Compost problem

Last year it seemed like I could get compost really quickly by turning the pile every other day to add oxygen and moisture. I am using the same stuff in my pile but I noticed that it is taking a lot longer to finish. So far Utah has had some cold days pretty late into May so I am wondering if this is one of the reasons for the delay. I can't get the compost to heat up very hot or for very long. This is what I am using in my pile.
Fresh grass clippings
Kitchen scraps
Shredded leaves
Coffee Grounds (very few)
Alfalfa Pellets (trying to heat things up)

As I turn the pile it seems to me that I don't have enough greens so I keep putting in alalfa pellets to see if I can create more heat. I have been adding some water to moisten each time. It works for maybe a few days but then dies off. I can tell that the compost isn't finished because it doesn't have that finished compost smell. (Alfalfa pellets maybe?) I am wondering if I should use some Blood meal to heat things up. Does anyone have any ideas to help me jump start this pile so that It will finish like last year? I started this pile around the last part of March. Any ideas would be great!! Thanks

Once grass clippings have been sitting in a pile for so long don't they become a brown because all the nitrogen is burned? (just a thought I am not sure) Maybe I have too much grass and the carbon mix it too high with the shredded leaves. I am also wondering if the alfalfa pellets are causing my pile to lack that earth smell because of the nitrogen being burned. Should I just let the pile be and not add anything? Any comments would be greatly appreciated unless it is to say that I am a total idiot. LOL!!

I think your "let the pile be" idea is your best solution. Your pile is not going to stay hot all the time. One thing I don't see in your list of ingredients is "finished compost". When created a new pile I typically throw in several shovels of finished compost to kick start the new pile.

- Brent

To get a really hot pile, you need a lot of fresh material assembled all at once. I use fresh manure, fresh grass clippings and shreaded hay as the main ingredients. It takes a couple of days to build up to around 160 degrees if the ratio is right and will slow drop to 120 degrees after two weeks or so. I turn it and in another two weeks its down to 100 degrees. One more turn and after 4 weeks the heat is gone and the worms move in. I made one pile with a lot of rotted hay and probably not enough manure and it never did get hot. Adding manure helped but it never got over 120. Here's pictures of "My Big Compost Dud": http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/682536/