Well Sandy, I'm reluctant to add more off-topic like this. Since you opened the door I'll finish this one. This happened in NW NJ a few years ago. Region is overrun by black bears, fat and happy feasting on unsecured garbage. It was a Sunday afternoon in mid-December when it had been uncharacteristically warm and hibernation of most things had been delayed. I had a fifty-acre property that had Native American rock shelter sites reported 80 years previously. When the bear appeared from the brush, he froze, we froze and there we were. My partner started backing off slowly (not a bad strategy) but I stayed put, fascinated for the encounter, and she came back next to me. There was no plan B; I could see my truck 1/4 mile away, I can't run faster or climb quicker than any bear. I just avoided staring into his eyes and stood still. Got boring after a while so I banged some steel tools on a rock in front of me. I also reviewed the jumping, screaming, clanging you should do if they charge (won't actually attack, in theory). With the clanging, the bear made a sound remarkably like a raspberry at me, lifted a hind leg and let out a stream. This confirmed the bear was male and confirmed his disdain for me. This was a case where I had knowledge that mitigated any fear, the creature was sure no snake in the grass. For the next several hours as we surveyed the site I thought my partner's neck would break as she swiveled her head constantly and vigorously. But she hung in. Right at the end I discovered the old rock shelter area, down a steep slope covered with bear tracks. Since a rock shelter consists of overhangs and caves, the light went on and I realized the site likely was full of bears and it was time to truck on out without a visit. Good luck once a day is enough for me. There was a pond at the other end of the ravine which no doubt provided water and which presence makes this dubiously on-topic? The rattlesnake story involves the same end of season, logy creature. Also with a pond! Depending on what type of project I have, I always carry a big steel soil auger or shovels. I do use these tools to sweep and clang and bang when I can't see the ground, as you suggest. Knowledge is power in the "wild"; ignorance makes poor judgment and my irrational fear. I still think fondly of the chance to encounter such a grand animal, 3/4 tame as they are there anyway. Indeed many stories, people sometimes the worst, a couple of armed Deliverance folks, wild urban gangs, pond-side stories. Mike

Tox, this is the non clumping kind. The clumping kind not as good. The clumping kind is a lighter weight, but these are like small particles like tiny gravel bits. The clumping kind of more like a find sand. And it seems to clump more. My cats won't use a litter box at all anymore, so I don't have a need for cat litter. But, it I was to recycle the cat litter into the garden, it would add up to way more then I would ever want. I found a site that said clay litter cannot be composed. I would not totally discourage but I would say proceed with great caution if one is really set on the idea. Here is a link that might be useful: clay cat litter anti page

Thanks for the additional comments. Okay, I've got a peat experiment going on now in my new potato patch! My last 25 ft potato row was not planted yet when I hauled my first load of peat out of the swamp. So I dumped it out by my potato garden and used part of it to ammend the soil in that last unplanted row. First I put fertilizer down (10-10-10) in the bottom of the trench and then spread about 2-3 inches of peat on top of that. Then I hoed it up and mixed the peat into the sandy soil a little bit. Then I planted the row with potato seed, watered it well, and then mulched it with newspaper & pine straw. Out of the 4 rows I now have one with peat mixed into the native very sandy soil. We shall see in time if this small addition of peat makes any difference this season in the growth and production of my potato crop.

It's interesting digging down into boggy ground because you go through layers of different type materials. In my case, first there is a 6" rooty loose peat layer, where the material falls apart and look dark brown and fibery and woody, damp to wet. There is also old pieces of wood in it. Then, below that, is a totally different material thick that is dark gray to black in color, very compressed, almost clay-like, dry yet sticky, and is difficult to break apart. I think it is compressed muck. Then, below that is another type that is different again. It is greenish in color, slimy, wettish again, and has long fibers in it that look like grass or sedge. This looks lower quality to me. I haven't gone deep enough to hit substrate mineral soil, the above is no deeper than about 2 feet down. I'm thinking some of this material must be very old, ancient, and began to accumalate thousands of years ago. No mastadon or wooly mammoth bones yet tho :-)