Is Mother Nature in Menopause?!

If you know personally or have heard about the symptoms related to menopause, then you probably understand where I’m going with this. Last weekend I was out turning over my compost as I did three weeks before. I’ve been cleaning out garden beds as well, happy to be outside in the dead of winter.

Typically I never turn my pile in the winter and even if I wanted to (I don’t) it is frozen solid, but not this year. Mother Nature has kicked Old Man Winter out. Sure, he’s been allowed to come back here and there but not without a price to pay. Mother has been wreaking havoc with tornados and flooding while old man winter pays her back by dumping huge amounts of snow.

Moldy pineapple and birthday flowers in the center.

Luckily for our area, we haven’t been in the middle of their fight, just on the fringes. The hot flashes affecting us have allowed my compost pile to cook even though the calendar says February. My pumpkin from Halloween is but a mere stem and a bit of orange mush, there are a couple old hollowed out corn cobs to be found, as well as moldy skin of a pineapple, but the peels of other fruits and veggies as well as my coffee grounds have been transformed into what we all seek: that lovely organic matter-compost.



Pumpkin stem at the bottom. Can you find the millipede and worms?

Like a frightened child I wonder what Mother will do next and if it will have a negative impact on me. Will her banishment of Old Man Winter (except for a few short visits) and hot flashes lead to a change in what insects I have to deal with in my garden this summer, or other issues? Dear readers, if you have knowledge of what we can expect, please do share. Meanwhile, I’m going out to play in my compost pile.

Guest Blogger,

Jenny Lohmann