As soon as Minnie’s Goat Coach pulled up to a vacant lot on Terrace Avenue in Conimicut, its 17 four-legged riders went to work munching just about everything they could sink their teeth into. Wayne Pitman, who lives on the bus with the goats, has a thriving business. He has a second converted school bus with another team of 17 goats, plus a smaller van used to transport goats to small residential day jobs. If this doesn’t get your goat, consider that the goats are booked tight and the prices cover chewing up everything, including poison ivy. At $550 to $600 a day, Pitman says his goats beat the cost of commercial landscapers, especially on hilly terrain. Pitman got into the business about seven years ago when he was in the business of goat milk, goat cheese and soap. His veterinarian inquired what he was going to do with all his goats – 74 to be precise – and suggested he rent them out for landscaping. Pitman didn’t think much of the idea until he did a job for the state. Now he’s on the road, spending most of his time in Newport as well as traveling the state. As for his stop in Conimicut, he said it has been “the friendliest neighborhood of the year.” And who’s Minnie? Pitman said she is a generous anonymous donor. (Warwick Beacon photos)