On Wednesday, a small group of us went roaming in the pasture next door in search of cow pies. We hoped to collect several buckets’ worth for the earthen floor we are installing in the Ironweed kitchen.
Strangely, it was quite fun. Genuinely fun. I never knew exploring for poo and scooping it up into buckets could be so calming and entertaining. It’s funny how the things you least expect to be fun are sometimes just the opposite.
But anyway, while scooping up the manure, it became quite clear to me just how useful the material will be. It’s a great consistency, and I imagine it will mix in very well with the clay and sand.
While roaming the field, I also became quite aware just how amazing ecosystems can be. I quickly got over the ‘ew’ factor when I realized I was pretty much dealing with plain ol’ digested grass that has passed through a cow. (It didn’t even smell that bad. Really.) And then I thought how beautiful it is that these cows are returning nutrients directly back to the land from which they eat. What a perfect setup!
Speaking of poo and natural building, I just stumbled upon an interesting cob blog: I Love Cob!
Note: Please find all of my cob building related content at my new blog, The Year of Mud: Building a cob house. Thanks! See you there!
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