An Of-fencive Issue.

An Of-fencive Issue.

Hi there.
Thanks for popping in.

Friday’s blog a private peek, right?
This morning I visited a friend 
who lives in a fabulous country house near here.
Beautiful outlook, wonderful gardens.
Just absolutely splendid.
Been there for many years. 

Thing is, they’ve got new neighours.
Now these neighbours are a ways away, you understand.
Not next door in the common sense of the word.
BUT.
They’ve decided they don’t want the deer on their land, 
so they are erecting some serious deer fencing;
as far away as possible from their own outlook, 
and therefore right in my friend’s view. 
Which is such a shame, it really is. 
Believe me when I tell you she could do without this aggro.

As she said herself, the deer have never been a problem.
They do damage plants, but they are part and parcel of living on the edge of the Wealden forest.
You live in the countryside, you expect deer. 
You erect fences to keep animals safe, like sheep fences, to stop them escaping, getting out onto the roads and being hit by cars. 
When I lived in Northern California, the deer used to come into the garden too. To me, that was wonderful. 

But to erect ugly land dividers, just so that the deer won’t encroach on your country garden …
Harks back to the days of the Inclosure Act.

John Clare, The Peasant Poet, had something to say about it too, 
in his poem 

The Mores:

Unbounded freedom ruled the wandering scene
Nor fence of ownership crept in between
To hide the prospect of the following eye
Its only bondage was the circling sky
Now this sweet vision of my boyish hours
Free as spring clouds and wild as summer flowers
Is faded all – a hope that blossomed free,
And hath been once, no more shall ever be
Inclosure came and trampled on the grave
Of labour’s rights and left the poor a slave
And memory’s pride ere want to wealth did bow
Is both the shadow and the substance now.

So I came home and made a simple card, with sheep and the sort of fencing which kind of enhance our wonderful countryside.

I believe that deer, whilst nuisance they may be,
are magnificent creatures – wild and free. 

Tomorrow, I shall step by step this one.
But just for today, I would like to switch off and kick back.

Till tomorrow,

Love & Hugs
Barb
xxx

35 thoughts on “An Of-fencive Issue.

  1. Oh that is such a shame – why buy property in the countryside if you don't want the wildlife to be a part of your life. I totally agree with you Barb that whilst they may be destructive they are so magnificent and let's face it they were here way before the home owners were. Love the artwork today and shall look fwd to the step by step tomorrow. Kick back and enjoy your evening. Xxc

  2. I so agree, Barbara. I live on the Ashdown Forest and my property is bounded with natural hedges and one close board fence onto the lane. The deer are beautiful and wonderful if well managed. I do despair at the speed of vehicles across this precious area; deer, cattle and sheep are killed on a regular basis as many drivers have no respect for wildlife. Such a lack of thoughtfulness by your friend's neighbours! Some of mine have deer fencing but luckily it is camouflaged by plenty of trees. I hope it can be resolved for her.

  3. Wonder how the neighbours would have felt about honey bears raking through dustbins? Roaming free along the narrow jungle tract between houses and South China Sea, it was a pleasure to glimpse even a shadow of this elusive creature. (The scorpion in my wardrobe was less welcome, however!!!);~}

  4. Oh what a shame, your poor friend. I love to see the deer roaming free too, albeit they can be a bit of a nuisance to gardens. A fabulous card and I hope that you enjoy your evening.
    Hugs to you both
    Linda xxx

  5. I agree what I would give to have deers out there to see would be great so why fence them away sounds like living in wrong place oh well each totbere own enjoy your evening hugs Joy xx

  6. Hi Barbara
    What a beautiful card, I'm loving what you do with these boots, would love a pair like that!! Your poor friend, to have lived at one with the forest for years and then have someone else interrupt their view, what a shame. It annoys me when people buy a house in the country and then complain about their surroundings, trees, deer church bells! It's not something you should change but accept. Hope you and Dave have a lovely relaxing evening recharging those batteries.
    Love Diane xxx

  7. Love this artwork. The idea of making art within the boot like the one done ealier this month is great. I would never have thought of it. I have the tree and sheep stamp but not the fence. I'm not sure if you drew it or have a stamp for it. I will have a look later. Hope you and Dave have a relaxing weekend together.xx

    1. Hi Susan, good to see you here. How are you?
      I've often seen Barbara making fencing with a tree trunk from a tree stamp. Don't know if that helps.
      Been thinking about you often. I know I haven't known you for long, and I only know you here, but you're in my heart xx

  8. It's like people who move near a village church then complain about the clock chiming and the bells ringing. They can't see beyond the end of their snooty noses!
    I love the effects with the boot stamp. I can't afford them at the moment and I have lots of gear I have yet to open. I may try something similar with the small leaf stencils xx

    1. Hello everyone. Been so busy, with Dad's funeral being 190 miles away and then stayed nearly a fortnight with the family. Lost my mojo for a while with everything happening and 3 weeks wait for the funeral. He moved here with us 14 years ago so we've never lived here without him, but we've begun to sort out and get ready to decorate his "quarters" as we have to move on. I made some thank you cards as a personal touch for those who came to the funeral, some who hadn't seen him for nearly 30 years and I think it has done me good.
      I hope you and yours are as well as possible xx

  9. This is wonderful Barbara and says it all. I think deer are beautiful and majestic creature and I think that these people should adapt their garden to suit as if you live in the country you have to accept what comes with it. x

  10. I'll never understand why people who choose to live in the country try and live like a townie! If you don't like the deer in your garden, don't live in a place where the deer have been roaming for hundreds of years! OOOOH it really makes me angry! I would love to see deer in my garden. I'm quite content though with birds and bees and butterfly's. Love the artwork! Like sheep too! Thanks for the great blog Barb xxx chillax!

  11. Such a shame for your friend. We used to have wild rabbits come into our garden when we first moved here, but now, 5 years on, they all seem to have disappeared. I used to love seeing them sitting in the sunshine x

  12. Some people just can't see the beauty in nature, especially on their own doorstep…got to pity them really. Just a shame that they're spoiling it for your friend after all these years. Love the boots and the countryside scene is perfect. Have a nice evening chilling with Dave xx

  13. Hi Barbara, in my opinion, there should be a law, that if you choose to live in the country then you must live side by side with the native inhabitants, after all it is their land, we've stolen it from them! I knew someone who lives further out than me, and she planted a veg patch, then once it was growing up, the mummy deer got over the fence with her young and they ate everything, and she just sat and watched and marveled at them, and felt privileged. Wish I had that problem, would love wildlife coming into my gardens. Yes they do cause damage, but they are just living their lives and eating what they need, and you just work round it, or with it. Now the blimmin morbidly obese wood pigeons, they just destroy for the sake of destroying!!!! A cage for the bird feeders that only allow the smaller birds in, soon sorted that out, and now when they do come and shred some plants, it's not often enough to kill them off, so I just let them vent their frustration, much to the delight of the local cat population who like to come and practise their stalking skills!!!!

    I had a neighbour at my last place who erected a tall fence, in front of the only view I had. And here, another neighbour who has stole a wee piece of council ground outside my back which had lovely bushes growing in it, and now is full of fence and wood shed and cut down trees for chopping etc., a right monstrosity. Nothing I can do, apparently wouldn't be seen as 'normal', nor wise, to complain about it, even though it's not his property and this is a conservation area and you need planning permission for all sorts of stuff. Wouldn't be allowed in my autistic/asperger's world. A lot of times, especially when things are extra tough, I wish so much the tables were turned, that we were the 99% of the population, and normal people were the 1%!

    Hope you enjoy your chill evening, and weekend
    love Brenda xx

  14. We back onto woodland at the top of the North Kent downs (dunno why they are called 'Downs' when they are very 'Up') and the ddeer, foxes, badgers etc all visit at will. I put out food for the foxes at night and have put up a night sight camera so I can watch them visiting. Hoping for a new set of cubs soon.
    Your friend's neighbours don't know what they are missing by putting up a nasty fence.

  15. I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia and this summer was dry and I had 2 deer in my back yard! Busy street in front of my condo small green space in back…I wish I knew how to post a picture here. If I had a fence those deer could have ended up riding on the Metro Transit Bus! Love your art work and am so glad I discovered the Groovi system. Cheers

  16. When I use to be at work before I was medical health retired I use to come home after a night shift they was often a deer standing in the main road so beautiful to watch before I turned into the cul de sac for home xxx

  17. Making me feel a bit guilty now, Fred took me out for lunch today as it is our anniversary and I had venison. Now I am thinking about the lovely deer running around, reckon I shall soon be joining the vegetarians in our family. It is lovely to see them roaming free. if we are very lucky we get to see them on Cannock Chase. xx

  18. Oh dear, no deer! What a shame that people who are privileged enough to live on the edge of being able to see the glorious British wildlife, don't actually want to see it themselves, how strange. There's nowt so queer as folk. Xxx

Leave a Reply to janet Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *