Of course the Goat Lady would love Boulder. Boulder loves the Goat Lady.

“There are a lot of people I’ve gotten to know, who look forward to me coming back each year with the herd,” says Laura Lou Colby.

Lou, as she is called, is not technically the “Goat Lady,” but owner of Golden Hooves Grazing Services, which since 1999 has rented members of the genus Capra out for weed snacking.

And those hooves belong to 325 of her animals that have an appetite for weeds. For the eighth year in a row, Boulder Parks and Recreation Department has hired her to help rid the contours of the Boulder Reservoir Dam of prickly weeds. It is, according to a Boulder press release, part of an Integrated Pest Management approach.

“Deer are good at eating this stuff, and sheep are too, but goats are the best,” she says.

For Lou’s goats, stands of noxious stuff like knapweed is like a cafeteria. And they're a movable feast. From the Boulder reservoir this week, they’ll move to CU campus for more weed – and not the type that CU has sometimes been known for. Colby, who has more than 30 years of what she terms “holistic resource management” under her belt discovered this approach while running a 10,000-acre sheep ranch in Montana.

In particular, her workforce can go after weeds in areas where pesticides can’t be used. She was going to Arizona during the winters to have her charges clear out water recharge basins. In Colorado, Vail, Frisco and other communities have also used her hooved service.

Colby spends every day -- all day -- with them, helped by a pair of Great Pyrenees watchdogs and a trio of herding hounds. She doesn’t have to encourage her horned mowers too much, though at times, she uses electric fences to keep them focused on problem areas – and to protect them from hassles. Even in peace-loving Boulder, stray dogs can cause problems with the herd.

“Some folks don’t take care to keep their animals on a leash,” she says. Animals – for the sake of working goats everywhere -- educate your people.

Still, conflict hasn’t hurt her goats’ appetites. Indeed, some got so fat last year that she had to trade them in since she couldn't fit them all into her trailer anymore. And this year’s crew, though smaller in stature, is gaining. They follow the example of Taquito – a rotund four-year-old who was fed bananas in Vail, who  clearly likes to eat.

Colby – who now describes herself as a nomad, going from job-to-job with her trailerful of goats – insists that the business is really a pleasure for her as she watches them.

“They have a great attitude. They just want to have fun and play,” she says. “And they’re very intelligent, which is why they get into trouble.”

But for Colby and her chew crew, they have fun, enjoying thistles while they work.