Not just a smell

When our children were young and the nearby fields had muck spread on them, or when we passed some farm land in the car after muck spreading, there would be a chorus of “ewwww!” from them. Hands would smother noses and mouths accompanied by agonised writhing on the back seat. I would of course take a deep breath through my nose and exclaim “marvellous” or something similar. This would prompt another chorus of “ewwww!”. 

I’m reminded of this because muck spreading has been taking place near us in the last few days. Although I have to admit the odour is not in my top ten favourite smells, at the same time it has also never troubled me much. For a start it is only temporary. Also, the smell is not that noxious to the senses. The manure comes from herbivores and does not, in me at least, evoke the same level of disgust as the far more intense smell of carnivore droppings of, for example, the dog or cat. Nor, dare I say, of  the omnivorous outputs of humans.

One other reason why I think the smell of the muck spreader feels to me relatively benign is that I smell it in its wider context. For many years as a keen gardener I’ve valued manure and compost, and gone to some lengths producing it or digging it in to condition the soil. As an old Channel 4 TV series had it, its All Muck and Magic. For me, it’s about being aware of soil condition and enrichment, whether carried out by a home gardener or a farmer. It’s not just a smell.