Eeeeew, that smell, can't you smell that smell!!

Oh brother, when I woke up this morning, I couldn't think if I had made a post about this or not, but when I checked the posts I have made, I didn't. Guess I dreamed it, and that is because all I can smell all night long, through that window that is right beside my face in bed. That smell, oh that smell!!! It triggered a dream about telling people about that smell.

Let me explain, probably a little long and convaluted, but need to tell about that smell!! Smiling that evil smile.

We live in a valley. On the west side of our property is a barley field, been cut down now and harvested for about a week. On the east side of our property is the alfalfa field, been cut down and harvested now for about 10 days.

The alfalfa side smells wonderful and always has.

The barley field smelled kind of nice, until yesterday morning.

That was when the great and awful event occurred.

Two huge trucks, green ones, with a great holding tank came onto the property. I watched them and wondered what on earth they were doing now. The trucks both went to the far end of the property and worked their way back to the roadside, they were spewing up and out enormous streams of well guess what!!! Cow crap. Liquid stuff that was flying as far as that chute would shoot.

This went on all day long, with about 20 truckloads each spewing cow crap all day long. It is enough to nearly make ya gag, I am not kidding. All night long, all I can smell, and I can still smell is cow crap!!! Crap.

Off to the north end of the alfalfa field there is a cow dairy. Now this is a big alfalfa field, think it is like 40 acres (well, to me that is pretty big). I KNOW, because my Son-in-Law told me, that there is a lagoon of cow poop living on that property. A lagoon, can you picture how big a lagoon full of cow poop is. I know that cow poop is pretty much a liquid, seen those cow pies on my Grandma's farm when we were kids. Her name was Daisy, and those cow pies surely did not even look like or smell like a daisy, always wondered where she got her name.

Anyways. Guess these two trucks went to that lagoon, and sucked up that liquid lagoon contents and decided that this barley field was the place to spread this crap, yes, it is crap and I don't use that term loosely. Crap, can't say it enough, because I really don't like that cow stench. But it is here. I see the field is all kind of brownish looking, amongst the remainder of the stalks of the barley, which are golden coloured. It looks actually kind of pretty, the brown and the gold, the crows and gulls are having the time of their life there, that too I can see. Is there something in cow crap that is attractive to them? Weird.

I didn't see my chickens foraging in that now-cow-crap-filled field, so maybe they didn't like the smell either. That is one of their favourite places to go and look for seeds and bugs and such.

So, I wonder how long the air will smell like crap (is that a bad word? I never actually thought about it, if it is, please someone tell me and I will edit my post, but I think it is a normally used word to describe, well, manure, guess I could have said manure, but I think that crap better suits this stuff that smells like nothing on this earth, smiling). Have a wonderful day, and may you never had cow crap spread on any fields that you can smell. CynthiaM.

Cynthia I can smell your description (LOL).
Out here the hutterites have an injection system for their liquid poo, it goes directly into the ground to provide nutrients and decrease the smell.
And I know where my mom works in their county you have up to 1 week to till the poo under if you are within a certain distance of other farm yards.
As for the alfalfa field I cannot see they would till that under so you will have to wait tillt he poo absorbs into the ground for the smell to lessen.
I find you will get used to the smell as it lessens, then it will rain and the smell comes back full force. When we clean our corrals it is days before I can handle the stench it creates, but you do in time get used to it.
And I bet before long your birds will be out there in full force again getting the bugs that the poo is attracting.
By the way Crap is an ok word to use. LOL

Oh Cynthia, you will be smelling that wonderful smell for weeks. My old neighbor used to do the same with his fields, and the stench seemed to hang in the air for eternity. The hot days were the worst, when it all baked in the sun. No, I don't miss that place one bit.

I live 1\2 mile from a dairy farm, a large one, and my landlord has an arrangement to take his entire lagoon and pump it onto his canola field which is(shudder) only about 50 yards from my front door. They are harvesting the canola today so I expect the trucks to start spreading in the next few days.
Yep it does last for weeks, what concerns me is that if that atrocious smell attaches itself to me, do I smell like that when I go into town.
I invited a whole bunch of people here for thankgiving, and now that you reminded me of this propitious event I am rethinking my thankgiving plans.

I know exactly what you are describing and you're right Eeeeeew!

Nuthatch, blah, you gonna smell that smell , there ain't no ifs, ands, or buts. Go ahead with Thanksgiving, your company will understand it is just the loveliness of having manure spread close to your home, smiling that big smile.

They dumped more for about half the day yesterday, well, actually, spread it, they flung dung!! I did see the farmer with his cultivator out there yesterday, tilling it all under, I imagine it will go on all day today too. It is sunny, hit 32 yesterday, cool overnight, down to about 7, and blue skies again today, so I imagine the entire 40 acres will be tilled under throughout the day. I'll report how long that smell smells, but I imagine, and as others have commented, its gonna stay for awhile , oh well, country livin' at its best. Beautiful days, CynthiaM.

Ohhh I drove past your place last night and yes, I smelled that smell, can't ya smell that smell!??! It reminded me of living in Chilliwack surrounded by dairy farms that grow their own corn for silage.

It never lasted long and yes, it is the smell of farming and what would we do without that? This is how I got through that few days every fall.

Your description is very vivid. We used to have friends who lived by a large poultry operation that did something very similar with their crap. The smell was terrible and the flies were worse. My nose feels very sorry for yours.

Tara

Blah!!! The wind came up last night, for a good many hours, strong, strong winds, now picture that smell. But, on the upper side, the wind came from the southwest, so not as much stench coming from the west, where the field is, smiling.

But oh my smokin' smoke!!! It has been raining quite hard, off and on today and oh man oh man, eeeeew that smell, really can smell that smell!! Perhaps it will wash it away. The farmer has been tilling parts of the field and I would say that a good part has been turned under, but oh man, can't you smell that smell!!! Farmchiq, you didn't honk when you passed by, smiling again. Beautiful and wonderful days, CynthiaM.

tgarratt wrote:We used to have friends who lived by a large poultry operation that did something very similar with their crap. The smell was terrible and the flies were worse.

Tara

and you stopped being their friends because of the smell?

You should try living by a hog barn - now that's the flavour of the week.....