Warning! Yucky Pictures Ahead

As I continue to tumble through this busy summer, quilting and blogging seem to have taken a back seat to visiting kids and grandkids, cleaning for overnight guests, and helping a fledgling growers' market take root, but I have not forgotten the grand experiment. I began to worry a bit about it since the weather has been quite warm and the compost, I was sure, was cooking away. It was actually a bit hard to identify the two packets of fabric and grass among all the rotting veggies, but after mucking about a bit, I was able to get a picture so you can share the entire process with me.

It did look like one corner of one of the packets had started to decompose so it was definitely time to move on to the next stage--letting the bundles cure for a couple of weeks. But since this whole experiment is more serendipity than planned, I had not thought about where this curing would take place. In case you didn't get the full glory of their rottiness, here is a picture of them lying on the ground.

I thought about just leaving them there, but we live in a rural area with raccoons, foxes, and even the occasional bear wandering through, any of which might pick up a strange bundle, not to speak of what Terra, our domestic lover of rotty things, might decide to do with them.

Strangely enough, they do not smell much--a good mix of ingredients in the compost should not smell as it cooks and I guess we were lucky this time, but there is enough of an aura about them that I did not want them in the basement. The barn seemed possible and Tom, who has been my intrepid helper, found some old open weave plant trays to put over them, held down by a heavy bucket. They should get enough air circulation to get the curing process going and yet won't be easily carried off by some curious critter.

So we are back in the waiting period again for a couple of weeks. And if you are still with me, even after those pictures--the next should not be quite so disgusting--thanks for the company!