The Blessings of a manure pile.

A great thing happened today. I've been reading a book about composting and have learned that one of the most important agents/activators at work in a compost pile is nitrogen and that one of the most important sources of nitrogen is manure (cow, horse, sheep, goats, etc.). Whenever I put in household food scraps, I need to cover them well with manure and earth, enough to cover the smells and keep out the critters. Well, it just so happens that one of our closest neighbors has a horse farm. So I walked down and asked if they would like to part with any of their manure. The very nice young lady who owns the horses immediately said, "Help yourself to as much as you want." We had a really pleasant chat and she left to go pick up a pizza. I came back to the house, did a few things, then got my garden wagon and spade and walked back down the road. She and I got to her driveway at the same time. I walked up behind the stable to the manure pile and she came out the back of the barn doing her chores. And we talked some more. We discovered that we both like the smell of horse manure. I told her to let me know if she needed help mucking out the stalls and she said anytime I wanted to I was welcome. I think I will go down soon to help. That is good work. I remember as a kid, shoveling out the cow stalls at my aunt's farm. I loved her and the farm so much that I loved even doing that. Maybe only a true horse lover would feel the way we do, but there you are.

So now, I have an endless and very close supply of the needed nitrogen and I've met a very nice neighbor and hopefully made a new friend. If that's not a blessing, I don't know what is.

Next, I need to get a paper shredder.