What's That Smell?

One of my favorite things to do is read the newspaper on a slow, weekend afternoon. A while back, I walked out of my front door on a Saturday morning to get the newspaper (which is always at the very end of the driveway) and saw this:











Nice, huh? Well, last weekend, I stepped out of the front door to go get the paper and I got a whiff of something awful. It honestly smelled like someone had pooped on my front porch. I thought it might be a gift from one of the neighborhood dogs - or kids. But I couldn't find anything. As I walked to the end of the driveway, the odor got even more pungent.

Then I realized my neighbor across the street had a rake in his hand and was turning the soil in his compost pile! In his FRONT yard! The smell was so bad I actually gagged.

I have seen the circular shaped thing in his yard before but I thought it was the remnants of an old tree that had been removed. At times, there are faint odors circling the neighborhood but I thought it was coming from one of the neighborhood trash bins. But no. It's the compost pile. The stinkiest, grossest compost pile this side of Rio Grande. I actually feel even more sorry for the guy who lives right next door to him. Check it:















Don't get me wrong. I understand composting and why it's important. I am pro-compost piles. But I am anti-stinky ones in the front yard. Icky.