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03/04/2009: "Little Liberators"

Living Green Farm now has some new residents, which I'd like to introduce to you. The photo above shows one of the latest additions, Astraya the Nubian goat. She's pregnant, and will bear between two and five kids sometime in April. She is part of a herd of four goats that recently moved onto the farm, and which has been avidly eating blackberries, liberating fencelines, the cowshed, and the cottage from the prickly canes.

And what a job they have been doing. In less than a week the four goats munched their way all the way around the cow shed, turning this weedy undergrowth:



...into this neat scene:



Wow! It's amazing to watch the goats just munch away on whatever blackberry brambles are within reach.



Of course, it's not all about the goats. Lou, who moved his family into the farm house in January, is a self-confessed workaholic, and he's behind the cleanup as much as the goats. After the goats have eaten all the greenery, he comes through and cuts down the brambles, stacks them into piles, and ties the piles into bundles. I'll reproduce one of his emails to me, to illustrate just some of what he's done at the farm since January.

Well the wife got her goats and it seems blackberry's are quite tasty to them. I am considering an electric fence for them. I saw a nice solar powered for 175 (normally 349.99) and am considering purchasing it if you have no objections, what do you think?

The front yard is starting to look like a grass yard, and the rose bushes are starting to get thinned out and cleared around the base. Most blackberry bushes are cleared from the house yard, the north and northeast side of the cottage have been cleared (got under the cottage to discover the water is not hooked up and not sure where to pipe it in from), the south side of the garage and stalls are cleared and the west side of the stalls are in progress of being cleared (have the goats penned in away from the garden area you mentioned in your email). I will probably pen the goats at the blackberry patch in between the cottage and barn next, then the large patch at the south wooden corral area unless you have a preference as to what patches you would like cleared first. The patches at the east and north of the garage and along the fence line at the road i will clear by hand and be doing some vinegar experiments on those if that's ok.

The box spring and mattress were craigslisted and left yesterday, leaving the weed eater exposed so I thought i would move it into the battery room. Being curious about the 4 cycle engine i put a little gas in it and ran it for long enough to figure out that the fuel line had broken from age so I purchased some and repaired it. Never seen a four stroke weed eater before runs pretty good too. seems like a better setup than a two stroke engine. Mine is being preventive maintenance serviced by a friend who is an all around excellent mechanic from the biggest diesel motors to the smallest engines and has earned my complete trust and respect. He just finished a chain saw for me.

We need to stock some straw for the goats bedding and would like permission to put it in the barn. Upon getting approval we will be cleaning the barn in much the same fashion as the garage so you will have clear access to your equip etc. and be able to identify what you will be keeping and what you will discard for the spring cleanup.
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I love this place, there's work to do here, i can work myself till I'm tired and satisfied with my day. Yessss!


As my wife says, I should be paying Lou, not the other way 'round.