"Come on, Donny. They were threatening castration."

"Nobody's going to cut your dick off. Not if I have anything to say about it."

It's goat birthing time again on Miss Charlie's farm. Or at least we thought it was. A goat's gestation period is right around 150 days, or 5 months. So, with that fateful day drawing near, I spent the afternoon on the farm with the intent of getting some hands on experience in goat birthing and castration. Who knows, might come in handy later. Unfortunately, I came a little too early and wasn't needed. Maybe that's not a bad thing, though. Check out the tool used for castrating the poor little guys:

Definitely not something I see myself ever being comfortable holding. Ouch.

I did, however, get a chance to take the kayak out on the farm pond for some fishing. And, I wouldn't be a true fisherman if I didn't take this opportunity to brag about the catch of the day:

As much as I was tempted, Photoshop was not used in this image. Just a hoss.

Next time I'm out at the farm, I'll be sure to take some pictures of the herd's newest members. If they're anything like last year's bunch, they should be as entertaining as they are cute.

Another herd. Another service project.

Click on the picture above to see a few more pictures of this year's chew crew going to town in a fenced-in, overgrown detention pond in one of Athens' first affordable housing complexes, 4th Street Village.

Besides a little tighter squeeze in the makeshift transporter and an unpleasant introduction to fire ants, our four goats peformed wonderfully. While Caroline, Clarence, Thomas, and I felled mimosa trees and gathered trash, the reunited goats spent the afternoon grazing on a smorgasborg of wisteria, dog fennel, and privet. Although a mere 6 hours barely put a dent in the space's overall appearance, the outing definitely serves as proof that goats should be considered as an economical, quiet, and entertaining management solution.

"Maude? That's my robe."

Picture borrowed from ultimategoatfansite.com

It's a common misconception that goats will eat just about anything: hair, tin cans, rope, or this unlucky lady's top. The truth is, I was surprised to learn, that goats are relatively picky eaters. Several species in the backyard, for whatever reason, have escaped the terrible fate of goat grazing. Listed below is a running list of the less palatable plants.

• Redbud
• Azaleas
• Hollies
• Ferns
• Jewelweed
• Aucuba
• Cherry laurel

From an ecological restoration approach, it's interesting to note that several of the plants our goats walk by on their way to privet are native. Perhaps even more noteworthy is that a few of these species have appeared naturally after last year's herd cleared the dense mat of monkeygrass and ivy.

A Month's Worth of Eating

Here's the progress in right around a month. Job well done, goats.




Check out the view from the back looking at the deck. That's Dusty for scale in the middle this time.

See the post below for more before/after images.

Before, After, and another Before

Here's a quick visual rundown of what we began with last September...

what last year's goats left us with...

and what this year's goats are up against...

To help give the vegetation some scale (and finally introduce Nate's mug to the blog) here's another shot looking back at the house:

As anticipated, it's pretty clear that this privet isn't going to go down easily. There is, however, some noticeable progress. For one, a large stand of jewel weed has established itself near the creek. And, although there's certainly no shortage of privet, the remaining plants are much more manageable and within easy reach of a hungry goat mouth. The English ivy, on the other hand, seems to have gotten the hint. You may remember the downed mulberry tree (pictured above) covered in a thick mat before being cleared by last year's three goats. Almost a year later, and it's still ivy-free. Booyah.

Two Proud New Herders

Below are this year's two new goat herders. I played the role of goat broker/transporter, linking Willy (foreground) and Dana with Miss Charlie. Everything went smoothly - as in no bloody foreheads.

Don't worry. My time with these goats doesn't stop here. I'll continue observing the two new Dougie House Goats and comment on their progress. Dana was also kind enough to offer his goats as study material, so I should have access more than enough goatscaping to write about.

More to come soon.