"Look at our current situation..."

We light the grill for the 2nd annual Cochon de Lait in less than 3 weeks. A small army of friends and family are expected to descend upon the Dougie House to enjoy 200 lbs of Cajun-cooked swine and watch the 'Dawgs lay the wood to LSU. This Pig Roast has been the topic of conversation for a solid 11 months now, so it's safe to say expectations for this 48 hour affair are high.

Problem: The backyard resembles a small national forest. Poison ivy, privet, honeysuckle, English ivy. You name it, it's probably back there. And in large quantities. Altogether, it looks uninviting, overgrown, and probably unsafe. Like a scene out of a John Rambo movie. It's a big back yard. And the residents aren't chomping at the bit to get back there with machetes and Roundup. So what's a poor college student to do?

Answer: Slash and burn agriculture? -Nah, probably frowned upon.

Napalm? - Nope. Fresh out.

Two female Nubian goats? - Yahtzee.

Over the next few weeks, for both a quasi-academic study and personal enjoyment, I'll be documenting our experiences with these two goats. In case there's more of you out there wondering if goats are the solution to all your problems, I'll to try to be as descriptive and informative as possible without turning this blog into a dry, online textbook. Among other unpredictable observations, look for the following themes to come up in my postings in the immediate future:

• Fencing
• Shelter
• Enough food occurring naturally?

(And what's all this hype about goats eating anything? They'll be in pretty close contact with drunk college kids, so we should have some interesting reports by the end of the semester.)

• Water
• Naming the goats

(Any ideas? The more controversial the better.)

• Noisy?
• Skittish vs. friendly
• Amusement factor
• Will the neighbors care?
• How cheap can I get a goat?
• How long till the excitement wears off and we realize we're stuck with 2 female goats?

As of right now, we're at square one. All we've got is a Craigslist contact, a lot of weeds, and an existing fence in need of repair. There is, however, some old bundles of fencing under the deck. So, by this time tomorrow, the goal is a functioning, goat-proof enclosure.