For The Love of Compost

I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades,

master of manure!

What I lack in brains, I make up for in sheer willpower.

So, when it comes to tractors and farm equipment...

bring 'em on!

Yesterday was manure spreading day...

me doing the loading with Dear John,

and Jim doing the spreading with Tin Lizzy.

And of course, Sammy was there to help.

Sammy has stuck by my side for the past two days, because he has his

"good boy" collar on (yes, it's back to the shock collar).

You see, I don't have to use the shock, just the "tone" is enough to tell Sam

that he'd better listen.

I know... he is the picture of innocence, right????

(And of late, he has not been listening...hence the return of the collar!)

Between loads, Sammy would jump onto the tractor to check out the view...

or just for some "luvins."

But, back to the subject at hand....manure.

If there is one thing that we are really great at producing...

it's compost.

And really great compost at that!

Manure fascinates me.

Sure, it's poop; but it's so much more.

A manure pile is a whole ecosystem, teeming with life and nutrients.

And the process of making manure is one big cycle here on the farm.

We grow the hay and harvest it, and feed it to our equines and goats.

Then we harvest their manure, and turn it weekly until it becomes luscious, soft,

black nutrient rich compost.

Then we spread it right back onto the hay field as organic fertilizer.

The process of turning manure into rich brown compost is quite fascinating.

If the subject of manure excites you like it obviously does me,

you might enjoy reading this book:

It's good stuff!

Amazon.com

On another subject, I wanted to update you on Mrs. Wellington, Beulah May, and Edith,

the three Muscovy/Pekin cross ducks that arrived last week.

First of all, I must tell you...

ducks are peculiarly prejudiced against newcomers.

It's true.

They will swim in the same pond,

but when it comes time for just "hanging out"...

they resist mingling.

In fact, they sit on opposite sides of the pond and gossip.

I've heard it and it isn't pretty... they're as bad as the hens!

Lastly as per your request, a little blurb on how I make my hot pepper relish and sauce.

I don't use a recipe....but this is what I did.

When I make hot pepper relish, I dice a whole bunch of peppers.  I put them in a kettle and pour just enough vinegar to almost reach the top of the peppers (just slightly under).....I keep track of how many cups of vinegar I use, and then use half that amount of sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer for one minute

 and then fill hot canning jars with 1/4 inch headspace, 
affix lids and bands, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

To make the hot sauce, I just took an immersion blender to the hot peppers/vinegar/sugar mix and liquified it.  Then I poured it through a sieve,  and poured the liquid into a bottle....and into the fridge.  So simple....so hot!

Next time I am going to also cook some garlic with the peppers.

And, I used some mighty hot peppers.....when I clean them, I just chop off the stems and throw the whole pepper (seeds and all) into the dicer.  Seeds will add even more heat....and they get removed when you put it through the sieve.

We eat hot peppers on everything and hot sauce on everything else!!