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Here it is with lid back on! Yes, we moved the branch that you see. The small pieces got mulched, and the big pieces went to the brush dump. The mulch (you guessed it!) is now under cover combining in its natural way with coffee grounds, stale popcorn, banana peels, corn husks, and more. My garden will be sooooo happy in the spring! A simple pleasure for the home composter — a lid that stays on.
I know, I’m easily pleased. I’m not a Pollyanna type, though. When the fence kept leaning more and more and eventually knocked the lid off for good, I was frustrated and cranky. The weather was at its hottest and most humid, so tearing down a fence wasn’t on the agenda. Then the heat wave broke — and it rained. That poor lid stayed off for amost three weeks before we took action.
If only replacing a dishwasher were as simple as cutting down a fence!
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Compost happens. Naturally. If it can. If it has a decent balance of wet and dry (green and brown), a little moisture, and gets stirred now and then. My poor compost bin was drying out because its lid kept falling off. One rickety section of a backyard fence was leaning on it, and leaning hard.
There used to be three sections of fence. The first two fell in a storm, so we asked the property owners next door if we could take the fence down for safety’s sake. They said sure, of course! Thanks for helping out. We put the old boards to use as stepping “stones” in the garden.
That was 9 years ago. Since then, the friendly neighbor tree grew, and grew, and grew until it pushed what was left of the fence aside and into my bin. Well, moving a full compost bin is not in the realm of easy possibilities. So finally, I grabbed a hammer and Husband grabbed an ax and we went outside to be destructive. Now we have more boards for stepping “stones” and a much happier composting mama. The balance of wet and dry (green and brown) is maintained, the moisture stays moist, and I can take off the lid and stir it with a pitchfork once in a while — and replace the lid when I’m done. 🙂
>I planted some old seeds today. They were old not in the heirloom sense, but in the found-them-in-the-closet and who-knows-when-they-were-stored-there definition. I teach science. as part of my many roles. Last spring I cleaned out my classroom closets of all old science materials to make room for the new curriculum kits. I found a big bag of spinach seeds. Spinach? I don’t remember needing spinach seeds for any of the experiments and activities I taught. These must have been stored by one of the teachers that had the room before me. One is retired now, and the other is deceased. The only date I found on the packages said 1997. Was that a “plant by” freshness date or a purchase date? I’ll never know. So in my philosophy of waste not, I planted them. My garden soil is still moist from yesterday’s watering, and the tomato plants are growing like crazy. I know the soil is fertile. If the seeds don’t come up, it won’t be the soil. It’ll mean they’re simply old and dried beyond usefulness, so I’ll compost the rest. If the spinach comes up, it means more bunny food for Beast and Tiny and the little house bunny, Nut!
>After nearly two weeks of Not Cooking, the cupboard was as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s. It was time to call on my alter-ego, Pioneer Mom. Yes, Pioneer Mom keeps her family fed, bakes from scratch, never calls for pizza, and wastes nothing.
Today Pioneer Mom recognized that the weather was perfect for playing in the kitchen. At 74 degrees and with all the windows open, Pioneer Mom baked chocolate chip cookies and started a loaf of homemade white bread.
Now the disclaimer: Pioneer Mom uses modern appliances. The mixmaster helped with the cookies, so as to rest the sore wrist (injured in December starting a stubborn snowblower). The bread is in the bread machine — no hands-on kneading required. Cleaning the kitchen is easy with the help of the dishwasher, too.
But confessions aside, the house smells wonderful and we’ll have good food for supper and snacks. The end justifies the means, even for Pioneer Mom.
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update: I have entered this post in Scribbit’s Write-Away Contest. Details here.