Sheep got out, didn't think it was possible

The sheep got out.  Technically, only two sheep got out and one of them was a baby so it only counts as 1.5 sheep that escaped.  I was incensed.  I was hollering at the kitchen window, the child thought I was hollering at her.  I had to go outside immediately to find out where they had escaped (dinner was on the stove).  I found the hole.  It was were the fence crosses the creek.  I had left the panels movable so the water could push them out of the way.  There was a one foot gap and the mother had snuck out.  I opened the gate and shooed them back inside the fence.

I have been trying to get the weeds knocked down.  What a nightmare.  I tried the two riding lawnmowers and neither one would start.  I couldn't get my dad's gas weed eater to start this morning either.  So I looked up renting a powered bush whacker.  I could rent it for $85/day.  Then I talked with someone who used one and said it will beat you to death running it.  I can rent a small tractor with a four foot mower behind it for $225/day.  If you look at the above picture you will see some small green weeds sticking up out of the dry grass, it is the dreaded Star Thistle.  Very nasty noxious weed.  It needs to be sprayed, but I have eliminated it on our few acres by digging it all by hand.  Not going to do that for 150 acres.  So we have cheat grass everywhere and it is two feet tall.  

Here is the upper gate I opened to let the sheep back in.  I had to chase 2 babies and their momma back in.  The second baby showed me where the hole was in the fence as we were walking down the fence line.

I still don't have a powered yard mower so I used our manual rotary cutter and beat down 30% of the lawn.  Hard manual labor.

On a side note, I forgot to lock the chickens up last night...tonight when I go out to lock them up I will do a count and see if my lack of memory cost me some more chickens.  I hope not.