Spring Stink-o-Rama

Every spring all the public and most of the private flowerbeds in Alexandria get a top dressing of wood chips and steer manure. You know it immediately after it happens and long before you see it. Having grown up in a rural area where my school bus passed dairy farms and chicken ranches on the way home, I’m something of a minor expert on egregious stench. Let me tell you, this annual application of composted steer manure totally reeks. They do it in Washington DC as well as Alexandria, so there’s no getting away from it.

Fortunately, since we’ve had an unusually cold spring and stink doesn’t carry well in cooler temperatures, this year’s Stink-o-Rama has been limited to only a few days instead of the usual week to ten days. Phew.