Our neighbor and friend Jack McMillan say my blog post about our growing pile of manure and called up to say he would be over shortly in his new tractor to haul most of it off into his huge flower and vegetable garden.

For the first time, few people asked for the manure, which is, we have learned, a nuclear boost to plants, flowers, and vegetables. We use it in all of our eight gardens (11 if you count my three raised garden beds.) At least 60 percent of the soil in my beds is year-old donkey manure. Flowers love it.

(Jack hauling off his load of donkey manure)

We will spread the rest of it in our own gardens over the next week or so. I was getting sick of seeing it in my photos. And I’m glad it’s going to another garden. Jack has been using it for several years and knows what great fertilizer donkey manure is.

As a landscape photographer, I appreciate the departure of most of Manure Mountain.