All I Want for Christmas. . .

I've found what I want under the tree and in the backyard: a goat!!! What a perfect answer to the weeds, grass and leaves that keep all those noise making and gas guzzling machines like lawn movers and leaf blowers chugging along. This goat, named Wyeth, is a angora (yes, like the sweaters!) and belongs to Yvonne Post who recently "rented" him out to see what he could do to tame the weeds in Bartram's Garden, a historical property near Philadelphia.

Success on many counts, by the way. Wyeth and his buddy, Rodin chowed down on the contents of the overgrown meadow on the property. No chemicals. No controlled burn--just good old goat foraging. All of which is music to the ears of Post, who calls her goats "an experiment in the world of sustainability."

Goats have been successful foragers on many properties in my neck of the woods, like a 600 acre sanitary landfill and a 21 acre waste water treatment plant. They come cheaper than their human cleanup counterparts and seem to enjoy the varied diet that comes with many kinds of terrain. They are especially fond of thistle, fallen leaves and weedy grasses, not to mention Oriental bittersweet and purple loosestrife. "They'll eat and eat and eat, then sit and digest," says Post.

All kidding aside, I am not sure they would make great backyard companions for my canines, nor do I truly have a specific weed problem, but it does give one reason to pause. According to Post, her goats are "big, huge babies" who come when they're called. Still sounds tempting--and you don't have to walk them!!!