I am old enough to remember a world before “Power Bars.”
When they were first introduced, my co-workers at the Bureau of Land Management picked them up pretty quickly, using them as snacks that were easy to pack for the dignitaries we took on informational tours of the public lands we managed. My good friend Brian Hopkins told me that he wanted to serve me my very first Power Bar so I would really enjoy it. It was chocolate flavored and he prepped it out of my sight by warming it and rolling it into the shape of a piece of dog poop, and then serving it to me on a paper plate. This is how every BLM employee in my office was initiated to this new snack.
I later used Power Bars and this same sculpting technique to attract attention to my posters reminding public land visitors how to properly dispose of human waste. It’s funny to the little kid inside, and because we try to talk about that part of life as little as possible.
That brings us to this week’s articles. We didn’t actually plan to have 3 articles about poop and pee. It just kind of happened. We didn’t change it because it made our inner 6th graders giggle. Besides, each of the articles does just what we try to with On Pasture: translate research and experience into something you can use.
So this week you’ll learn about what nutrients your livestock manure actually has, you’ll see why mega-fauna manure is critical to a healthy planet, and then how, when you’re doing your best to control a full bladder, that might be the best time to make some decisions.
We hope the 6th grader in you gets a good giggle, and that the grown up appreciates the information.
Thanks for reading!
Kathy and Rachel
