Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Giant Pile of Steaming Black Compost!

That is what we think when we walk out to the vegetable garden right now. We have a big pile of compost, ready to go into the soil and then to our plants (and then into us).

The garden is about half an acre surrounded on all sides by pasture. It sits on one of the highest ground on the farm, so when you go out to work you have a view of everything: the lake, the barns, the houses, the fields and behind them, the forrest. On warm days it is very pleasant working in the sun, catching the breeze (if there is one) and, eventually, having an audience.

The horses will be the first to come over to see what you are doing. They know that yummy things can come out of this patch of ground and are always curious to see if today is a snack day. We have learned from experience to place the corn plants waaaay back from the fence, and they have learned that a few pokes of barbed wire are not so bad when there is a corn stalk to be had. Eventually the cows will come too; they are also curious animals. The new little calves are even more curious than their mothers. (I have a theory that cows are born as smart as they will ever be and then go down hill from there.) Imagine their delight in discovering this giant, warm, aromatic pile of....something to eat....something to climb.....something to roll around in.


Myrtle the cow is especially loving the loam. She likes to roll her head in it and her calf has taken to climbing on top. Here is a film of their antics (sorry for the poor quality).

A warm week with lots of outside work. Love it.

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