Compost Sifter 2.0

With all the excitement about the chicks, I forgot to mention our new compost-sifting system. Take a look:

Kirk took the leg off of the compost sifter and instead hung the square frame from a branch of the maple tree that is in our compost yard. I think a fair amount of swearing was involved in looping that rope up and over the branch — the pole saw standing up against the tree was used to dislodge a failed attempt or two. Once it was secured, though, it worked great. Here's an action shot:

Now it's much easier for one person to operate the sifter alone, because it will hang in place (as opposed to having to set it down every time you need to shovel more compost in, as with the rocker-leg design from before). The tarp below is to catch extra compost, but most of it is sifted directly over the wheelbarrow, which is much easier than dragging the tarp around the garden paths. This new riff off of Kirk's old invention looks to be an improvement in every way, and it's making it easier to get all of our soil prep done as the spring planting moves into high gear.