Ok, Well, It Seemed Like A Good Idea...

I remember reading somewhere that sheep do not challenge fences.
I read it... and I tucked it away in my memory bank for future reference.

This weekend, I retrieved that memory and decided to try moving the sheep around
from spot to spot for a little help with landscaping.

Remember that white portable poultry fence that I use to protect the blueberry field?
Well, that same type of fence is what I used when the lambs first came to the farm...
back when they lived in the barn and went out for the daylight hours and it served our needs then.
We decided to use that fence to section off an area around the picnic pavilion that needed
a bit of trimming (weeds and brush, i.e. sheep delicacies).


Well, whoever wrote that sheep don't challenge fences
never met Grace, Faith and Hope.
Or, perhaps Grace, Faith and Hope just never got that memo.


We painstakingly spent about a half hour placing the fence where we wanted it...
braving thorns and poison ivy...
pushing each of the upright supports deep into the earth to stabilize the fence.


With Ritz crackers in hand I led the girls to their new buffet...
a smorgasbord of green delights.
Curious, they explored every inch of the area and then set about munching.


Satisfied, and rather pleased with myself for coming up with the idea,
I headed to the garden for a little weeding and sugar-pea-picking.

Five minutes after I began...
I looked up to see three sheep walking up the lane past the garden.

I ran for the Ritz and got to work ushering them back to their enclosure
to find that they had knocked down one of the posts and walked right over the fence.
I got them back in, secured the post...
only to have them bulldozing their way right through the fence again.
They were not to be contained.
Nope.
These three free spirits obviously did not get that memo.


"Back to the sheep yard with you!" I muttered...
had I been alone, I might have used a bit stronger language,
but there were children there
(Taryn and Jace... who joined our farm family when Dr. Becky got married last year.)


The funny thing is... Jace (7) said, after the sheep escaped...
"I didn't think that was going to work, anyways."


Later in the day, Hubbs and I decided to instead move the sheep to the bee yard.


This area has a lot of vines and growth overcoming the fence and is need of a good trimming.


The sheep should do a splendid job at this.


And with a much sturdier fence to contain them,
I shouldn't have to spend my day on reconnaissance missions in search of wayward fleeces!


And so we settled Grace, Hope and Faith into their new temporary dining hall...
where they will stay as long as there are no storms in the forecast.
There is no shelter, other than trees and overgrowth, in this area.


It is one of the coolest spots on the farm and will serve these gals well for the next few days.
And maybe, just maybe, this week I will have one less area to mow!
Win! Win!


Why is it, though, that no matter how nice a grazing area is...
the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!

And while we are on the subject of fleeces....
here is project #1 finished...
using the wool from all three sheep...


Comments

Dawn said…
yep our little lambs didnt read the bit about fences, I have retrieved them twice, we have just moved them to a new paddock but they still prefer to graze through the fence on there old paddock, when they were in the old paddock they grazed through the fence into the one they are in now, you just cant win :-)
This N That said…
I guess they were trying to get to the greener grass on the other side. Their heads just wouldn't go through! It's nice that they can earn their keep! Have a beautiful week
Candice said…
Hard to stay mad at them too long with those cute little lamb bums.
That old ditty "Don't fence me in" is running through my mind . . . .
jaz@octoberfarm said…
they should be good there for quite a while because i see no rain in the forecast, at least not for us. we are SO dry here, it's horrible!
An American in Tokyo said…
I love the photo where they are eating from the tree! With their heads up! Cute!