Field to Table Sob Stories

One evening we were sitting outside near an apple tree in the country, Our neighbor’s sheep were eyeing windfalls from behind a 3+ft wire fence. Suddenly one sprang literally from standing still, sailed over the fence, clearing it nicely and immediately started chowing down. Would never have believed it possible had I not been within 6 feet.

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My paternal grandfather kept a nice garden. He always swore by carnivore urine to keep the rabbits and deer out. Each year, as soon as the youngest stuff started to leaf out, he’d start keeping his pee in coffee cans and pour it out in a perimeter around the garden.

I don’t know if he was right or not, and don’t have a garden so I haven’t tested it myself. But he wasn’t much bothered by animals eating his growing produce.

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Good thing he wasn’t a vegan!
:slight_smile:

Ha. Good point. But then, at that time, I think darned few in America were vegan or vegetarian. Certainly not my granddad!

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Not sure it will help with crows, but chicken manure sure kept the rabbits and squirrels away from my tulips this year.

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I take an old shaker of cayenne pepper that’s not good for cooking anymore and sprinkle right on the plants. Won’t work for crows, though, birds don’t react to capsaicin. I have a deck, and that’s how I keep critters from living under there. That, and soap. Irish Spring. Prey animals smell their predators, and strong scented soap disallows them from smelling much other than the soap, so they paranoid away from the soap. Again, won’t stop those stinkin’ crows.

Once the neighbor’s steers get out, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will get trampled. Gotta catch them within a few minutes of escape, so you can scare them back through the gap they got through. My dog was a master at this.

Irish Spring works a charm on indoor mice, and I’m told on deer when you hang it from target plants/trees. We haven’t noticed the latter but neither have we had deer problem since we started hanging shavings outdoors.

On a parallel note, our son arrived at his place near us in the country to find a dozen cows in his inner yard. He herded them out, not without effort, but after checking all the fences never found out how they got in,.

FWIW, crows have totally replaced pigeons in our area (central San Francisco). It is baby crow season at the moment, and very shrilly raucous. Anguished complaints as parents try to teach the young to fly. From pre-dawn to dusk. Gives meaning to cacophony.

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Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you?

My neighbors goats. They were eating fallen apples at first, which I was fine with, but when they starting on my landscaping I ran them off. There were actually four of them and I’m not a very good goat herder.

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Oh no . The birds . I had the doves in Santa Cruz . The would start their shit at 5 in the morning. That sound . Ughh . All day long . In front of the house .I would chase them from one top of the telephone pole to the other . I’d beat on the pole with a bat. It was like they were drunk . I did develope a serious dove hatred after months on end of this.

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Doves! We used to feed birds in our back yard. One day I looked out to count 17 doves on a utility line over the yard. The free meals ended. I did consider a pie fit for a king, but decided to let them move on, which they did when the lunch counter closed.

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Against my better judgment I let my husband talk me into letting our daughter buy a small pot bellied pig when they were all the rage back then. He planted five rows of corn. We came home a few hours later to find little hoof prints up and down each row. The corn was gone. Never knew a pig could run that fast and squeal so loud. He replanted. A couple days later came home to find that same little set of hoof prints up and down each row. Never knew a pig could run that fast and squeal so loud. My husband gave up. A few weeks later five corn stalks broke ground. He missed a few…

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Our country place is near several goat farms that exist to rent out goats for brush and grass clearance. Not cheap since there is fencing that needs to be moved several times a week plus a guard dog that needs to be tended once a day. But they do a superb job. Everything removed to ground level.

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Yeah, my neighbor got rid of his goats. I don’t know what he did with them, but the weeds along the road are now as high as an elephants eye.

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Absolutely they do a great job . Goat power . I think they smoke cigarettes while working. Or just eat them .

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I’ve had the mystery hole issue in the past with cows. Hieffers, in particular, are very curious and tend to wander. But, every now and then, they get out, and walk all along the fenceline leaves no easy answers.

When my neighbor was dairy, his whole heard got out one morning. I went out to start my car, and there they were, and heading to the state hwy about 200 yards further down the road. Midnite, the GDOAT, sprang to action, headed them off, and back to the hole from which they escaped. Greatest dog of all time. I’m sure a few on here would dispute that. :slight_smile:

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I live below hwy 89 California. A year ago I was going to bartle for Linda’s outrageous potato pancakes. Linda , " There are cows on the side of the road with cars whizzing by at 60 mph . " Those sound like Ben’s cattle . I’ll give him a call . Learned land and hwy are free range . Country living.

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Love that kind of stuff. Hate to see a car hit one at 60. Probably a fatality. People in town get pissed when the escaped cows meander their lawns. I got used to it in a hurry. I kind of like that. The cows all know me, and the dog. It was just funny how they casually made their way down my road to the busiest road nearby. Then, when the dog hit it, they just went right back up the road and through the crack.

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Fondly remember ‘cow practice’ at Girl Scout camp near Arnold. The bovine would roam right through the property. We had to put ourselves on the other side of a sugar pine in the event of a stampede. I didn’t think those cows could move fast enough to stampede.

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Thank you, it is recovering nicely now!

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I believe my daughter was a CIT or counselor there! Definitely at “Sugar Pine”.

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