George reluctantly came to the military and political table.  He viewed himself first and foremost, a farmer.  “Nothing in my opinion would contribute more to the welfare of these States, than the proper management of our Lands,” he declared as he noted soil depletion from heavy tobacco planting.  An ardent composter, according to Andrea Wulf’s Founding Gardeners, an outstanding account of our agricultural/horticultural heritage, Washington “was obsessed with manure and the improvement of the soil.”  A man after my own heart.  I visited Mount Vernon several years ago.  Built on the backs of slaves, it remains a moving testament to the conflicts that gave birth to aristocratic rebellion against the British and then less than one hundred years later, a civil war.  Happy Birthday George.