Counting Sheep
Audio: Barrett Golding / Art: © Jerry Iverson
![Shearing Sheep at the Hutterites (1989 27x36 oil on linen) painting by Jerry Iverson](/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Jerry_Iverson-Sheep_1-Shearing_Sheep_at_the_Hutterites.jpg)
Shearing Sheep at the Hutterites (1989 27×36 oil on linen) © Jerry Iverson
Part One: Lambs
“Counting Sheep” follows a year in the lives of sheep ranchers, herders, and shearers. The radio show starts, ends and spends much of the middle with Roxanne Linderman. She and her husband, Don, run a small sheep ranch near the Bridger Mountains of Southcentral Montana.
![Sheep herder (1990 38x36 oil on canvas) painting by Jerry Iverson](/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Jerry_Iverson-Sheep_2-Sheep_herder.jpg)
Sheep herder (1990 38×36 oil on canvas) © Jerry Iverson
Part Two: Herd
Sheep-herders Chris Spogis and Patty Robinson talk about bugs, bears and being by oneself — all in a sheep’s work day.
![Sheep: sheared unsheared (1994 14x17 oil on paper on board) painting by Jerry Iverson](/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Jerry_Iverson-Sheep_3-Sheep_sheared_unsheared.jpg)
Sheep: sheared unsheared (1994 14×17 oil on paper on board) © Jerry Iverson
Part Three: Wool
Roxanne awaits the shearers. Jim Moore, Jerry Iverson, and Jim Carr use their electric shears and strong backs to shave the sheep. They go in full-wooled; they come out bald.
![Feeding Sheep (1993 15x18 oil on linen on board) painting by Jerry Iverson](/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Jerry_Iverson-Sheep_4-Feeding_Sheep.jpg)
Feeding Sheep (1993 15×18 oil on linen on board) © Jerry Iverson
Part Four: Canine
Roxanne voice-commands her border collies, Price and Keeper, as they herd the sheep across a bridge. Then we walk to the Bone Hill (“every farm has one”), with an eye out for coyote.
![Self Portrait Shearing Sheep (1992 26x32 oil on canvas on board) painting by Jerry Iverson](/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Jerry_Iverson-Sheep_5-Self_Portrait_Shearing_Sheep.jpg)
Self Portrait Shearing Sheep (1992 26×32 oil on canvas on board) © Jerry Iverson
Part Five: Meat
Ranchers bring their sheep to the weekly auction at the Bozeman Stockyards. Roxanne culls her herd.
![Last Sheep: Jerry Iverson retired as a sheep shearer in 2001 to paint; this is the last sheep he sheared.](/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Jerry_Iverson-Sheep_6-Last_Sheep_photo.jpg)
Last Sheep: Jerry Iverson retired as a sheep shearer in 2001 to paint; this is the last sheep he sheared.
Part Six: Death
For Roxanne and Don, this is the hard part. An animal gets old, an animal gets sold, and the result is the same.
- “The Level of Your Gun” (2:22 mp3):
- “Outro- Thanks” (1:24 mp3):
Jerry Iverson, Painter
See Jerry Iverson’s site for more paintings and exhibitions.
![Causation #22, painting by Jerry Iverson](https://jerryiverson.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/causation-22-12x24-2015-1200.jpg)
Causation #22, painting by Jerry Iverson