Rain City Guide

I love the idea of renting a goat to clear out the unofficial greenbelt area by my house.  Not only does it sound effective and “green” in terms of reducing, reusing, and recycling but the idea of having the goats hanging out for a few days seems like an interesting diversion from my daily routine. 

The area of possible goat-munching possibilities is an area where the City of Seattle owns the land, it’s a dead-end street in Phinney Ridge, but they don’t do any maintenance on it.  My longtime neighbor who has been cutting back the blackberry bushes for the past 30 years is selling his house now and I am concerned that the brush, morning glories, and other weeds will take over permanently and become too much for us to handle if the new potential owners aren’t as into yard work as this neighbor was. My partner, Michael, went out 2 weekends ago and cut back a 3 foot swath (but over many feet long) so that our own plantings wouldn’t be obscured and wiped out, but I’m sure that it will grow back quickly.

The Seattle Times had an article in Sunday’s paper showing the UW maintenance crew using Rent-A-Ruminant to clear out ivy and blackberries from areas of campus that would be too difficult for humans to do safely. I’ve gotta get me one of those goats! :)  There is plenty to eat for a few days down in that gully.  You can find Rent-A-Ruminant and other grazing alternatives in several states at this website.