The stock fencing around the croft is ancient and very rickety. We have plans to rip it up and replace it with deer fencing as soon as time and funds permit, but for now it hasn’t seemed a huge priority with the house build taking up all our time and energy.
However, recent events may have promoted fencing repairs to move up the priority list a bit more rapidly.
Yesterday evening Husband noticed some ghostly white shapes through the obscured glass of the caravan door as he was walking through to the bedroom.
Spectral forms they were not, unfortunately.
Rory’s sheep, tempted by the long, lush grass on our unkempt croft, had broken through the fencing and were chomping away like demons right outside the caravan!
They’ve also grazed all the purple sprouting broccoli, red cabbage and kale in the croft beds down to sad looking stumps. There goes our outdoor winter crops. As if we didn’t have enough competition from the deer!
From now on, until we have the fencing repaired or replaced, all our growing goes on in the polycrub only, where at least there’s some protection from hungry mouths. I’m going to try and sow some replacements, even though it’s late in the season.
On a brighter note, good progress is being made in the house. We have the carcasses being built in the kitchen in preparation for the template guys to come in later in the week and measure up for the worktops.
I can almost imagine it now! The hob arrived yesterday and we’ve just ordered the fridge. It’s taking shape.
Ravencroft Skye 
I am really sorry to hear aboutr the sheep invasion. They sound very discerning sheep but that is no consolation when your lovingly grown crops are munched. The house sounds to have got to the exciting bit – you will soon be able to start putting things in cupboards!
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We’ll survive the sheep invasion, I’m sure! All part of the joy of living in the country 😜
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What breed are those sheep? They look very rangy and hardy. Your craft is looking really lush and fertile now, I love looking at photos of it. You are lucky (or purhaps very good planners?) to have the polycrub to grow your crops in.
Yep, we curse our sheep, and geese, and chooks on a seasonal basis. This season it’s rats and possum (and now bandicoot) they are into everything! We seriously need to grow everything in an electrified vault to get any harvest at all.
The kitchen looks exciting, I can hear the kettle whistling already!
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Sadly I have no idea what breed they are. They belong to a local crofter. Around these parts we tend to get two types – a dark brown, demonic looking type which is the local Hebridean variety, and these white ones. They’re left on the hills all year round and so are both very hardy.
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I’ve just looked them up – they’re Blackface sheep. Very common in Scotland and very hardy.
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