After clearing about two dozen goats and alpaca out of the barn’s shade, Adam, Dan, and I proceeded to clear out two weeks of, well, muck. Thankfully, heat and humidity were relatively low and the flies stayed with the animals. Luring them out into the field went well for 15 of them, but a handful still had to be forcibly moved. We got used to the smell, as much as that’s possible, shoveled, pitchforked, and scraped 10 wheel barrels, and were left with a relatively clean barn. A thick dusting of lime when down to help absorb moisture, followed by a bit of bedding. All told it probably took us an hour. This entire process would have been much easier if we all hadn’t eaten Belly Busters at Bob’s Lunch (post tomorrow). The giant 1-lb burgers (with bacon and cheese) however local and delicious, were leaden lumps in our stomach through the smelly mucking process. Today we move on to the chicken coop, which Charlie promises won’t be as gross. We’ll see.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtTWqHG8D08

Skip is the producer of The Gourmetro. Mucking a barn isn’t so bad, just don’t eat a 1-pound hamburger first. Read about his culinary travels through the South as Dan over at ‘Ham Sandwich.