Some basics on composting

Preparing the Area

* Begin by selecting between free-standing piles or bins. Bins will be more space conservative and can be purchased or made of bricks/ blocks, fencing, lumber, etc.

* Location: if possible, place near a garden or planting area where compost will be used.

* Partial shade and drainage are ideal for maintaining proper moisture in the bin/ pile.

Creating your pile

* What goes in? Dried leaves, sawdust, kitchen scraps (avoid animal scraps and oil; focus on fruit and veggies, egg shells, coffee grounds + filters), animal manure (NOT cat and dog waste), grass clippings, and hay.

* Follow a brown-greenbrown pattern. Start with a layer of dried leaves and twigs, then add food scraps and grass clippings, top with manure and/or sawdust, and so on.

Tip: Always top off your pile with a brown layer like manure to promote decomposition.

Maintaining + using compost

* Turn/mix the pile each week in warmer seasons, or each month in cooler seasons * Allow 90-120 days for an ideal finished compost.

* Incorporate finished compost into your garden, flower beds, planters, etc. to increase the nutrient and water-holding capacity of soil.

By Sharon Sherbert

I want to tell you about my dog. He’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that plus a whole lot of the other. His is just 100% Buster. He is a medium size dog with spindly legs and a tail that should be declared a lethal weapon because it can cut you off at the knees. He is very vocal, and when he wants something he will not be ignored. When he was a puppy, he liked playing with rocks. He would carry them around, bury them, and then dig them right back up.

One time he threw the rock up in the air, it landed behind him, and he then started looking around as if to say, “What was that?” He will put his front paws on the rock, jump straight up while at the same time flipping the rock underneath him. I still haven’t figured out how he does it.

As he grew, the small rocks didn’t seem to satisfy him so he found a concrete cylinder. It was about 12” long, 5” in diameter and weighed about 20 pounds, and Buster would push it around with his nose. Yes! I said his nose. We live on a busy, main street. People have slowed down and actually stopped to watch Buster push that cylinder up and down the sidewalk with his nose.

Now he just plays with a brick. He can get his mouth around it but has yet to figure out how to carry it, but he’s working on it.

He is afraid of everything from cats to thunder. And guess what – he does not like to ride in the car. How weird is that?

What else can I say about him except that Buster is just Buster.

If the professor on Gilligan’s Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Why do the “Alphabet Song” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” have the same tune? Why did you just try singing these two songs?

How did the man who made the first clock know what time it was?

Crunchy Apple-Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 3 (6 oz) skinless boneless chicken breast halves

• 1 cup water

• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

• 1 cup diced red apple

• 1 cup chopped celery

• ⅓ cup sliced almonds, toasted

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon white pepper

• Lettuce leaves, optional

Instructions

1. Place chicken in Pyrex baking dish, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt. Add 1 cup of water; cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from oven; uncover and allow chicken to cool.

2. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Combine chicken, apple, celery, and almonds in a large bowl; set aside.

3. Combine yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and white pepper in a small bowl, stir well. Add to chicken mixture and toss well. Cover and chill. Serve on lettuce leaves, if desired.

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?