On the top is a pen about 80% completed that I was emptying of compacted ram dung, it was about 6 inches deep...on the bottom is the female pen which was about 8 inches deep. The male pen I did completely by hand, the female pen (which was about twice the size of the male) was mostly cleaned by a front-end-loader but still involved quite a bit of "pitch-forking".
It's humbling doing this kind of work when I've been told all my life getting a college degree will get you somewhere in life. There's something rewarding about it I have to admit. It's a male thing probably, but it seems doing manual labor is in my DNA. I get some kind of primordial pleasure out of it and I feel some kind of connection with my agricultural ancestors.
If nothing else it makes life seem more simple. Simply being in the country away from lots of people and noise has a kind of transcendent quality to it. Things make sense and there's a black and white answer to most everything. There's a closeness to the vitality of life and a connection with the rhythm of nature. The fresh air is nice too (that is, when my nose isn't a foot away from a pile of excrement).
I feel in command doing that kind of work, especially around animals. In some way it feels like I'm lowering myself to an insignificant level by stooping to cleaning an animals fecal matter. But viewing it from another angle, I'm revealing my own mastery over the animals. They can't serve themselves and don't know what's best for them, but I do. They don't notice they're wallowing in their own filth, but I do. They're scared of me. I have the power to manipulate them. I can decide whether they live or die and have no moral obligation either way. I self-reflect, and they don't.
Wow...a liberal arts degree allows one to experience the world deeply...even shoveling shit.
