Target Browsing

My first thought when Target Browsing caught my eye after checking out what the weather was going to be like back home in St. Marys (on my computer at First Coast News.com) was that here on Andros the only way I’d be caught Target Browsing would be on line since there are no Targets, Wal-Marts, or what have you type stores around here. My next thought tried to sidetrack me into on-line shopping since the holidays are fast approaching but I stayed on target and decided to read the rest of the article. It was all about a couple and their business outfit called Brush Goats 4 Hire. Brush goats are exactly that… a flock of goats that through target browsing help homeowners and municipalities stay a step ahead of a damaging phenomenon (some say rooted in global warming), wildfire.  The goats eat vegetation in hard to reach places that surround pockets of residential development and provide kindling for devastating firestorms that have plagued drought stricken places and places that battle unreasonably seasonal drying wind, Colorado immediately comes to mind as one place that could have used these goats.

The article quoted the University of California’s Cooperative Extension saying (I’m paraphrasing here) that there may certainly be more demand for the Brush Goats 4 Hire types of businesses because the wildfire risk is not going to go away. There are a couple of schools of thought on the goat’s effect on erosion but as I tend to be pro-goat (since I’m married to an old goat) I will highlight the plus side here. Goats' hoof action helps aerate the earth and their fertilizer adds nutrients. They help control erosion because their footprints are deep enough to slow the flow of water on steep hillsides and since they eat mostly leaves instead of the entire plant the plants still have roots and can grow back and help hold the soil. Goats are quiet and eco-friendly requiring no fossil fuels to operate as they process (eat/recycle) the brush which eliminates the need to haul the brush away. They also have appeal as entertainment and are fun to watch while they “work” at clearing brush in hard to reach yet scenic hillsides.

So when I mentioned this article and the value and cuteness of goats with eyebrows raised inquiringly to my husband, I knew in advance that he’d say one old goat around here was enough.