Robot Mowers

[spokewrench]

Knives were a problem in butchering a goat. You had to get the hide off, then open the abdomen and remove the gut without puncturing anything. There was the danger of cutting your other hand. A knife would get gummed with slime that would make a handle hard to grip and keep a blade from cutting.

This $10 skinning knife made a big difference. For most cuts, the spur blade was plenty. It offered control and a smaller danger zone for my other hand. The slitter would open the abdominal cavity with no risk of puncture. Slime didn't impair my grip, and the short blades could easily be dipped in water and wiped. The blade could be unscrewed for sharpening. The red thing is a plastic sheath for the spur blade.

 

[spokewrench]

In November, 1620, Myles Standish led a party ashore on Cape Cod. A dog barked, but an unseen Yankee whistled and the dog withdrew. They found what they thought was a well-traveled road leading to a town. It led to a corral, and the tracks were made by deer. They also noted that the woods were as free of undergrowth as English parks.

The two are related. The natives set fires each spring and fall. For one thing, they cleared 50-acre corn fields of weeds. For another, they burned undergrowth in woods. These semiannual fires allowed grass to flourish, supporting a large deer population that Yankees could herd into corrals when they wanted meat. Dogs must have played a vital role: keeping predators away, keeping deer out of cornfields, helping herd deer, but not chasing them for sport.

Imagine that! The benefits of goats without erecting fences!