“Holy shit!” is an expletive I could use quite often these days in regard to surprise about events in the news, but instead I will take my scatological subject in a different direction.
Last week on a beautiful sunny day in the low 70’s, I chose to clean the chicken coop. Delicious fresh eggs don’t just appear by magic in the refrigerator. Someone must feed the chickens and on occasion clean their coop. That someone is I. Some of you have had the opportunity to taste fresh eggs and can maybe understand why one would choose to shovel chicken poop in order to have them. It is hard, sweaty, stinky work.
Neighbors on Junk Road and I have noticed a greater number of dump trucks traveling up and down our road probably related to the construction of local solar farms. During a conversation this week with my great neighbor Keith, we discussed a dump truck traveling back and forth, up and down Junk Road with huge letters on its side that read, “WORK FOR IT.” Keith reminded me that “anything worth having-must be worked for!” So I suppose that if I am to have delicious fresh eggs, I must follow the message on the truck, and like many occasions in the past, once I have completed my work I can step back, exclaim “Holy Shit!” and proudly observe my handy work.
But for real depth on the subject, I refer you to the man who literally wrote the book on it: the late Gene Logsdon.
Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind
Publisher:
Chelsea Green Publishing
Pub. Date:
August 30, 2010
ISBN:
9781603582513
Known as the contrary farmer, Gene Logsdon with his trademark humor, his years of experience writing about both farming and waste management, and his uncanny eye for the small but important details, he artfully describes how to manage farm manure, pet manure and human manure to make fertilizer and humus. He covers the field, so to speak, discussing topics like:
· How to select the right pitchfork for the job and use it correctly
· How to operate a small manure spreader
· How to build a barn manure pack with farm animal manure
· How to compost cat and dog waste
· How to recycle toilet water for irrigation purposes, and
· How to get rid ourselves of our irrational paranoia about feces and urine.
Logsdon devotes a chapter in his book to managing chicken shit entitled, “No More Poop Coops.” He gives advice on how much square footage is needed per chicken, nest management, what materials works best as floor coverings, and the best pitch fork and shovel for clean up. I have found Logsdon’s advice about chicken poop, cottage farming, and life in general to be invaluable.
The cleaned chicken coop at Merry Mount
Experientially, I know a bit about Holy Shit. For ten wonderful years, I have been cleaning up after four to seven goats, and ten to a dozen chickens with the intent to compost as much as possible. I am still trying to convince Rett that our holy shit is better than the high-priced stuff she purchases at Straders.
My raised bed filled with composted dirt and manure
As I conclude with this essay on one of life’s basics, I hear Rett’s words echoing in my ears, “but you are the best poop scooper in Madison County!”
CPW
P.S. The reward
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