hell? The world's loudest cows?
So we went to check it out and there they were, and they were very many and it was these people that were spraying the colour on them XD
And the next day a guy told us that they were marked to show that the belonged to a certain herd. Like one herd may ave green sheep and the other pink ^^ And sometimes they have 2 colours to show if they have to be slaughtered or something :P
Hugs, Julia.
Is that instrument Ireland's version of" the all-purpose, all uses utility knife for only the great price of $19.99, and we'll even throw in an extra one..."? Anyway, great pics, love the painted sheep.
ReplyDeleteI like your sheep dyeing comment, since I have a good friend who dyes yarn (after the wool has been processed into make the yarn). I just thought it was cute.
ReplyDeleteHaha lads, the sheep are marked as a form of identification of who they belong to, but I always laugh when I see em with splodges of red and blue up the mountains!
ReplyDeleteNicole
Also, the markings on the sheep are actually a kind of spray on chalk which washes out when they use the wool. When I first moved to New Zealand - where there are more sheep than people, I thought they used the red and blue markings to distinguish the gender of the sheep, but then we started seeing green and yellow ones which left me pondering their ambiguity.
ReplyDelete