Wonderful sculptures!! Don't take DH tools- fasttrack to divorce court!!LOL Men love their tools & women love men that know how to make something with them. These folks sure knew what they were doing. Horse is awesome, just the planning would do me in! Vicki, I think that would be a wonderful memorial to your dad & would make you smile every time you see it!! Love the idea! Jan

"I have terrible, hard, clay dirt here." Even your hard clay dirt can be made into fertile loam by sheet composting on top of it. Sheet composting goes by many names, Ruth Stout method, Lasagna, and probably some others. "Ruth Stout" search sheet composting And, yes, use a tarp, or other strong water-proof material, to cover your piles to keep rain off, (unless the piles are dry, in which case they need water). But only so much (water), not to the point of the manure washing away. Worms don't work if the material's too dry, so the presence of worms is an indicator that everything is just fine in the water department. Too wet, and flies begin to breed in the piles, and you'll have lots of protein wriggling about, plus the piles won't heat up. Cover the piles, but do not make them airtight. Tarp can be tied to stakes (outside the frame), some feet above ground, to let in air. Make piles highest in middle to ensure rain runs off and doesn't pool on tarp. If rain pools, build a ridge (think 'roof' or 'tent') to support tarp. Let tarp extend over a wider area then the pile itself (to protect from driving rains) (like the rain guard of a tent). Your piles need rain-proof cover, as well as good air circulation. Something else: huge piles of raw materials end up being much, much smaller piles of finished compost, so you should keep that in mind if you want to fill your frames. ÂTo end up with filled frames of finished compost: ÂYou could temporarily extend the height of your frames (say, quadruple the height) with chicken wire attached to stakes, rebars, or other easily installed & removed supports. ÂThen, line the inside walls with cardboard to contain the raw materials. First, cut airholes in cardboard. ÂThen fill the now much heigher frames "to the rafters" with raw materials. Some people say that the more varied the raw materials, the more nutritious the compost. So in addition to lots of manure(s), add your kitchen vegetable waste, used coffe grounds (Starbucks), supermarket produce waste, dry leaves, cut grass clippings, old hay and straw, etc. Composters have redefined the term "hunters and gatherers." Last but not least, insert old tennis balls onto rebars (to prevent accidently poking out an eye if slipping and falling, or just bending over to pick up something on the ground). Rebars are dangerous in that sense.

Yay! I just found out about manure closer to my house, too. It may be pretty fresh, (I haven't gone yet) but the stuff I picked up this spring wasn't as well-aged as what I'd gotten last year, anyway. I guess I should go get some soon, so I can age it for next year. I kind of need some right now, too!

"So is this some sort of weird Easter Egg hunt, or are you planning on buying this tractor? I take it it is missing the engine?" I already have it, paid $50 for it too.... Yes It's missing the engine that's why I was asking what was supposed to be in it..Thanks again.... It had the 16Hp Briggs that I was asking about in another post...End of Easter Hunt...LOL What a find!!!!!