Before and After: Goats, Chainsaws, and the Great Snow-Pile Clearing Project

This is the clearing project on the north side of the driveway—a job that started as “just a little cleanup” and somehow turned into a full-scale land reclamation effort. Since we’ve now got a permanent fence running along the south side, the north side became the only logical spot left for snow storage. After last winter’s twelve feet of the white stuff (not all at once, thankfully—we’d still be tunneling our way to the barn), having a designated snow dump zone isn’t just practical—it’s survival.

Step one of the operation was bringing in my favorite landscaping crew: the goats. They don’t wear uniforms, but they work cheap and take their pay in twigs, bark, and the occasional stolen glove. I let them loose for a few days, and by the time they were done, you could actually see daylight through what had once been an impenetrable jungle. Goats may have attitude, but they’re nature’s finest brush cutters—like four-legged chainsaws with opinions.

Once they’d cleared enough for me to see the ground (and my footing), I fired up the real chainsaw and brought in the chipper. That’s when things got serious. Between the roar of the motor and the satisfying thunk of branches turning into mulch, I felt like I was starring in my own backwoods episode of Extreme Makeover: Farm Edition. The before-and-after photos are almost unrecognizable. What was once a tangle of scrub and tree limbs now actually looks like part of a driveway again.

All that’s left now is to drag a few of the bigger logs over to the landfill area, toss down some grass seed, and let nature—and the sheep—take it from there. Give it a season or two, and you’ll never know it was once a mess. The sheep will keep it cropped short, like a living lawn crew.

And really, that’s how this whole farm operation began: edible land management. Goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys—they’re all part of the system. It’s not glamorous, but it’s effective. Around here, if something eats grass, brush, or bugs, it’s got a job—and that’s what keeps this farm running.

Before:


After:

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©2008 Sandy Davis | American Way Farm