Raking to recycle

Helped our neighbor muck out 4 horse stalls today; great fun and great exercise. Brought back another little green wagon full of fresh manure for the compost pile. Also they have 5 baby chicks, so cute. Life is good.


Raking up the manure and trying to sift out the cleaner, dryer shavings at the same time takes more concentration than one might think. While working, I was again taken back to childhood at my aunt's farm and shoveling out the cow stalls. We didn't have to worry about being cost-conscious with shavings or trying to recycle as many dry ones as we could.  It was all just shoveled up and thrown out the window onto the pile and new laid down. Probably back then, Uncle didn't use shavings, but hay which didn't cost anything except labor. There was always plenty of it in the barn. I really can't remember. I know there is a huge amount of shavings there now, but whether or not there was then, I can't say. Whichever the case, he didn't worry about saving any of it. Of course, he could never have been accused of being an environmentalist either. Times change and resources become much more expensive, so this method of using a shovel-style rake to sift the shavings from the chunks makes great sense in many ways.


I hope that I did a good job and helped my new friend. She sounded very grateful saying that I had made it possible for her to have a lot more time to work in her garden, so I guess I did.  I just know that I had fun, got to see some beautiful animals and learned a lot. 


While working in the stalls, I had several visitors, Chelsea, the dog and a couple of pretty hens, Blondie and I don't know the names of the others. Also, the really beautiful rooster, Frank, stopped by. They didn't stay long, just dropped in to say hello and then moved on. 


What a great day!

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.

Changes

It has been two weeks of changes, both bad and good. First, J's mother's passing and our gradual move to the homestead. Missing her keen wit and helping family members claim photos and small treasures that they or their children had given Gram. Making small changes here and there, settling in. Making big changes, moving furniture; buying a new mattress. Planning more changes; discussing renovations, a new, bigger, flatscreen TV, new microwave. Today I bought a new dishpan, but it is too big, so have to take it back and get the smaller one. I knew it was a mistake, but thought I had to try it anyway.

Last weekend, got to see a good friend whom I had not seen in over 40 years. It was a true pleasure; we are both extremely excited about the idea of seeing each other much more often now that she and her husband have built a second home (their retirement home) in the area. The timing couldn't be more perfect as I've lost two good friends in the past two years, so it is especially gratifying to reconnect with an old friend and one that I loved so much. Life is good. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

Passages

What an honor and a privilege to be with a friend at the time of her death. To have had the opportunity to give her the best care I could possibly give in the last few weeks of her life, to have shared in her thoughts and feelings, her laughter and her frustrations as well as her hopes, was such a blessing to me I have to give thanks.

I said "her death" and not her passing because this is what she believed. She said many times that she wasn't passing on or passing over, not going to be with anyone over there. "When I'm dead, I'm dead, that's all." And she was okay with this; she was ready and not afraid. I cannot feel sorry for her because she lived a very long life (97) and she lived it her way. She knew who she was, what she liked and what she wanted. She was good hearted, strong willed and sharp as a tack, right to the very end. I only feel sorry for her many family members who miss her so terribly.

Another reason I do not feel sorry for her is because I do not agree with her belief that she would not pass over to another life and be with God and her loved ones. I am sure that she is with them and that she is joyfully surprised to be there. One cannot love as much as she did, or be loved as much as she was and not be There. God bless and keep you, dear friend.