Noname doing who knows what.
Kalina hanging in the front yard with Spice.
After two weeks with us, the goats left on Tuesday. The job was basically done, so on their final day we brought them all onto the lawn to let them fill their bellies with grass as a thank you for a job well done (and to delay our having to lug out the mower).
Eight goats for 2 weeks has been just right for us. We needed that many goat/days to do the job. More goats for only one week would have been too hard to manage, and fewer goats for a longer time would have dragged on (the novelty was starting to wear off as we kept having to move goats who had pulled their stakes loose from the wet ground). 
Spice desperately tries to reach the poisonous Rhododendron
Triona playing in the back yard with the goats
Dan bringing Spice up into the front yard - it's true what they say about goats being pack animals. They were NOT happy as soon as they were out of sight of their herdmates and they would all bleat plaintively back and forth until they could see each other again.
Together again
Kali feeds Delight an apple branch
Kali, unhappy to learn that feeding Delight an apple branch means she will actually take it away...
Bridget feeds herself an apple branch.
Dan bringing Google and Goggle up the driveway.
Spice warming up the driver's seat for Josh.
Loading the last goats up in the van.
We can't thank Jill, Josh, and their goats enough for helping us with this overwhelming job! It has been so fun to have the goats, and it's exciting to feel like we're making headway on the yard. We would absolutely recommend using goats to clear your brush, and renting them from the Goat Lady if you live in the Seattle area.
We are seriously considering getting a pair of goats permanently to help us stay on top of the brush (and to help entertain the neighborhood kids).
Final before and after pictures coming soon.....
One of our major goals for the back woods is to restore it to a more native form and provide better wildlife habitat. This morning, we looked out the window to see a male Pileated Woodpecker feeding at one of the rotting stumps that had previously been covered with ivy (and surely filled with rats). We'd seen Pileateds in the yard on a fairly regular basis, but usually up high, or flying over. We've never had one feeding right at the edge of the lawn. Before long, he was joined by a female and they spent several minutes plucking away at the bark looking for beetles and other insects. Hopefully they found some and will be back. We'll be watching all the stumps for woodpecker activity. 
