Weekly Photo challenge: Victory

When I read this weeks photo challenge I decided to use it as an opportunity to regain control of my yard and compost pile. It’s one arena in which I’m sorely in need of some little victories.

I’m a procrastinator; where do you want me to sign? I live alone and have become somewhat reclusive. So it’s entirely too easy for me to ignore my yard. I fall into a trap telling myself that no-one notices. What difference does it make? Who cares?

Whose kidding who? I do care. And that tug of war within my psyche has meant that in my mind the tasks have taken on herculean proportions. And so, I challenged myself to confront my yard and share my victories here.

It felt like an assault on Everest. The first night I got chased indoors by by the cold and dark and my aching muscles sent me to bed early. These days I’m more accustomed to going to bed mentally and emotionally exhausted so this night was a real departure. I had almost forgotten that deep restful sleep that comes from purely physical exhaustion.

My photo probably could use some explanation. The culmination of my efforts was the sorting of accumulated materials so I could build a new compost pile. Today I was rewarded with a temperature of 140º in the freshly built pile. In the world of composting 140º to 160º is the holy grail. It means the pile is hot enough to kill pathogens and seeds within the piled its a milestone that I rarely achieve.

Little Victories:

Both Yards were mowed:

My existing compost pile was harvested for a tub of its black gold which was used to dress and prepare my square foot gardens for the winter.

And last but not least, I refreshed the old compost pile and created a new one.

Thanks so much for sharing my journey. This is precisely the kick in the butt that I have been needing.