Summer. The bells announce not only another hour but also an approaching flock of sheep. With a pleasant "béé, béé", they break the silence in the landscape. Sheep eats grass, fertilize the soil and put their good effect on the surrounding nature. In addition, they give us wool and meat. Sheep have belonged to the country since forever and it is up to us they stay there.
Jirka Krpeš and his farm Valaška are hidden deep in the woods with a beautiful view of Lysá Hora (the highest mountain). The road there is only for a 4x4 car, but I managed it with my Golf. But it's worth the misery, incredible views open up in front of me.
Together with his family, he creates something that is worth all the recognition and also my story. Sheep are sheared once a year. I also took part in it and I served the sheep for shearing. The sheep needs to be saddled and caught under the neck, then all you have to do is back them up and sit on their butt.
Did you know that when a sheep sits on its buttocks, so it doesn't have a single leg on the ground, it's essentially motionless? She can't stand on her own. That's why sheep are sheared while sitting. The whole thing is a relatively quick and painless process. Pure wool is then sorted out from the bad one and the wool continues to another location where it is soaked and thus gets rid of impurities such as sheep fat - lanolin. After washing, the wool is brushed and then continued on a spinning wheel where a long yarn is formed. Wool is dyed with natural materials such as beets or turmeric. Then all you have to do is knit :)
But not everything is pink in such a fairy tale. The main problem in recent years is the wolf and the bear. Jirka says that he is glad that the wolf has returned to the Beskydy mountains and he's holding his thumbs up for him. But at the same time, every night he fears how many sheep he will lose again.
