(no subject)

[tagryn]

from Living the Country Life magazine:

Guard llamas are an option for protecting sheep herds from predators. Apparently they're instinctively hostile towards canines (dogs, foxes, coyotes) and will chase them away. There's an interesting alternative to raking or leaf blowers for dealing with autumn leaves: something called a lawn sweeper. Basically, it's a large brush on wheels which sweeps up leaves, sticks, etc. from the lawn as it rolls across it, whether pushed manually or pulled behind a rider mower. The Amazon.com reviews of one here indicate it actually works as described, but isn't nearly as effective later in the season when the leaves are wet and matted. Keeping up with the leaves was a big chore for me last year, and I'll likely be trying a sweeper to try and help out with this come fall.