David,
>> the top of the pile looks very dry.....so i sprinkeled a little bit of water over it.
Good. But 'sprinkling a LITTLE water' isn't enough, if the center got hot and steamed a lot of moisture away.
>> it looks dry after me suffering from over wettness....
>> can you guess what is happening inside ....deep down were the soggy stuff should be?
Since it will benefit a lot from turning, don;t guess, dig! With a garden fork or shovel, dig into the center and SEE and FEEL if it is dry. It won't compost if too very dry, and even being "pretty dry" may slow it down.
Just don't add SO much water that it gets waterlogged and limits the ability of oxygen to diffuse right into the center. If you do add too much water, turn it every few days until it dries back out enough to "breath" on its own.
You can think of turning the pile as "artificial respiration". You are doing the breathing for it by bringing the soggy, anoxic center to the surface where oxygen can reach it, and turning uncomposted stiff twigs and straw into the center, where they will hold open air channels.
>> there are some organisms there working on the pile since it is more airy and balanced?
Yes, for sure.
>> or......i am just very impatient?
Probably, like most gardeners and composters!
>> i have an urge to take a garden fork and try to turn over the material
YES! Exactly.
>> but then there is a feeling that maybe i need to give the pile sometime to recover from its trauma....
Well, not really. Once air reaches the center, you may get some heat building up, which is good.
Turning 2-3 times per week would release all that heat, which is a little bad, but if it needs any air, or needs lots less water than it has, turning it weekly will help much more than losing the heat hurts.
>> the top of the pile looks very dry.....so i sprinkeled a little bit of water over it.
>> the sight of the dry barks on the top of the pile maybe distracting my attention?!
>> i have an urge to take a garden fork and try to turn over the material
The outermost layer always dries out. Turning a normal heap monthly. or twice a month, or every other month, brings that dry outer layer into the center where it can be digested. A normal heap wants SOME undisturbed time so the center can heat up, the heat-loving microbes can multiply, and do their thing. But if the center is hot and stays hot for 3-4 days, you've gotten most of the benefit you can.
I think that impatient composters wait until the center gets hot (some stick in a long-probed thermometer) and then give another 3-4 days, [u]or until the center starts to cool down on its own, after breaking down the easiest-to-digest parts quickly. Then they turn to expose that dry outer layer to the hot, moist, biologically active center.
You heap may go very quickly, since it has been "predigested" in an anaerobic, fermentation way. But you really do want it all to have a chance at both oxygen and humidity, so beneficial aerobic microbes can consume the undesirable microbes and their fermentation products.
Hence some turning is a good idea, and for sure you need to see or push your hand into the center to be sure it is both moist and airy.
When in doubt, turn at least every few months if you have the strength and energy.
When in haste, turn a big but normal heap every 2-3 weeks.
In your case, at least inspect the center every week to be sure it hasn't "slimed down" into an anaerobic mess again. If the inspection lets oxygen into the center, win-win.
If the inspection tells you that, for whatever reason, now its a dry, thirsty pile instead of a soggy anaerobic mess, you might have to water it heavily.
Is it now covered from the rain, or sloped so that any rainfall runs right off instead of sinking in?
