Getting our goat

Wendi and I want to get a goat.

Seriously.

There's a family down the hill from us that has five of them. The goats hang out on this really steep slope, munching on anything that grows there and keeping it "mowed." We're envious, and we have a steep, unkempt slope of our own what amounts to our "back yard."

Our back yard.

More of our back yard.

We do not want to mow this. We don't want to mow anything. We moved away from suburbia to get away from, among other things, a preoccupation with lawn maintenance.

Enter the goat. At least, our plan to get one. We have a few things to get settled first (like, finishing the big house in our front yard we're not living in--more updates on that soon) but we've already broached the topic with my parents. When it comes to things like, "We are moving to the middle of nowhere," "We're painting the outside of our house three different colors," and "We're going to buy a goat," it helps to give my parents plenty of advance warning so they can handle it when we actually do these things.

So my dad, ever helpful person that he is, forwarded me this e-mail ad today:

Never cut the grass again! Buy a goat
Cuts & Fertilizes At the Same Time

Yes, a goat. Not as neat as a lawn mower, but good enough. In one end, out the other. Cuts the grass and feeds the lawn at the same time. Get your own goat today. They do an excellent job of keeping the grass down, although they can be a bit indiscriminate at times.

They are not very good at a light trimming of course, big mouthfuls of grass from the center of the lawn is more their thing, not good at neat edges where the grass and the fence line meet, but in general they do a good job. Some customers hang on to their back legs and hold them up to direct their head. Reasons to buy:

• A good investment no gas required
• Highly reliable too (nothing the local vet won’t sort out)
• Affectionate & lovable animals- Environmentally friendly to boot.
• Free goat droppings for the compost pile.

The ad even had a link:
Click Here for Pricing & Shipping Information

So I clicked. I'll let you click to, so you can see how Dad got my goat. He claims he didn't click through to see that, but given what day it is, I have a hard time believing him.

And trust me, we're still getting a goat.