The sheepdogs and the sheep

This is the sound of the enthusiastic sheepdogs herding the sheep at Burland Croft Trail. At different points in the recording you can hear the wind, the traffic on the road close by, and the low thunder of a lot of hooves moving in Unison across a field. You can also hear Tommy Isbister shouting commands to the dogs, and talking to me (some distance from the microphones) about the process of training sheep dogs. Although you can't hear what we're saying so clearly, I love the texture of chatting in this recording, because it reminds me of a lovely time, visiting with two amazing people. Tommy and Mary have been running the Burland Croft Trail since 1976, working and developing their crofts in a traditional way. Their main aim is to maintain native Shetland breeds of animals, poultry and crops, and to work with these animals and the environment in the tried-and-tested way that have sustained countless generations of Shetlanders in the past. The Burland Croft Trail is open all summer, and Mary and Tommy were incredibly helpful when I visited them, showing me around and introducing me to all their animals and also showing me some of the amazing knitwear produced by both Mary, Tommy and Mary's mothers, and their daughter, showing three generations of knitting and textile skill. Tommy and Mary send their wool off to Jamieson & Smith to be scoured and spun, so it was beautiful to see the wool growing on the sheeps' backs, to see Shetland sheep being raised in the company of other Shetland breeds, and to see and hear them being rounded up by the sheepdogs in their pasture. Recorded with EDIROL R-09.