Despite the snow that we have experienced over that last 24 hours we are still open for business and any soap orders will be posted as soon as we dig our way out!
But of course this post has nothing to do with business, well ok it has, but a different kind of business, the humanure composting pile.
As is the tradition around this time of year I put the lid on a pile and close it down so that it may rest and turn into rich compost over the next 16 months or so. It is still running hot, about 40c\104f as the microorganisms buzz around generating heat and killing any nasty pathogens that might be hiding out in the pile, although at this stage I’d guess it killed most things as the temperature had reached 55c\131f in the not too distant past. Still the real magic happens as the pile cools down and the fungi take over, they break it all down and are responsible for getting rid of all the courser material, which probably explains why the pile will reduce by more than half it’s original size over this resting period.
I know it looks a bit rustic, but this is my composting area, the pile on the left is the one I have just closed, the one in the middle was closed last December, the one on the right is the pile in use. Please note the closed front of the latest pile, I wish I had done this with the previous piles instead of using straw bales. Unfortunately the bales break down and the contents can spill out a little over time. Not a real problem, but better to have a solid construction.
Anyhow, that’s enough about compost, I only mention it as I know it will attract one if not two people to the blog. So what better way to finish the post than with a picture of our wandering goats. The fence no longer holds them and they have taken to following Gosia up from the stable after milking and wandering round the terrace, much to Jackies displeasure. If you look closely you can even see Dennis wandering off into the distance, away from the marauding goats!
Winkos: a straw bale building adventure in Poland 
Good to see you going strong. Has the snow died down now?
Still plenty of snow on the ground, not so much in the air, but it’s cold so I’d imagine it will be a while before we see grass again.
It is pretty cold where I am. And there is a fearsome wind around.
Still looking for Dennis.. 🙂
She (Dennis) is light brown with a splash of white on her back end, the bottom of her legs and the tip of her tail. She is in the top right quarter of the picture, above the roof of the Lada Niva. Not easy to spot 🙂
Wonder if we’ll go this far if we manage to make the move to a more sensible lifestyle. On that, first step finished yesterday; purchase of the rest of our ‘shared’ flat ‘completed’ so now we can rent it out if we want want to make the move as a trial.
Must back up Beetleypete’s comment on the soap; I’m now using for shower, shave and shampoo! Works great for all. Must get my order together for Christmas pressies now hassle with surveyors, solicitors, etc is over!
The humanure pile is quite a commitment, but if you have the space then I would recommend it to anybody.
Great to hear that things are moving forward for you, with luck you will be sunning yourself in Romania next year 🙂
Soaps a plenty at the moment, although you know what he Christmas post is like order soon to avoid disappointment 🙂
I always find it amazing how much stuff I can pile into the compost bin and how much it cooks down, although after 5 continuous years, I haven’t put any ‘business’ in the pile for well over a year…we sort of gave it up. Why you ask? It got to be too much work!!! Our ‘collection point’ was up a flight of stairs. Every week or so I would have to tote 4 buckets downstairs wondering and worrying what would happen if I fell and the contents spilled out. Then out 150 paces to the compost area. As you know it takes a fair amount of time. Okay, okay, I know I have more time now, it’s just that I’m not as inclined. You’re going to have to save the world by yourself, Eddy, and btw…good luck with your piles. 🙂
Ah, the bucket run. It takes me about 15 minutes to empty the four buckets, clean them and have them ready for action again. I often wonder how this compares to the amount of time someone might spend cleaning a conventional toilet?
I think I’ll carry on whilst I can still carry them, then pass the task onto Malina 🙂
Humanure sounds like a good subject for a limerick. I’ll have to think about it! I have a goat in my detective novel, so I’m going to defend goats for the time being!
Goats make great escape artists, their latch picking skills are legendary.
I can imagine there is much humus in compost!
Thank Christ we had an update on the humanure situation. I was getting quite stressed worrying about that.
I like the aerial photo, was is a drone?
Put the dogs in the pen, and take the goats for a walk instead.
***And for anyone thinking about Gosia’s soaps, they are great. I can vouch for that, and I paid for them too! Good for the skin, lovely and smooth to use, and they also stop the bath getting scaly!***
Cheers mate, nice to see a post now and then. Pete.
You are in fact he reader I was thinking of when I wrote this post Pete, so I hope you have found inner peace now that I have updated you.
The picture is from the bloke down the garage who just happens to have a powered paraglider https://winkos.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-no-its-the-bloke-from-the-local-garage-flying-his-motorsised-paraglider/
Not sure if that link will work, it’s a post from 2012.
Feedback always appreciated, https://winkos.wordpress.com/soaps-autumn-2016/ at the top of the page has a comments section 🙂
Comment left on the soaps link, Eddy!
Interesting. Still no movement to me changing my lifestyle.
I like the goats, though. We have a lot of wild ones here.
Wild goats! Not something I had imagined in Hawaii. I hear they make good roti?
https://dispersertracks.com/2016/09/14/hawaii-saddle-road-part-ii/
Got a few pictures of a small herd.
. . . I like goat cheese, but I don’t think I ever ate goat . . . I think I would probably like roti sans goat.
They are big goats, will read more later, cheers!