A Sand County Almanac

Something to Read When It’s Cold Outside. . .

Work in the compost arena has slowed down a bit during these colder months.  There are a few things you can do, but it’s really too cold to do much outdoors. So here’s an alternative. . .

For my birthday in 2002, my husband gave me a copy of a book that I cherish to this day.  And what I really want to do is encourage YOU to do a little reading yourself.  I think you will enjoy it.  The name of the book is “A Sand County Almanac: And Other Essays on Conservation from Round River” by Aldo Leopold.

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) worked for the US Forest Service for many years.  He became the Associate Director of the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin in 1924.  In 1933 the University of Wisconsin created a chair of Game Management in his name.

His writing has been compared to the nature writing of Thoreau.  He loved the land and had an unparalleled understanding of the ways of nature.  The main premise of the book is his observations, on a monthly basis, of the changes of the countryside in Wisconsin.  The book also has a section of informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere.  In the last section,  Leopold addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation.

And besides all the data about the environment,  what I found especially beautiful about the book is his prose, his way of observing and describing nature, and the things he saw around him.  It’s an incredible book and I think anyone who loves nature as much as Leopold did will enjoy reading it.

Let me know what you think.

• Buy a load of mushroom compost and leave it in your yard to cure over the winter months.  Mushroom compost has a lot of soluble salts and this will allow them to leach out, thereby protecting your young plants in the spring.
• If you know where your garden is going to be, and your soil is not frozen, and you’re using the Bokashi System for your kitchen waste, you can bury your waste every two weeks directly into the future garden area when it is “pickled.”
• If you are using a back porch compost tumbler during the cold season, keep tabs on the temperature of the compost.  Make sure it reaches the required temperature to decompose.  You can buy a simple compost thermometer for this purpose.  If it needs a boost, put in a little organic compost activator.
• When the weather is nice enough, tidy up your yard.  Stack branches or other big items in one place so you can shred them or chop them up with pruning shears in the spring.
• Tidy up the tools in your storage area or garage.  Make sure nothing is rusting.  Clean and oil everything.  Buy a nice tool box or wooden crate to keep everything in so it’s easy to tote when you can begin compost making again.

Click here “I LOVE COMPOST MAKING!” to buy what you need for YOUR compost making!