The Great Escape

It has been threatening rain all day so I waited to let the sheep out. Figured I would just save them a run back into the barn on this hot humid day. They usually enjoy lying around in the darkness of the barn during the heat of the day anyway. I opened the gate around 2:30 and they filed out. I walked the little doggies and went back inside before getting in the truck to make my rounds of the fence - or no fence - line. Then I spied the culprits. It's usually the goats who slip under the fence but this time it was the sheep. You can see on the far left of the picture the white dots across the road. So off I go with my staff. I parked the truck on the side of the road and got out. What a beautiful picture they made, spread out on the pretty green field. I have grass on my side of the road, but it has not been mowed and the sheep have to eat around the stalks of old grass. Poor babies! More sheep saw me over there walking around looking happy and contented and decided to run across the road! Not good! Sheep are creatures of habit and will do it again and again if they can get away with it.

I ran around and gathered them together, then down the road comes an old tractor pulling a manure spreader. The sheep scattered everywhere. The farmer could see my frustration and raised his arms in the air as if to say, "What did you expect me to do about it??"

Then I really got going and yelled at them to go home while running around and waving my arms around. That did the trick and across the road they went. I followed them beating my staff on the ground, a sound that is very annoying to them.

I am planning to get new fence up in the spring. Then, only then, will I breathe a sigh of relief...and so will my neighbors.