Do they look sheepish to you?
As well they might.
Salad trough
Top terrace
Mike was walking back from his shed when he saw them.
20 or so sheep, parading up and down the gravel path in front of the house.
Freshly laid
Now, any blogger worth her salt knows just what to do in the face of adversity. Run for the camera.
It wasn’t until much later that we realised just how far they’d roamed..
Middle level terrace
Things wouldn’t have been so bad if the ground wasn’t so wet. Their hooves sunk deep into the soil. They’ve trampled the bank alongside the drive as well, all the way to the top.
And so the list of adversaries continues to grow.
Mice (or voles).
Squirrels.
Slugs and snails.
Rabbits.
SHEEP..!!
“Is she pointing at us?”
Cows.
Pheasants.
Woodpeckers. Although the jury is still out..
Deer.
Did I forget anyone?
I give up.
Oh Jessica ….. how soul destroying but, I’m sure that you won’t give up …… you and Mike aren”t the giving up types !! ….. is there anything you can do to keep at least the big animals out ? XXXX
The farmer is going to mend the fence… I hope! It won’t stop the deer though, they just leap over the top.
The countryside will always win…. :o) xx
Maybe.. 😉
possession is 90% of the law, right? I hope you at least got a fleece or two from the visit.
Now why didn’t I think of that..
Oh my goodness, you might expect rabbits, mice and slugs, but sheep?
Their feet did most of the damage, apart from the mizuna plant and some ginger lily leaves they didn’t seem to nibble too much. I haven’t had a close look up on the bank yet though, they walked all round the base of my precious cornus tree.
Oh no, simply devastating … hoping they didn’t like what they tasted and won’t return. Where did they come from?
The farm that neighbours our land to one side. The same source as the cows about this time last year!!
what a shame! Not what you want when you spend so much time and effort on your lovely garden. Perhaps check with the farmer as to whether there is a gap in his fence?
We found the gap. The sheep knew just where it was too as they all ran that way when we started to round them up. The farmer’s wife came round to look at it and was very apologetic!
That’s awful. Are they free range sheep or have they escaped from a field. Next project cattle grid?
They came through from a neighbouring field into the woodland. At least the wet ground enabled us to track back their route. They must have been there quite a while before they found the garden.
The wildlife are all out to get you. But sheep as well? That’ s too much. How awful for you. They don’ t look sheepish to me. Just irredemiably stupid. Oh dear, what a mess they’ ve made.
It’s not just me getting paranoid then! They’ve flattened a hellebore which is a bit of a bummer.
Haleluja – living in the wild. I know that, we have no sheeps, but deers. And the rest like you. But I think you would not live in London City? So stay were you are and live with this animals. I agree with Sue – cattlegrit! Poor Yessica. Have a nice weekend!
Sigrun
No, you’re right, I wouldn’t want to live in the city so I suppose invading animals is the price I have to pay. As long as they keep to the paths maybe?
Oh Jessica, I feel for you. Do you know who they belong to? Wildlife we can cope with, but farm animals are a step too far! One night, shortly after we moved here apparently we had a horse galloping round the garden chased by one policeman and 3 villagers. You can imagine what the grass was like next morning and we slept through it all! Thankfully this was before most of the garden had been changed to what we have now. I really hope it doesn’t take you too long to sort everything out.
The sheep belong to the farmer next door. Shortly after we moved in a hunt came through. Not the horses, thankfully, but the hounds. I was quietly weeding on the terraces, heard a lot of scurrying about and the next thing two of them passed within feet of me down across the river and up the other side of the valley. A horse would do a lot more damage than a sheep, but oh to be able to sleep as soundly as you two!
Sounds more like the stuff of nightmares, Pauline – particularly as you slept through it all!
It all happens in Devon!
Ooooh,no! Crikey, Jess – maybe you could see it as a compliment that the local wildlife love your garden so much they just have to visit?? Maybe that thought would calm the frazzlement of the day?? Maybe? Just a bit???
No.
😉
They look so innocent but the damage they cause, ouch!
Every time I look out of the window now I half expect to see lots of eyes looking back at me.
You really are under siege!
The white flag is flying from the chimney.
I did wonder about suggesting that you give up on the plants and start a wildlife sanctuary as they all seem to like it so much, but I would miss seeing your flowers!! Selfish or what! I hope that you can repair thing and that there isn’t too much damage, at least it makes a change from blaming Ptolomey for things! xx
I think I need the horticultural equivalent of Fort Knox as a sort of inner sanctum where I can grow stuff unmolested.
OK, on the positive side – it wasn’t cows this time (far more damage) and they left you a contribution to the compost heap. Yeah, I know, that’s no ruddy consolation at all.
Did I forget anyone?
Badgers??? Lovely to look at, but smelly, destructive, far harder to get rid of.
I haven’t seen badgers yet although our predecessor did say there was a sett in the woodland at one point. They are destructive. That’s one pest I definitely rather would not have. Pretty as they are.
You’ve also reminded me about moles ( 😉 ), but I’ve never found out whether the tunnels are theirs or the wretched mice.
Oh no, I’m sorry to see the damage they have caused. I did love your comment ‘any blogger…run for the camera’ now that made me laugh today! We used to have deer and squirrels where we lived before and my neighbour used to complain about the roses being eaten. I hope you, the sheep and the garden recover soon!
Running for the camera has become a habit… we managed to catch them on their way back into the woodland, just before we started trying to round them up. It’s difficult to have a garden when everything else in it is hellbent on eating it.
Not again indeed! Your poor garden, you shouldn’t make it so inviting 🙂 How about getting a dog (maybe a sheepdog), the yapping should get rid of most pests and it can round up the sheep! I don’t suppose you could get an electric fence either! Have a good weekend collecting up the manure – great for the roses!!
In the first pic you can just see the remains of a very old electric fence that our predecessor used to keep his dog in. We had to disentangle one of the sheep from that! The fences all need upgrading really, but the cost of doing it all is just too much at the moment. A sheepdog is a good idea!
Dear Jessica, that is frustrating! I really feel for you. I wonder where the sheep were coming from and if there is any way to avoid another visit in the future? What the sheep are for you the raccoon are for me. They dug up my front and back yard just two days ago in the search of worms. It is really amazing how much damage they can do in just one night. I didn’t have the heart to get out and try to fix things yet, but what else is a gardener to do? You just have to keep going… Warm regards,
Christina
Hopefully our farmer neighbour will fix his fence now, if he hasn’t done it already. At least the sheep have not been back! I’m sorry to hear about the raccoons, having seen what they have done in Kris’s garden before now. They sound like a real pest. But that is what we always do isn’t it, keep going.
Oh No! All that damage is so disheartening. I can totally commiserate.
Thanks Alison. We will know to check the fences more often in future.
dont forget foxes!
Yes, foxes we have too. I haven’t seen them do any damage to the garden but if I achieve my dream of having ducks, geese and chickens then they will become a real issue. They are even around in broad daylight here.
oh Jessica I know just how you feel, I hope when you can see the level of damage better that it is not as much as first thought, this is one of my reasons for moving from Scalpay, Harris and the reason I am in this part of Lewis is that the sheep are firmly kept behind fences, have you found where they got in, I think you will start to need to do a fence patrol to check there are no holes, living in the country is not the idyllic life it is sometimes portrayed as, you can put the fresh laid little gifts on the compost heap they will actually help the vegetation break down or so I’ve read, Frances x
The gifts will be put to good use. Having travelled around the mainland anyway I can understand why so many people up there have cattle grids. The sheep wander everywhere, not to mention the hairy coos.
Jessica, I’m glad the farmers wife was at least apologetic, you may already know this, the time to be most cautious will be when/if there are lambs in the field, not only can they squeeze through much smaller holes they are far more destructive than sheep as like small children they try everything and sometimes just play chucking small plants around, this was my ‘last straw’ when I was on Scalpay, I had no idea they could do so much damage, and it was only 1 that got in my garden, on the positive it’s good they didn’t find much they wanted to eat, if they do find food they have very long memories and keep coming back, would there be any advantage in fencing the area (or some of the area) you currently cultivate,
you are doing better than my brother and Sil in Sussex, they gave up because the deer are around their house nearly every morning, my Mum thinks it’s sweet! but she was never a gardener, my db and dsil have a large area with deer fence 8ft. and just garden in there. leaving the rest semi wild, wood, duck pond and open area,
have a glass of vino with the mutton stew, as your toes stay warm in their new sheep skin slippers, Frances
Ironically there was once a gate at the point where they got into the garden from the woodland… we took it down 🙁
In our previous house we had a very small lamb get into the garden, it must have got through a tiny gap indeed. Mum was still outside the fence bleating like crazy. It was she who woke us up at 5.30 in the morning. Mike was chasing the lamb around the garden in his jammies.. caught it in the end though and lifted it back over the fence. Peace restored!
Oh dear – that is awful. I do hope you find out where they came from and that they go back and stay there.
They found their own way back in the end, but it is worrying that they know where the gap in the fence is! Hopefully the farmer has fixed it. The weather forecast is better for tomorrow, time to go out and check.
Oh how blinking awful, do you know where they came from & why you ended with such a flock. I’ve played host to an escaped cow or two in my time but never a flock of sheep!. Dare I say at least it was this time of year & not late spring/early summer where they could have caused more damage.
Yes, with all the rain I had more or less given up anyway and the top terrace was set for an overhaul that I hadn’t got round to and will now do in Spring. It could have been worse!
As we say here in Scotland…….HELP MA BOAB!! (English translation – Oh my Goodness!)
I’m feeling for you Jessica. I do hope the farmer gets his finger out and mends those fences. Mutton Stew? 😉
Always fancied having a go at spinning. I shall get a set of clippers in case they return. If they go back naked next time perhaps the farmer will get the message!
Naked and with three legs each!!!
I’d need a bigger freezer! 🙂
As if gardening didn’t pose enough challenges! I know just how you feel (although if a herd of sheep showed up in my backyard, that event would end up on the 5pm news broadcast). I always though I wanted to live away from the sights and sounds of the city – until I was faced with rambunctious racccoons and sneaky skunks. I hope you’re able to put your garden back together without too much trouble.
It could have been worse. The leaves have fallen from a lot of the shrubs and the perennials are dying back so there wasn’t that much for them to nibble. The problem was the churning up of the soil given how wet it is at the moment. I’ve put back the plants that had roots exposed, if we get a break in the weather hopefully forking over the soil will put the rest of it back to rights.
Oh no is right! What a calamity! I hope the damage is not as bad as you fear. We, too, have had a recent shock, seeing both a doe and a beaver in the garden in the last week. Thankfully, they stayed near the river and away from the ornamental garden near the house.
Eeek! A beaver would be a lovely thing to see.. but! I hope it stays by the river and gets no braver.
Oh no – I nearly said ‘Baa – humbug’ but it’s not quite the season. Talking of squirrels we have one absolutely loopy one which is taking pieces of gravel from our paths and burying them in the lawn we know it is the same squirrel because it has white tufts behind its ears. I hope those sheep don’t return:)
‘Baa-humbug’… that’s awful Rosie!!!! 🙂
There is a squirrel here with the same white tufts, I’ve never seen one like it before. He’s called Tigger… after the tigers with white backs to their ears.
Oh darn it! They look so cute but can trash a garden, struth, you do have them ganging up on you for sure! Hopefully the farmer will sort his fences and hopefully buy you a few plants by way of an apology!!!
I think my chances of winning the lottery are higher than any farmer round here buying me a plant. But hey, as long as he fixes his fence! Sometimes I feel very small in the face of the vast army of critters out there.
Oh how completely annoying, they’ve caused so much damage. It must be absolutely infuriating. I shall send you a mutton stew recipe immediately. CJ xx
I knew I could count on you CJ. 🙂
I love how much fun you have with the world…Gret photos.
I do my best Charlie. Life’s too short to look at it any other way.
Look on the bright side – those footmarks are perfect bulb planting holes.
Good idea. Will have to step up workshop production of the wire mesh anti-mouse cages again.
I’m so sorry that they did all this damage. I love what Elaine said though. Hugs, N 🙂
I’m surprised they made it through as far as the garden, but they did. Shame they didn’t trim the grass for us while they were here!
How frustrating! I’d go nuts dealing with all those foraging animals. I have friends who battle deer daily as their gardens turn into buffets. You need touch activated traps that will blare horrible disco music when activated. All the animals will run in terror but so might your husband. 😉
I worry about the deer too. Only one so far, but I dread the day all the friends and relations turn up. What if the disco music turned into a local attraction and critters came from miles around for the dancing?
Eeeee lass, tha’ does live in’t country tha’ knaws!! God bless ya.
What next I wonder, a runaway combine harvester?
He must have lost his border collie, or the sheep are Mashams!
If it’s anything like the cows from last year, they wandered from fairly far afield. They seem to be almost free range.
I’d give careful thought to getting a dog. And then I’d give more thought to the possibility that the dog would dig holes. Can you tell I gave up on gardening in the country years ago?!
Good thoughts Annie. With all your hounds you would have a lot of holes!
But how majestic they look, in their somewhat fat way. Why don’t you corral them in and invite Prince Charles along to meet them?
Perhaps he could talk to them nicely, and majestically, and ask them to kindly stay in their field.
So sorry that this has happened. I expect it’s difficult to stop sheep and cows wandering in through the woodland. Hope the gap gets repaired now so that you can rest easy, at least from the neighbour’s livestock.
There are fences, but perhaps not as robust as they might be. I hope the farmer has fixed it now.. at least they haven’t been back yet!
Is it my eyesight or do those sheep look pink ?
It was getting late and the light was fading! I did manage to get a lot closer to the sheep but the photos were rubbish in the gloom under the trees.
Sheep – now there’s something I don’t have to contend with. The havoc they caused in your garden certainly is a pain in the arse, but I have to say, they are such charming creatures. But then I can say that from several thousand miles away, can’t I?
No sheep in Texas? Beware cows though… I know you have them. They wrecked the lawn last year and it’s still recovering!
I think it is called living in the country!! Next time just show them a jar of mint sauce!
Bought some today 🙂
Good thinking!
I shall put it on the windowsill. Where they can see it 🙂
Oh no!! I’m speechless.
I was… until a few choice words came to mind.
As if gardening wasn’t hard enough……….I guess that is what comes of living in the country! Whatever next…….
As far as I know, no-one around here keeps ostriches. I’m looking on the bright side?
Oh Jessica, how frustrating. It is somehow worse that they are farm animals and not wild, will the farmer pay for anything that has to be replaces, or perhaps you could suggest a nice leg of lamb when the time comes to slaughter them! A woodpecker caused huge amounts of damage here. Costly as it requirered €250 worth of repairs to the shutter it damaged.
It might have been a woodpecker that stripped my only bloom from a callistemon, but it could also have been a squirrel. They’ve woken us up drumming on the soil pipe, and stolen bits of straw from the roof, but otherwise we’ve got off lightly so far.
I had seen your post title a few days ago but hadn’t caught up on reading the post, so when you commented on your hellebore in my GBBD post I put 2+2 together….. 🙁 🙁 🙁 Lions, tigers and bears next, do you think?
None of the above thank you!
If the long tailed tits come back this year I’ll be happy.
I can’t resist adding one more note of sympathy – garden enemies do come in so many forms! I flatter myself that I’ve developed a sixth sense for rabbit-and-deer-resistant plants, but… sheep??? Maybe a thorny hedge around everything… 🙁 Best of luck putting things to rights!
Hi Amy and welcome to rusty duck.
It is trial and error here but very wasteful as so many things I buy end up getting eaten by something. I dread to think what additional hazards you face in the desert!
Just read Dirt Simple’s post about sheep and then read yours! Now I know why I am a city girl. It’s always something unexpected in gardening.
Hers are prettier than mine. I’m sure they eat just as much though 🙁
Oh No!! I am dreading to think what might invade next…
Me too.. nothing would surprise me these days.
Arhh, so frustrating for you, I hope that fence gets fixed soon, so annoying when the wildlife invades on the work we spend so much time doing in the garden. What will be the next??
I have yet to have sheep in my inner city London garden but boy have I had a lot of other ‘visiting’ wildlife roaming my flower beds. Nothing beats my last garden in Norway though, we had lynx and moose walking around all year round and the last 2 autumns we had a bear! I never saw it but it was radio marked so we were warned through the newspaper that it was in the area usually at night, and my neighbour found prints going straight through his field, over my drive and up to the forest. I lived rather more rural back then than I do now….perhaps sheep aren’t so bad after all, eh?
You have me convinced… at least they have small feet which is more than can be said for a moose. But bears! Eeek!
A bit slow to get round to seeing your latest drama enacted. Moving quickly on – I admire you for your philosophical rush for the camera … never a problem for a garden blogger. Just an opportunity! I hope that your armoury of mint sauce on the windowsill, mutton recipes and a new fence (?) work. At least their feet are smaller than cows. But I would have wept to see my mizuna on the ground like that (not as tough as you, perhaps!??)
Fortunately there is more mizuna in the greenhouse, but even with small feet they’ve caused a lot of damage on the top terrace. Those hard hooves penetrate a long way into wet soil. It’s lucky that I hadn’t got round to the revamp I’d had planned. Then I would have wept.
At least you don’t have pukekos!!! At least sheep eat what they destroy…pukekos destroy for the fun of it! I have to sympathise though….my naughty chooks ate their way through my lettuce bed grrrrrr….
I had to check out pukekos. They look like big moorhens, the chicks are similar too. Naughty chooks.. or words to that effect?
Living in the countryside is so idyllic! Cows trample and leave enormous footprints, sheep leave small footprints but eat an awful lot en route, deer seem to eat everything but badgers are the worst of the lot. On the bright side, if you didn’t have all these visitors, you’d have a lot less for us to read about.
I do rather fear badgers, from all that I’ve heard. I sometimes seriously wonder if it’s feasible to garden in the middle of the countryside. The wildlife got here first and it’s not relinquishing its grip.
As long as our gates are shut, roaming sheep can only eat the plants in the old sinks on the drive – although they can of course leave little piles of droppings for the unwary to tread in!
Straight to the compost heap with those!
How baaad are those sheep! It is un-baa-lievable how shameless they are … You should lamb- bast them .. ok I’ll stop now!!
Baaa-stard sheep. They’ve now been baaa-rred.
it’s time for a shot gun and a very large chest-freezer… No, I couldn’t either, but it must be tempting, and they never look as if they feel any remorse – mean things sheep.
They are either thick or they are cunning. It’s the vacant “What did we do?” look that is so infuriating.
Anything but sheepish. Damn them!
Thank goodness for your cattlegrid Em!
Sometimes it feels as though we really are fighting a losing battle with the wildlife and farm animals doesn’t it 🙁
It certainly does. I remember your uninvited sheep. At least they were well behaved!
Sods.
The deer drive us to drink, and now it is rutting season, they literally jump out in front of your car from nowhere.
It’s a hard life this country living 🙂
~Jo
Hi Jo.
I remember the deer problem from driving around Scotland. They can do a lot of damage, to themselves and us. Hope you’re well.