Now, I’d heard of foxes with mange, poor stinking, sickly things with uneven tufts of fur, obviously sick. This one moved at a brisk trot, pausing to sniff at the road, at the air. When it saw me it stopped short. I stood stock still. Apparently satisfied that I was no immediate threat, the fox went on it’s merry, yet, unattractive way. My son suggested that maybe it wasn’t even a fox.

Large pointy ears, thin pointy muzzle, the size, the shape – all except for the lack of its distinctive fur, this was a healthy yet ugly fox.

Dashing to the Web, I found that it could have been a chupacabra, a Tasmanian wolf without stripes, or one of those unnamed monsters occasionally found lying by a ditch in a slimy fetal position. After wading through all the nonsense, I learned that a rare genetic disease called Sampson’s inhibits the growth of guard hairs, the beautiful fluffy coat that gives a fox such unmistakable panache.

But, if it’s so rare, how come there are so many reports all over the country? The chances of seeing some rare creature be-bopping up my street struck me as pretty far-fetched.

Perhaps the mild winters we’ve experienced lately allows the Sampson fox to live through seasons that in years past would have killed it. Maybe we’re not seeing a freak, but a new kind of fox, a genetic mutation. Global warming has brought changes to the east coast, including the well documented northern expansion of brown pelicans, a real thrill for birdwatchers.

I welcome foxes to my neighborhood, glad to see a predator to dine on rats, mice, and our recent plague of baby bunnies. I love nature, enjoy the incursion of hawks and owls to the suburbs. But of all God’s beautiful creatures, why do I get this pathetic, postapocalyptic freak?

Through research and practice, I have discovered a simple cure for this trio of evils menacing America today. That is to get up off your behind and go outside.

Somehow, we’ve made a boogieman out of sunshine. We’ve been warned so often that sunshine = melanoma that many of us have over- reacted to the point that the only time spent outdoors is going from the house to the car. Yet, Vitamin D, freely and easily available from sunshine is necessary for the absorption of calcium which helps metabolize fats.

Long-term insufficiency of Vitamin D reduces the body’s ability to absorb calcium and can lead to osteoporosis. Studies suggest that a lack of Vitamin D can lead to arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, PMS, hypertension, birth defects and cancer.

It has long been known that the absence of natural light causes a form of depression called Seasonal Affective disorder for the discovery that folks up north who must endure a long, dark winter often become depressed. People spending an inordinate amount of time indoors create their own self-induced Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Exercise, so easily and pleasantly taken outside through walking, gardening, jogging or running elevate your mood by increasing metabolism.

The American Psychological Association asserts that sedentary people suffer higher rates of anxiety and depression that physically active people. According to the Journal of Neuroscience, active mice deprived of exercise developed unhealthy cravings for food, sex and drugs.

Amazing, isn’t it? Grandmother was right all along. The best thing in the world for health and happiness is fresh air and sunshine and exercise. Sometimes the best things in life are free.

For me, gardening is fun. It’s art, exercise and home improvement. That, combined with fresh air and sunshine, makes gardening spiritually liberating. So, refusing to be intimidated by my compost pile, I decided to wing it and make up my own rules.

Rule 1: If it’s disgusting, avoid it.

Real garbage such as wizened vegetables, rotten bananas, and forgotten casseroles with weirdly colored stuff growing on it is disgusting. Don’t use it. Besides, it will draw rats. But some household refuse just seems a darn right shame to throw away. You’ve got to admit that coffee grounds, used tea bags and (rinsed off) egg shells aren’t so bad. In they go. Along with hair, whatever you’ve picked up in the vacuum bag (which probably came in from outside anyway), wood shavings and peanut shells.

And there’s more. All that shredded paper you’ve accumulated in an attempt to avoid ID theft makes a nice, fluffy layer. It’s clean and breaks down quickly. Though you should avoid the addition of used Kleenex, toilet paper and greasy paper towels. Once again, adhering to the disgusting rule. Never use glossy magazines. You don’t know what they put in that ink and all those ads are, frankly, disgusting, interfering as they do with a relaxing perusal of your favorite topic and tempting you to spend your hard earned cash.

Let’s move outdoors. Grass clippings are famously pleasant for scent as well as color and if you let your lawn grow out a bit too high, all the easier to rake up, which is good exercise. Grass is a good source of nitrogen but we were not going to get too scientific here.

Dried garden trimmings in the fall produce a nice layer for your compost. Weeds may not be disgusting, but can be annoying – infuriating sometimes, like the ground ivy that keeps creeping over from next door and makes your lawn look disgusting. So it’s ixnay on weeds. The roots and seeds may not break down.

Another sad waste that aggravates me every fall is all those bags of leaves set out on the curb. Simply dump several bags (the more the merrier) in a heap and run the lawn mower back and forth a few times. Piling the leaves near a wall or fence prevents the shredded leaves from blowing all over the place. You may be surprised that such a huge pile, with a few passes of the mower, is rendered to a few buckets full. You may want to procure additional leaves by snatching up other curbside bags. The neighbors will look askance but wait until they see your garden next year!

Now, it may seem obvious, even to the non-agroscientist, that a heap of dried plant material and coffee grounds won’tmagically turn into the rich compost your garden deserves. So let’s move on to

Rule 2. Some things aren’t as disgusting as others.

Manure produces heat and sets certain chemical reactions in motions. That’s all there is to it. If you’ve ever gone to a country fair, you’ notice that area containing cows, chickens, and horses are not as disgusting as pig sties or dog kennels. The excrement of garbage or meat eaters if a definite no-no as is used cat litter.

You can purchase dried manure or you can be thrifty and scout out your own source. While it may seem like a good idea to follow a parade with a bucket and shovel, your family might not appreciate the ride home in the car. Plus, the professionals who perform that task may resent your intrusion.

Nowadays, what with the big Eat Local movement, everybody sooner or later, runs into a farmer. I like fresh eggs so fell into conversation with my egg man, sang high praises of his eggs and the rural life then deftly segued into my desire to procure some nice, fresh chicken poop. The egg farmer was willing to share his bounty. So, one cold February day, I showed up at his beautiful farm with some heavy duty trash bags and attacked the steaming pile.

Rule 3. Layer, aerate and moisten.

It makes the compost so nice. It’s best to layer the ingredients so borrow you mother-in-law’s pitchfork and have at it. Mix that stuff up. Dump a bucket of water to moisten not saturate than wait a week or so and repeat the process.

Bone meal may be added to the mix for phosphorus, good for flowers and fruit. I have not yet figured out a way to dry bones and grind them up but there is a limit to doing things yourself. Now back to Rule 1.

After the compost heap heats up and aerates, notice how it changes. If it begins to smell disgusting, you’re off track. If the odor reminds you of a walk in an autumn woods, or fresh turned earth in spring, then the process is working as well as it would if you actually knew what you were doing!

If you start in autumn or winter and follow these simple procedures, by early spring, you’ll have a nice pile of dark, fluffy compost.