Manure Madness

Take a deep breath and be very, very thankful I do not have the scented feature turned on for this blog.

Yesterday brought dirty work for my husband. He was spreading manure on the field by our house. It is free fertilizer, but it sure is gross.

Mmmm. Isn't it pretty. Some call it liquid gold. The cows work hard making it and it is full of nitrogen that the crops love. I didn't have my telephoto lens on, so I had to run through the manure to get that picture. I hope you're happy.

You are breathing out of your mouth right now, aren't you?

So, this is how the process works since I imagine the majority of you have never heard of a manure spreader. I had never heard of a manure spreader before I said, "I do." There are things the farmers keep a secret otherwise they would never marry. This is the ugly side of farming. And stinky too...

First, the hardworking guy whose nose does not work scoops the manure into the trailer/manure spreader.

Listen for the splat, splat, slosh noise as it slides and tumbles out of the bucket and into the trailer.

Then the hard working farmer whose nose does not work slides through the manure to climb into the tractor. He pulls the manure spreader into the field where he wants to spread the liquid gold.

There is a beater at the top of the trailer that flings, yes flings, the manure into the air. It makes a terrific splattering sound as the tractor chugs along in a straight line.

That manure really gets flying. I wish you could smell this.

The hardworking farmer whose nose no longer works finishes the row when all the manure is out of the trailer. He is off for another round. But first he stops to talk to his favorite girls.

And he has a smile on his face because his nose does not work and because cow poop is free.

See those spots on his shirt? That is some manure that spattered on him. There is more on his hat. 

He hates it when I take his picture and came at me trying to kiss me right after I took this. Evil man. I ran screaming. We have a strong marriage and I would do almost anything for this guy; just not kiss him when he is covered in manure.

A highlight of the manure spreading exhibition was finding Baby Blue in the barn. He followed us over there the other day and isn't smart enough to come home. We love that cat, but he isn't too quick, if you know what I mean. The house and the barn are about 200 feet from each other. Yesterday, I made roast beef and stood outside with a bowl full scraps of fat and bones and I called to him. He watched me from the barn, looking around blankly. But we love him.

The smell didn't bother the girls too much, they just enjoyed having Baby Blue back and watching the show of flying poop. Who needs PBS?

I hope your day is enriched by learning about manure, like the soil we spread it on.