Having settled in at home for the season, we are upgrading the establishment.  That is a  problem with ownership.  There is always something to do, things you think of and things on the “honey do” list.  Last weekend I installed foundation shrubbery in front of the house.  As a result we really do now have a garden.  Before the bushes we had only a few herbs and a small patch of greens - currently lettuce and spinach.  I also removed a foot of clay from two other beds and replaced it with top soil and leaves.  These will now make good gardens next spring.

With serious gardening now in play, a compost bin is useful.  We have made do since moving in with an old bottomless metal drum that has accepted our kitchen waste for these five years.  Only because we are so seldom here was it adequate.  It was ugly, unventilated, and leaning.  Still, it served.  But we now have neighbors on that side.  They deserve better.

In need of a larger unit to serve kitchen and garden, I thought of my main bin at our last home.  I built it handily from two left over sections of picket fence.  I sawed them in two and formed a four by four foot open box.  The slits were a bit too wide and let the occasional egg shell escape, but it had capacity and could be easily stirred by inserting an old broom handle through the slits and pulling it up.  When the compost was ripe I could step in it and pitch fork out product.  When it got low I could flip over the box and finish the removal.  It worked great.

So, not having any picket fence sections I went to the lumber yard to buy two.  I guessed that the price had increased and it would cost me $40.  Arriving at Lowes, however, I found that simple wood picket fences are not to be had.  They sold metal fences and plastic fences at a price much higher than the old wooden ones.  These sections could not easily be cut and joined.  I was sorely disappointed.

There was a solution.  At home I had three pallets.  These came with the wood fuel pellets we buy each year.  We had considered using them as flooring for the pellets in the basement, but they were heavy, too thick, and ugly.  Disposal might be a problem, but usually somebody wants pallets.  I studied them.  I have broken down pallets before.  Seems like it should be easy, but they nail them together well and it’s difficult and time consuming to pry them apart.  If one is not careful the boards splinter before the nail comes out.  Did I want this project?

I looked at them.  As with any difficult project, the challenge makes it interesting.  I had a new one handed sledge hammer from my Dad and a good crow bar.  I said to myself, “I can do this in a day.”  The pallets included three stringers and top and bottom deck boards.  The wood appeared to be oak and should last a decade.  I realized I would have to almost entirely dismantle the units taking all the deck boards off one side and all but the end deck boards off the other.  After that I would remove the central stringer to lighten the pieces and because I needed to construct a fourth section to make the box.  Remember, I only had three pallets.

So the work began, and it was as tough as expected.  I had to squeeze the crow bar between the deck boards and pry.  That would eventually release one or the other of the boards.  If I was careless it would split the boards.  Some split regardless of care.  Once I cleared one side the other was easier.  I propped up the pallet with the now exposed boards on the bottom and used the sledge to hammer them off.  I left on the board at each end.  Then I banged free the center stringer and set it aside.  I hammered out and then pulled all of the nails from the deck boards and set them aside.  Then I laid out what was left, the two outside stringers and a plank at each end.  I took the loose planks, spaced them and inch apart, and nailed them back onto the one side.  I now had one side of the bin. 

I did the same for the two other pallets and had three sides.  I had three extra stringers.  I took two of them and two boards, squared them and formed the last section.  I filled in with all the planks I had left.  I knew I would need four more to fill in the corners and would have to make them, but that could wait. 

I carried the pieces to the assembly (and final) location not too far from the back porch, leveled them on blocks, and joined them with four nails.  I had done five hours work and left the project for the next morning.  That arriving I needed two step ladders to finish the job, one to take me up outside of the box and the second to let me descend into it.  I tacked together the pieces checking level and square as I went along.  Finally, I went into the basement and found a ratty, unfinished 1x2 of hemlock and sawed it into four 40” sections that would close the corners of my box.  I nailed them in and the box was done. 

I put away the tools and brought out the wheelbarrow and garden tools.  I quickly raked a load of leaves and tossed them into the box.  Then I took the shovel and barrow to the compost can.  It held the material we accumulated in August and October.  We were in Italy in September.  I tipped over the can and shoveled the contents into the barrow.  The weather was chilly so there were no yellow jackets to deal with.  I chucked this somewhat fragrant and raw material into the new bin.  I then flattened and folded the old metal drum.  It was finished.  I may try putting it out for recycling, but I have a small dry well that needed covering, so it went over that for now.  I put away the garden tools. 

I had worked another two hours, so the project took about seven hours.  If I had been able to buy the fence, the project would have taken two hours.  I lost some time certainly, but I had to buy no materials.  Except for the nails and the single piece of left over lumber, all the materials came from the pallets.  The one left over stringer went to my lumber stack.  The nails were bagged and dropped into the recycling bin.

I went out to look at the finished project and was satisfied with it.  I looked to where the barrel had been and was glad to see it gone.  I might like to have a smaller bin for kitchen waste composting, but see no economy (or “ecology”) in buying one for $50-100.  Perhaps I’ll find a plastic drum to use.  In the meantime this will do.  I’ll stuff it with leaves this and next month.  These will provide organic material for my new gardens next spring. 

Tomorrow I will “winterize” the motorhome.  The curse of home ownership is that there are always projects.  The motor home provides its share, certainly, but it has provided enormous adventures.  I’ll take care in putting it to bed for the winter. 

Our daughter is looking a wedding dresses so her mother must join here this week.  She is moving next weekend, so we will provide basic labor too for that project.  Children are more trouble than houses.  I have often wondered if they are the greatest vice.  Oh well, we have the vice of children.  Nobody is perfect.  Besides, there are currently three good birds in southern New England.  If they hang around a bit, we may chase them when we break free of the progeny before coming home.  We shall see.