by Dennis Augustine
After dinner, my son-in-law Kyle and I took a walk while our granddaughters Lyla and Emmy rode their bike and scooter respectively, chatting and giggling all the way. After a while…we heard it…that unmistakable joyful “Maaaaa!” echoing through the brush. When I first head about Folsom’s weed abatement goat squad, I imagined a modest, roped-off pack of maybe a dozen or two quietly grazing various neighborhoods. What did we see? Two separate hundred of acre sites of open space with 500 goats munching, chomping, climbing, and bleating their hearts out!
The kids were in heaven, trying to mimic the goat cries (I’m not sure who was louder—the goats or the girls.) It turned into an impromptu nature concert right there on the trail as the sun began to set.
These eco-friendly fire-fighting furry critters were chomping their way through dry brush to help keep the community safe from fire hazards—and to be honest, they were stealing hearts along the way.
The kids were LOVING the show. The trails turned into spontaneous giggle zones as the little ones tried to out-“baa” the goats (some of them are getting really good at it )
Postscript: With rising mechanical maintenance costs, the staff of Folsom Parks and Recreation Department has been contracting local goat herders to remove fire causing fuel rather than just cutting the weeds and leaving them in place.
