MARCH 2013 BACK ISSUE by Yurko Dyachyshyn The shepherds herd their flocks in all weather conditions, milk the cattle three times a day and produce cheese, brisnen and buts. They take water from springs with buckets and cook dinner on a fire. The village men climb down the mountain to exchange cheese and brinsen for food products, cigarettes and alcohol. The latter is now an everyday part of a shepherd's meal.  Nowadays, the traditional sheep breeding in polonynas is gradually declining.  Neglected cattle-runs overgrow with forest, and on slopes, where once the sheep and horses grazed, ski resorts are being built.  Instead of stables and wooden huts, where shepherds used to live and make cheese, only piles of rotten logs remain as the only reminder of the shepherds that once lived there.  Back to current issue