~40 Weed Whackers

Over the past few weeks I have been patching the fence surrounding our property, as well as enclosing the house area and adding two gates. This all started when I was faced with the decision to buy a weed whacking machine to keep the weeds mowed down so they wouldn't take over like in previous years. I initially considered buying a type of weed machine that is pushed on two wheels with the whipping line out in front. The cost is $350 plus gas (? $) and time (?). I don't know how often I would have to run the machine, but I don't exactly find mowing to be enjoyable work.
So, I decided to let nature take care of the weeds by inviting our property-neighbor, Bobby, to run his goats on our land. He had recently lost the use of some other land that he had been leasing, so he had to add those goats to the ones already on his 6-acre property next to us. I found a bunch of used pasture fencing, gates and fence posts for sale on a local swap-and-shop website, so I bought that and it turned out to be exactly enough to do the job. Bobby was kind enough to help me patch the fence over a couple of days, and now we have goats roaming the place. Here are some pictures, including one of Traveler, one of two Great Pyrenees dogs that watch over the herd:

Traveler














Within the house fence perimeter, close to the orchard, wild blackberries are growing. There are hundereds more growing across the uphill side of the driveway, but the goats will be taking those as soon as they discover them. Here is a bowl from todays collection:




JoAnna has been baking breads since early this morning, making use of the Nutrimill Grain Mill and whole wheat berries. The difference it makes using freshly ground flour in bread recipes of any kind is quite amazing to me. Delicious.