Brothers Campfire Meets Neighborly Natasha

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Hello Friends!

I have been working very hard on the garden and at my job and it has left me stretched thin. So, I am working on having themed days for consistency in scheduling so we can discuss all kinds of nifty things in the comments.

I do my very best to post every day, but circumstances have made this difficult at times.

Dog Tired

An unglamorous project I have been working on is a compost heap. I contacted my friend Dustin who mows lawns for a living and asked him to drop off a pickup truckload of grass clippings. He was happy to accommodate as sometimes he has to pay a fee to dispose of them.

That is a few wheelbarrows … A pickup load full of wheelbarrows to be exact.
Sorry, metric readers. No conversation today

I added this hot compost to my pile. It was about 120F 49C in the center of this pile, almost enough to burn bare skin. Biological activity causes this and it stinks very badly. It was time to mix it in alternation layers with the free straw I obtained from Widefield Investment Group. I would leave a link, but they are actually very private about their dealings with the public and do not have one. This resulted in a pretty sizable urban compost pile.

I did this Wednesday morning and went to work. I worked all day and when I checked the compost heap, it smelled like a zoo! Clearly, it was awful.

Really Awful

To alleviate smell and properly compost, there needs to be a 2:1 to 3:1 ratio of browns and greens.

Browns are dried grasses, wood, sawdust, leaves, ect. Greens are things like grass clippings, leftover food, vegetables rinds and peelings.

This mix of carbons and nitrogen makes an excellent amendment to the soil after it breaks down.

As I went to add additional straw to the compost heap, I noticed my neighbor, Natasha looking at me with Justin, her nephew. I said hello and made small talk as I tried to get the smell down.

We talked about everything but the compost heap and I went inside. After talking to my Beloved and enjoying chicken tacos,

I determined that if I were my neighbor, I would be a little concerned about the smell of the compost. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

It was Natasha and her Nephew! Apologies quickly came to mind and I scrambled for words. None was necessary. They had baked us a Russian apple pie!

I have never had this interpretation of an apple pie in my life! My family agrees that it was not only out of this world, but out of this country for flavor, texture, and consistency! This was truly amazing and I am appreciative of a neighbor like Natasha!

благодарю вас!

Author: Benjamin

Benjamin Thiel is a community leader, urban farmer, and author of The Ongoing Tale at Brothers Campfire. He might know a guy...

49 thoughts on “Brothers Campfire Meets Neighborly Natasha”

  3. Shreya says:

    I’m glad you’re working on compost heap projects even though it’s hard to, with the horrid smell! The world needs more people like you, to heal the world.
    That is such a wonderful neighbour 🙂

    1. Benjamin says:

      The compost is going to be a good addition to Willow Manor! It is a little stinky, but time will fix it. Thank you for the compliment! Natasha is a wonderful neighbor! I really appreciate their family!

  4. Tboy says:

    I can be certain the pie was a great treat. I only met a Russian guy yesterday and we had a nice vibe.

    Anyway, thanks for spending some time on my blog Brother Campfire (Storyteller).

    Kindly make sure to like and follow my pages so you don’t miss new posts and some old ones as well. I’d recommend you use the link below to visit the site (AFFAIRS) and view other sections I created just for you (use the menu bar).

    You can talk to me on other social media handles or ask a question on my website.

    Link & handles are below;

    https://ralslife.home.blog on web

    @ralslife01 on Instagram
    @life_ral on Twitter
    #AFFAIRS

    It is really nice coming across your blog too..

        1. Benjamin says:

          To quote Wickipedia,

          The question mark “?” (also known as interrogation point, query, or eroteme in journalism) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages. The question mark is not used for indirect questions. The question mark glyph is also often used in place of missing or unknown data.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_mark

          7. Benjamin says:

            .retsis elttil ,uoy etaicerppa I .erutuf eht ni elyts gnidaer ruoy ot retac ot erutuf eht ni tnegilid erom eb lliw I .sdrawkcab daer uoy taht ezilaer ton did I ,aidyL

  6. leendadll says:

    I tried to make a slightly raised planter. Disappointed with the results, I figured I’d use it for a compost heap but mostly I just dump rotten food on top and animals eat it at night. I’m cool with that.

      1. leendadll says:

        A neighbor is growing squash… that will be enough for everyone. Plus one of the skunks digs for worms in the planter box… and kitties were pooping in it.. so I was going to try wildflowers this year but forgot.

        There’s an open patch in the front yard now… I may try veggies in there. I need to see what starter plants I can find for sale.

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