Thank you God for beautiful life.

Blog Post Verse:

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ~Isaiah 58:11

Last fall I was pretty confident in how our compost would turn out. I packed the can in the ground a foot or two and buffered it from the cold winter to come. This spring, I opened the compost can and there it was. So beautiful. Perfect compost dirt! Whenever you smell fresh dirt, do you ever start to salivate a little bit? I did! I don't know what it is that causes that!

As I emptied it out into a wheelbarrow I found out that the lower I got, the stinker it was. I also found a few things there weren't decomposed. The top of a pinneapple, some newspaper, and the stinkiest thing on the bottom were some corn husks. This year I will avoid adding these things. I will also remember to pick up the can and roll it around to get some air in the bottom of it.

In our garden area I hoe'd and raked out all the weeds (isn't it amazing that weeds are one of the first things that grow in the spring?) to get it ready for the compost. It was about 1.5 wheelbarrows full that I mixed into the garden area. I will be planting some tomatoes and basil. We also trimmed out quite a bit from the bottom of the pine tree, so there will be a tad bit more area and more sun.

Our tulips and daffadils have started blooming! All different colors in many areas of our yard.

We have been blessed with a beautiful Spring with plenty of sunshine and rain!

Thank you God for such a beautiful creation.

All of life.

I love dirt!

I have never been more excited about dirt! I can't wait for my kitchen scraps to turn into a pile of luscious nutrient rich dirt! I started a compost about 2 1/2 months ago. I know, a compost pile in the city? Well with some research I found out how. I took a plastic garbage can-about 12 gallon size-from my Mom's house. She was not using it and I asked her if I could have it. I did not just steal it. (not like the old days anyway, ha ha!) I drilled a bunch of holes in the can-which was sooo much fun! If you ever get a chance to drill holes into something-do it! It is a great feeling. I place the garbage can on about 4 bricks to allow circulation under the can. I added a 3" layer of dirt from my huge wood chip dirt pile. Then I started collecting my kitchen scraps. Charlie and Joey volunteered to be your "Vanna White".

One day I was planting a new bush and there were several earthworms in the dirt. I thought-hey I have a better home for you. And I gently placed them into the compost bin. I think they are in worm heaven. Joey and Charlie added their worm cousins to the bin. When the worms would wiggle Charlie would squeal with glee! They were in the fridge-leftover from a fishing day. I would say that these worms have been saved from the mouths of fish!

My favorite thing to compost? Oh, it's so hard to choose. Hmmm...I love putting egg shells into the compost. It gives me an excuse to crush them a little bit. I also love putting in coffee grounds, vegetable peelings, and torn up egg cartons. I keep a large empty coffee can on my counter and it is filled up with scraps about once a day. After I put about 3" of kitchen scraps in the bin, I will add a 3" layer of shredded paper and then 3" of grass clippings or brush. Once in a while I will tip the bin over and roll it around a bit-to mix it all up.

So, I am hoping soon I will see all this "work" will pay off, and I will be rewarded with beautiful dirt. What to do in the winter, when the compost may freeze? I will have to do a bit of research on that.