Residents at Bear Harbor Condominiums were settling into lawn chairs with a bowl of popcorn, a frosty drink, and a good view of the front of the property.

No, it wasn't a homeowner's association get-together:123 hungry goats were chowing down on a weedy area with tall, dried grass at Bear Harbor. 

John Sullivan and his sister Dannette are Bear Harbor owners, some of the original owners. The HOA wrestles every year with a way to deal with this patch of unruly greenery. They can't mow the patch; they don't really like to use herbicides, and weed whackers are noisy and make the area smell like gasoline. 

But John had an idea. A San Francisco resident, he had noticed goats cleaning up weeds and grasses at the Presidio there. So he talked with his sister, Dannette, who put the word out for someone who has goats. 

"Word came back that Will was the person to contact," John said. 

So they contacted Will Powell – the CEO of Weed Eaters LLC, and, says John, "a very nice person." The business is based out of St. Ignatius, where the Powell family has a cattle ranch. Powell also is a farrier and  a rodeo hand who steers wrestles, ropes calves, and team ropes. 

His farrier jobs actually started Powell thinking about using goats as weed eaters because shoeing customers would ask him about weed control, including what solutions they used on the ranch. Many people don't want to spray, he said. 

As a rancher and a MSU graduate in ranch management, Powell told them a goat would take care of their weed issues. Goats prefer not to eat grass, he said. They are grazers who like weeds, shrubs and underbrush, although they'll eat grass if there's nothing else. 

Then he thought, "Well, shoot, I can haul them around." 

He bought some goats and got in the goat business. The nanny goats got bred, and he kidded them out, enjoying the antics of the kids as they hopped around and played. 

Powell uses Spanish and Kiko goats – meat goats that weigh 120 to 150 when they're adults. They are tougher and more durable for Powell's business. 

This is Powell's second year in the Weed Eater business. On a smaller piece of ground he owns, he figured he could run more goats than cattle. "They're good for the ranch," he said, plus he also could consider selling the meat. 

Powell has a double-decker stock trailer that will fit 80 goats on the bottom layer. Then he hauls the rest in another trailer.

When Powell goes to a job, he has a mesh electric fence he puts up to keep the goats where he wants them to be. It took the hairy beasts a while to get accustomed to their job, but "they're smart," Powell said, so they learned quickly. 

People who raise goats told Powell to raise them like deer and pretty much leave them alone unless they need help. He feeds his goats hay in the wintertime, but the rest of the year he makes sure they have water, salt, mineral, and "lots of air." They do need to be wormed frequently, he explained. 

The goats worked at Bear Harbor for a couple of days, doing an excellent job. The condominium residents appreciated the goats' work and were entertained by them – a win-win situation. To contact Weed Eaters LLC, call 406-210-4011.

    The Weed eater goats spread out and get down to business eating the weeds and brush in front of the Bear Harbor condominiums. (Will Powell photo)