Pineapples in the Compost Pile
Turning the compost pile this morning, I became fixated on pineapples. I'd transferred food scraps from a tumbler where they'd been for two weeks into a bin so most of the food was broken down into a dark, wet, mucky kind of material. There are always some scraps still recognizable - egg shells, cabbage, citrus, and avocado pits but today I encountered three pineapple crowns, completely intact. The leaves were loose but the crowns of each were still in one piece. I peeled off the leaves and threw them back into a tumbler for further breaking down.My mind wandered as I continued to turn, thinking about how to share the beauty of the pile, how to share the meaning of avocado and banana peel stickers, how to document the bits of plastic. I wondered why I love this so much, this messy job sorting banana peels, coffee grounds, and broccoli stalks. A light bulb went off (energy-efficient, of course) and I thought, why not write about some of these enlightening morsels?
Lots of other blogs about composting exist, but I'm going to attempt to write about my composting experiences at a small community garden with a goal of amusing, educating, and memorializing all of it. My only regret is that the beautiful smell of the finished compost can't be transmitted via cyberspace (yet.)
Image source: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/DM-Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/78/34/87451512.jpg?w=600&h=600&keep_ratio=1
