I finally put together a very rudimentary compost bin. It took three hours, I started it at 6pm when the temperature had dropped a bit and it took me until 9pm. My advice to anyone about to do this is to have the right tools, don't try sinking posts posts with a 30 pound post driver in one hundred degree weather and mosquito repellent, mosquito repellent, mosquito repellent.

The only "right tool" that I had was the post driver and I was grateful for it. That mother is heavy and I am but a wee woman, a wee and mostly sedentary woman. It took all the strength that I had to lift it in place over a 4-foot high post. Once it was there dropping it on the post was easy breezy but repeatedly lifting it was a real workout. I had six posts to place. Lesson learned? Post-sinker good, heat bad. Should have done this in April when weather was cooler.

The wire cutters were really not up to the job, they'd be fine for a smaller gauge wire but not for the fencing wire that I was cutting. I very quickly developed blisters and bruises on both palms. The only blister that did not break open is the one right above my wedding band. I thought to myself that surely, this battle wound, this particular blister would elicit at least an iota of sympathy from Michael but no. I won't say he was giddy with delight but he could not hide his pleasure when I declared, "I can't even take off my wedding band now". He's so medieval. It's not as if I whip off my ring and try to grift free popsicles from the ice cream man or anything but I would like to take it off and breathe from time to time. Is that a crime? I think not. So yeah, use the best wire cutters you can find if you're gonna cut heavy wire, wear gloves, not jewelry.

And for godsake, don't forget the mosquito repellent. I can't spend time in the yard in the evening without some kind of protection, there are just too many blood-lusting mosquitoes about. I bought a new Off! Clip-On and it worked really well. I think that I would have been miserable without it.

We now have a very unremarkable compost bin in place. I no longer have to cringe when I toss out food scraps and in a few months time we will be able to give our first garden a little oomph. I'll be adding some Moonflowers around the outside to climb so that Blind Boy Slip will have an idea that it's there. Surely this is unnecessary since he already relies on smell-a-vision and will no doubt get a whiff of the good stuff but in my imagination it will be very pretty, at least as pretty as a bin of rotting organic matter can be.