cultural event for us with the a local shepherd. We walked out to the country (about a mile down the street I live on) and the shepherd picked us up in this huge white van! Haha, we felt like illegal aliens as we crawled into the back of it. He then took us to his pasture where the sheep stay for the afternoon, and we herded them!!! Not by ourselves, we had the help from his nephew and the sheepdog. 
We herded them to another pasture, and then into a pen leading up to a chute. The sheep were then herded into this large long chute that would feed them as they were milked. When little lambs accidently went into the chute, we would remove them and set them back into the pasture! It was absolutely precious. I think that sheep are my new favorite animal, well after wolves that is for those of you who really know me. 
Haha, the irony.......We then took the milk to his house and proceeded to make two different kinds of cheese. I forgot the name of the first kind, but it was made from the thickest parts of the cream. Yeast was added which would cause the milk to ferment. Thirty minutes later, the thick parts would float to the top and were removed, shaped, and then set in a room to age.
The remainder of the milk, the watery part, was then used to make ricotta cheese. It was heated to a much higher temperature, and would then thicken. This was also removed, but would later need to be refrigerated.
The shepherd and I had a funny relationship. I think he thought I was crazy because I would make lots of funny faces. He always asked me to help him, and would laugh at my reactions. He even made me close my eyes to try his cheese as he fed it to me! Im pretty sure he was making fun of me a lot of the time, but he was such a sweet man that I didnt care. I love these local italians! They are so sweet, kind, hospitable, and generous!!!I forgot to mention, we saw this gorgeous sunset while we were milking the sheep! What a great end to the day.....
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