animals

We had a herd of sheep and goats, which collectively are called ghanam. They weren't really differentiated, particularly in my mind, so I basically use the terms "sheep" and "goat" interchangeably to refer to all of them. What can I say--they functioned as a unit in my life.

The sheep eat anything, but really seem to like the flowery things on this one bush. Watching them eat is kindof intense. They move across the desert as a relentless force of consumption--like locusts, or suburban sprawl. I love the sound of sheep crossing the desert. It's mesmerizingly beautiful.

Goat kids are pretty cool, too. They're cute, and fun, and a good size. They tend to scale impossible surfaces alot more than older ones, although I'm not sure whether this is because of their size or because grown-ups are boring. One of them is essentially a pet, named Fateem. It's pretty cuddly, although sometimes against its will. Goat kids make cute noises, too. They're eyes are pretty freaky, though.

The problem with sheep is that it's alot easier to make them go away from you than it is to make them come towards you. The Bedouin can lead them from the front, but I can't make the right noises. You really can't direct them effectively from the middle of the herd, unless you are cutting off a large enough segment to change the momentum of the herd. If you can get a critical mass going in one direction, the others with notice that they've been left behind and scurry to catch up. Kindof like humans. Now you can understand how problematic it was that I couldn't always tell whether Um Salem wanted me to go somewhere or whether she wanted me to make the sheep go there. She'd gesture towards herself, and I'd walk away to outflank the sheep, and then she'd yell something at me again, and I'd turn back and go towards her. Or I'd go towards her, but she'd still be gesturing and pointing, so I'd have to go back and circle around the sheep. I also couldn't figure out what the different sheep-herding noises mean. First of all, I can't even come close to making most of them. But I also can't discern a clear link between a given sound (or thrown rock) and the action she wants the sheep to take. It's baffling to me that I can't find a pattern. The entire learning process is severely impaired by the fact that I usually have no idea which direction she wants the sheep to go. Sometimes they keep the sheep coraled and other times they just let them all wander off. I don't see a pattern. Shepherd's mood, maybe?

Our donkey is chill. They basically ignore it, and it always follows us eventually. Except when it doesn't, and they have to go track it down.

The dogs know the way. They're left to their own devices (they frequently hang out with the donkey) and often go on ahead of us (in the right direction), or climb things for kicks, or sleep. The dogs clearly have their shit together.