Tending the Hearth

redisthegoatgod:

tendingthehearth:

deepwoodsteaparty:

rootandrock:

tendingthehearth:

Breaking my tumblr hiatus to vent about today’s events at the allotment. (TW: Dead animals + decomposition)

Two of my friends went to a ‘survival camp’ (¬.¬) yesterday, and they learned how to skin a lamb.They bought the damned carcass to the allotment today with the intention of burying it.

Consider at least a year for the skull to be “ready” - and by ready I mean ready to be unearthed and macerated to get the remaining tissue freed up through maceration - which could be several months of weekly rinses on top of that.

Make sure nobody uses that compost that touched the carcass until it has been heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for at least three days either, or there’s a very good chance of serious pathogens infecting the garden. If the pile doesn’t reach these temperatures naturally, you can use a black plastic bag or container to solarize it before anyone uses it. Composting animal remains isn’t actually a bad idea, but your friends definitely didn’t do it right and it does take close to a year to break down to greasy, clumpy bones that still require a lot of processing when properly done. There is very good reason that the UK has made the practice of burying livestock remains illegal. There’s a lot of good info on safe (but still illegal in your country) animal composting here:

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/naturalrenderingFS.pdf

Thank you for the info. To be honest, I’m pushing for the whole compost pile to just be burned and then for us to start again. It’s a small pile to begin with.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I am taking the issue up with the couple who bought the lamb again today in the hopes they will listen. I feel more confident in my initial convictions given that you, rootandrock and msgraveyarddirt (all of whom I consider somewhat expert on these topics) have responded in a similar manner. 

Ewww….

I buried my deer carcass deep into the ground so the animals wouldn’t get at it (complete with rocks!) after washing a lot of the fur off. 

But eewww….You’re gonna dance near that soon? *shiver* 

Yep. In a week or so. Just when it’s all bloaty and stinky.

That’s if any animal hasn’t dug it up…which is almost certainly will have. Bleurrgh.

(via twisting-ways)