EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Lawn and Garden
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-04-12, 10:24 AM   #11
stuart1648
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: longview wa
Posts: 18
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Fancy schmancy neighborhood.
I have 2 acres of grass that grows several feet high. Im waiting for a neighbor that "leaves" a herd of sheep behind;regular or electronic.

stuart1648 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-12, 11:52 AM   #12
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

Sheep? How about goats? The Navy was using a small herd of goats at the base ammo dump when I was stationed in Bermuda.
The goats could climb up on the steep sides of bunkers and up on top of blast doors, etc. keeping the whole area well mowed.
They could go places where no fancy mowing machine could reach..

We have about 1/2 acre with maybe 1/3 acre of grass.
Not real big. I can do the whole thing with a good self-propelled in an hour.
If I didn't have to mow around posts and building edges, solar arrays & etc, it would be a lot easier..
__________________
My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits
EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-12, 01:52 PM   #13
stuart1648
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: longview wa
Posts: 18
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Actually,Ive been told that goats dont really like grass;they prefer brush,scrub etc.
I didnt know we still had a base in Bermuda.My stepfather was stationed there in WW2 as a civilian contractor.He was on very bad terms with his wife but couldnt divorce,Catholic etc. She came to live with him but the ship was torpedoed and frankly he was overjoyed. However, the ship limped in;damaged.He could never forgive the Germans for their inefficiency.
stuart1648 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-12, 04:03 PM   #14
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

You might be right about goat food. I've seen them, eating plants on top of the bunkers,
but it might have been just weeds..?.

I was in Bermuda between wars. April 1963-April 1965.
Your war story reminds me of an E6 PO that I met when I first got to the island.
He was a party animal. I saw that guy running around with a bunch of hot chicks.
He drank like a sailor too. Very nice guy with a lot of sea stories. Everyone liked him.

After a couple of months of living in the fast lane, one day he was all bummed out.
I asked him what was wrong. His wife was coming to the island, to live with him.
He stayed on base and drank a lot for a few weeks. Then he killed himself the day before his wife was to arrive.
I decided right then that married life wasn't for me...
__________________
My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits
EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-06-12, 10:59 AM   #15
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default Last part came in today! :)

Here's the old one..

I would say that was slightly Damaged. Two corners gone and another cracked (pencil indicates)




Installed the new Insulator using the Sears power tool and it seems to only torque up to about 20 ft lbs.
So, I used a real torque tool and got it up to about 35 ft lbs. I'll re-torque it after a little mowing..

Regrettably, the other day, my wife had me mow the whole lawn with the gas mower.
And now I have to wait for the glass to grow back in!!
I've got to get another hobby.. There's nothing more boring than watching grass grow!!
__________________
My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits
EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-12, 08:32 PM   #16
stuart1648
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: longview wa
Posts: 18
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Good news: Ive got 2 acres of very deep grass for you to mow. I havent had any luck waiting for a neighbor to leave me his sheep and the Elk arent due until Nov or so depending on the weather.
stuart1648 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-12, 11:51 PM   #17
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

I don't mean to goat you on, but...
Chicago's O'Hare latest location to turn to goats for landscaping | Fox News
__________________
My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits
EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-12, 06:07 AM   #18
stuart1648
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: longview wa
Posts: 18
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

There is,of course, one important advantage to 4-legged Mowers :They can be recycled using a Bar-B-Que grill and sauces.
In fact I have read that worldwide more goat meat is eaten than beef.The catch is that almost all of the goat is eaten in poorer regions while almost all the beef is eaten in more developed countries
stuart1648 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-12, 07:49 AM   #19
MN Renovator
Less usage=Cheaper bills
 
MN Renovator's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 939
Thanks: 41
Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts
Default

If you take a look at a picture of a cow in a third world country and compare it to a cow in North America, you'll get a good idea of why that could be true. The third world cow is a smaller skinny cow that looks about what a cow probably would normally look like in the wild but the North America cow(or most other developed area farm cow) is bred to get huge and is fed grandly. In the third world, the goat doesn't need to be fed a ton to produce food and is probably more efficient at digesting grass and whatever else is can graze on.

This isn't the girthy cow you're used to.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.c...07/12/kiva.jpg
MN Renovator is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-12, 08:33 AM   #20
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by stuart1648 View Post
There is,of course, one important advantage to 4-legged Mowers :They can be recycled using a Bar-B-Que grill and sauces.
In fact I have read that worldwide more goat meat is eaten than beef.The catch is that almost all of the goat is eaten in poorer regions while almost all the beef is eaten in more developed countries
I guess southwest Texas in the 1950s was one of those 'poorer regions'.
Since I recall eating more goat than beef. Of course chicken was cheaper,
so it was mainly the main meat course most of the time.
Every meal with meat was served with pinto beans.
IIRC pinto beans were at least 50% (by weight) of each evening meal.

__________________
My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits
EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:13 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design