When most people think of France it’s probably the bustling (and highly fashionable) streets of Paris that come to mind.
But France is a large and diverse country, and if you leave the urban areas you’ll find a completely different reality playing out to the rhythm of farm life.
The rural French village of Sacoue (where we spent a month housesitting) is ruled by the whims of sheep. Even those few locals who don’t directly make their livelihood raising livestock are still affected on a daily basis.
The narrow lanes are always covered in sheep droppings, it’s more common than not to encounter a herd being driven to pasture on the main roads, and there’s a constant soundtrack of clanging bells and bleating lambs permeating every waking hour.
There's nothing like that moment of panic when you fear you might be trampled.
We’re pretty much the furthest thing from being farm savvy (when one of the cats brought in an injured mouse we tried to save its life instead of letting nature take its course), but we did our best to integrate.
We watched sheep being sheared one Sunday afternoon and stepped in to help catch a particularly evasive ewe when she escaped.
We attended a local ram auction and dutifully oogled the animals’ studliness.
My, those are some mighty large.... legs you've got there.
And we laughed at the awkward newborn lambs trying to learn how to walk.
Faceplant!
Okay, so most of our “integration” was just playing with the lambs. Who knew they were so dang cute?!
They’re gawky and adorable and inquisitive and they sort of look like little newly-hatched aliens.
See? Alien!
We took that photo of the tiny lamb alien when it was literally only a few hours old. One morning we heard an unusually loud bleating racket from the field behind our house, but we didn’t climb out of bed to investigate until later… when we found this wee little thing looking confused and trying to suckle its sibling.
Its umbilical cord was dragging along the ground, its eyes were red and blinky, and its poor mom was still covered in blood.
But they clean up cute, though, huh?
{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
These are the cutest little things! I just want to hug them, and squeeze them, and nuzzle them ALL day. Lucky you – what a great way to spend a month; Sheepy!
Chrystal McKay recently posted: Saadin Tombs: A Hidden Beauty
Hahah, sheepy! I like that! Unfortunately they wouldn’t let us cuddle or nuzzle them.
I tried looking up “what’s like crack to a sheep?” to find some tasty treats that might get us in their good graces, but no luck.
How perfectly adorable! The sights and sounds and smells of sheep country. What do they do with all that sheep?
InsideJourneys recently posted: Jamaica’s Also Great for Bird Watching
Sheep pate, I guess! We never really figured out where or how the sheep get sold, but France really was big on local food… so maybe to the butchers that are in the area?
Looks like a sweet place to spend a month. Welcome back to Oregon. What are your plans?
Thanks, Ed! Our loose plan right now is to spend a few months kicking it in RR, then head up to Seattle sometime mid-summer. We’re not sure how long we’ll stay in Seattle; maybe a few months, maybe longer… ? It’s hard to think about “settling down”, but we’re starting to shift gears a little.
I love all of these photos, especially the second one. After reading your first post on your time in rural France, I’ve already decided to add it to our list of places to visit, but this just makes me want to go even more.
Christy recently posted: Lost in Translation: Insalata Verde – Taormina, Sicily
You should definitely go in spring then, Christy — there are baby animals EVERYWHERE. The weather can be kind of iffy (half the time we had sun, but the other half was stormy rain), but otherwise March/April/May is a lovely time to be in the area.
Hi Christy and Kali, I just stumbled upon your blog today via “Devour the World” blog. I enjoyed this delightful post. What a wonderful experience. Your subjects are just so adorable (especially those aliens!) and the place is so bucolic that I want to visit it someday. Nice meeting you!
-Marisol
Marisol@travelingsolemates recently posted: Ecuador: The Colorful Indigenous Market of Otovalo
Thanks for the comment, Marisol!
We did have amazing subjects — who knew aliens could be so adorable?
They really do look like adorable aliens! Can you travel to rural France with public transportation or only by car?
Ayelet – All Colores recently posted: On My Bucket List: A Dream Birthday Trip to the North Pole
France has a pretty good train system, so we flew into Toulouse and then trained out to Montrejeau. From there you sort of need a car, though – it would be difficult to explore the smaller areas without one. But you can come quite a ways w/o one (at least more so than the U.S., lol).
Holy cuteness, have you people no shame?
Caanan @ No Vacation Required recently posted: Get Croatia on Your Travel Bucket List
Ha, no shame at all.
I love your description of the baby lambs as “newly hatched aliens”. There is so much of France to see outside of Paris. I love the small villages in France. How lucky that you guys got to be temporary locals in one.
Can’t wait to blog from Provence in a month in a half…we are planning to be in Carcasonne over Bastille Day and from what I have read it is going to be an awesome time!
Shanna Schultz recently posted: The Importance of Including Local Farmers Markets in Your Travel Plans
That’s so cool, Shanna! A few years ago we spent Bastille Day in Marseille and it was total madness. There were crowds everywhere, kids were throwing small fireworks at people, and the party seemed to go on all night. Hopefully it’s a little less hectic in Carcasonne.
How adorable! What a wonderful time you must have had there!
Arti recently posted: Raman Reti or Raman Van in Old Gokul, Vrindavan
We did have a lovely time, and the lambs certainly increased that by tenfold.
Christy – The lambs clean up very nicely! What a fun set of photos.
In Scotland a few years ago my friend and I watched three sheep dogs rounding up – you guessed it – sheep; it was great fun to watch the interplay between dogs, humans and sheep.
Leigh recently posted: What Summer Looks Like on Prince Edward Island
There’s nothing like a good working dog demonstration! We’re a little biased since have a border collie (when he was younger and we lived in San Diego we actually took him to herding lessons), but the dedication and skill of working dogs is just incredible.
Oh man, I totally sold out my daughter the other day going for cute points on a blog post. All I needed was sheep! Now you tell me!
Glad you guys had a great time in France. Try not to think about where the baby lambs are now.
Steve recently posted: Our Outdoor Experience
We tried to think of the baby lambs as pets, but watching them get flung around by the herders quickly dispelled us of that notion. They’re very much livestock, as cute as they are when they’re little.
Cute lambs! Nearly as cute as our Highland Cow
http://www.fourjandals.com/scotland/cute-highland-cow-calf-weekly-hump-day-photo/ They were some pretty large “legs” too haha.
Cole @ Four Jandals recently posted: New York City Skyline – Weekly Travel Photo
It would take a lot to top that adorable cow, for sure! We actually didn’t see many calves, which is strange because we saw mini versions of everything else.
Cute animal photos always score points with me although a few of these sheep got a bad haircut! They should sue their barber!
Jeremy Branham recently posted: 8 things to do in Kauai when you’re not lying on the beach
Haha, we honestly couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to how the sheep got sheared. A popular looked seemed to be a bare back half and furry wool on the front half. Bizarre.
I never really thought of baby sheep looking like aliens, but I do now. They’re still adorable though.
Alouise recently posted: Around Edmonton – Rutherford House
Yeah, thankfully it doesn’t ruin their cuteness.
I said “ah” when looking at the photos and then immediately felt guilt when I realise that one of their species has ultimately ended up on my plate at some point during the week. Is it weird that I feel the sheep in the second photo did not get the perfect shave? I think I have OCD!!
Natalie recently posted: The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul : A Photo Guide
It’s so true, though – that sheep looks like it has a skin disease! I really don’t understand why they were always shaved in such funny patterns…
Utterly adorable!
Sophie recently posted: Postcard from the Grenadines
You mean uDDerly adorable? Bwahaha, I’m so punny! Wait, no, forget that ever happened.
Awwww, the little lamb doing a faceplant is priceless.
Amanda recently posted: An Ode to San Francisco Street Art
So priceless. I felt so bad, but I was laughing so hard.
The baby lambs are so sweet, well except for the alien looking one. I can imagine after a while the bleating would get old. I remember loving the cow bells in Switzerland but then I only had to listen to them a few days at a time.
Lisa recently posted: Tajikistan Tea Room in Berlin
At first it drove us a little mad, but after a few days the noise blended into the background. It’s amazing what becomes “normal” after enough exposure.
+10 cuteness factor! Great photos
Laurence recently posted: Travel blogging tips from the experts: Travel yourself
Haha, thanks Laurence!
These are adoreable! I’m such a sucker for baby animals.
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted: The Weekly Worldview: Peru’s Presidential Palace
Even when I logically know that I mostly think babies are cute because it’s an instinctive reaction to make sure we protect them from being eaten by bears (okay, I’m paraphrasing here), I still can’t help but want to squeeze them.
The lambs are so cute! But yes, those newly born ones really do look like aliens. Not sure I could handle living somewhere that rural though, but I love these pictures!
Ali recently posted: Culture Shock is Sneaky
It was fabulous for a month, but by the time we left we were itching for something more urban. When we got to Amsterdam we were so happy!
AH! They do look like little aliens! I found it hard not to make sheep puns during the entire post. Ewe did a good job of avoiding them. Shear genius.
… oops. Now I’m feeling sheepish. Okay. I’m done.
Tawny- Captain and Clark recently posted: Our favorite parts of Ashland, Oregon
Best. Comment. Ever.
They’re too cute, I wouldn’t be able to eat after seeing them! Maybe that’s one of the reasons I became vegetarian
Angela recently posted: Photo Essay: Carried away by the view of Beirut’s azure sea
Ha, I totally understand. When you actually confront the animals you’re eating (rather than just seeing them as a slab of meat at the supermarket), it’s a lot harder to remain dispassionate.
haha they are cute until they grow up!
Jade Johnston – OurOyster.com recently posted: Budget Travel In NYC
Isn’t that always what happens?
Those are so cute! Adorable, really
Where I grew up in Germany, we’d have big herds of sheep during some times of the year close by… The little ones are so cute, but I also remember the smell of the big ones and constant noise 
By the time they left we were all so glad!
Sabrina recently posted: My Travel Inspirations
The smell was hard to get used to at first, but we just kept reminding ourselves that at least it smelled better than the sidewalks of big cities during the summer (which oftentimes reek of urine). After that it wasn’t so bad.
Love the baby lambs – sooo cute! Makes me want to become a vegetarian
Mary @ Green Global Travel recently posted: PHOTO GALLERY- Capture The Colour Photo Contest
Hahah, we had the same reaction. After you see them as adorable babies it’s hard to eat them as a slab of meat.