mierda

so this week i ate my words; i've been sick with a stomach virus for the past 7 days. well, officially, i think i'm better today, but the last week has been shitty, both literally and figuratively. we won't get into my frequent and disappointing trips to the bano, but let's just say that the sight of food made me want to curl up in a ball and beg joaquin to put me out of my misery. i don't recall ever having anything like this, but according to the internets, it's quite common. in fact, one other volunteer had the same exact virus. one of us would go to the bathroom only to find the other one already in there. both missing meals and having to force each other to eat. at least i had a compadre.

speaking of mierda, all 7 of us volunteers collaborated in an epic mission this week: shoveling a mountain of 20-year-old goat poop out of a cave to nourish joaquine's grass and apple trees. seriously, this guy from the area owns a cave (at least 100 feet deep) where he housed his goats for over 20 years and where they pooped and pooped and pooped. when i walked into this dark, damp, slightly stinky cave, i thought i was looking at a dirt floor. but no. it was poop, about 2 feet tall, all the way to the end of the cave.  and we shoveled that shit for 5 hours each on wednesday and thursday. then today, we spread it across acres of grass and apple tree seedlings.

here're some photos:

Arianna rolling the poop out of the cave and dumping it into the pile outside.

Arianna, triumphant at the end of our mission.

entrance to the cave

poop being gathered for transport to the farm.

inside of the cave. i'm standing on top of poop. and you see all that ground space behind me? poop. 

triumphant!

poop being dumped so we can spread it across the plants.

some great puns came out of this week's poop escapades. you'd have to be there in order to find it as funny as we did. good times. i seriously never thought i would have such a comfortable relationship with animal feces. but i guess it's a part of permaculture and eco-living. after all, shit makes for some great plant nourishment. ask any green thumb you know...
hasta luego.