5/5:

And this, at the end of the day, is what all the poop-picking, compost-turning, horse-shoeing and herd-husbrandry is all about: Grandma passing on to grandbaby the ageless wisdom of horsemanship, with an able assist by the world's most patient pony, Casper. Someday, perhaps, this wee one will choose to graduate up to our quarter horse, Grace, our chunky Haflinger, Tank, or even our magnificent track-rescue Thoroughbred, Remi.

4/thread

Spreading a warm blanket completes today's compost pile maintenance. This stuff is designed for composting, letting the pile breathe while keeping rainwater out.

By February the pile will weigh half its original 5 tons. Spread on my pasture it will build the soil, sequester carbon, feed the grass for the horses to eat again – the circle of life. But for now it’s time to wash up and tuck into the sausage gravy and biscuits my spouse promised me if I’d turn the compost this morning!

3/thread

One by one, the tractor bucket-loads of manure are 'sprinkled' (rather than dumped) into an adjacent empty bin, thus mixing in fresh air for the composting bacteria. I work fast to conserve the pile's heat, since a cold pile has to start the composting process all over again from scratch. Pretty good job – at work’s end my 3 foot long probe thermometer shows the transferred pile is still 113°F at its core.

2/thread

This bin of composting horse poop is HOT: 130°F at its core despite Durham's recent bitter cold. Digging in with my tractor's bucket releases clouds of steam on this 45°F morning - a sign that the composting process is progressing as desired with just enough water, air, carbon and nitrogen to keep my buddies the thermophilic bacteria beavering away manufacturing humus and converting the manure's nitrogen to a stable form that won't run off and pollute Durham's water supply.