I have been asked to share the goat story referenced in my post about our hike on the AT. Don't ever say this blog isn't for the people, by the people.
High atop one of the balds, to the left of the trail if you are traveling north, was a large pin of what I thought were sheep. To the right of the trail was a wide expanse of desolation, with nothing but a ton of woody stems sticking up.
On the return trip, same deal, only this time there was a man there passing out brochures. Turns out, they were not sheep, but angora goats. Their mission: to eat away at this particular low-growing bush that had overgrown the grass on the bald and killed it all. Apparently, these goats will eat away at these bushes till nothing remains but the woody stalk. This allows the grass to get a little love from the sun and the rain and grow back. At least that's the plan of the brochure man. He's a botanist who's living up there for the duration of this project. He said he has no watch - he just stays in his camp and keeps an eye on the goats. (And occasionally visits the AT Sir Speedy to print up brochures he can distribute, apparently.)
The goats had just completed their eating frenzy on one side of the trail and had moved to the other. Don't know if the grass is coming back, but they sure did eat the heck out of those bushes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing the goat story. I was hoping it involved a goat eating the seat out of someones pants or butting them or something. You actual story is much more educational than I imagined.
One of the goats ate a kid, but I didn't want to frighten anyone, so I edited that part out. Does that make it better?
Post a Comment