@Rockhead,
Thats how I compost too, I have several groups of palletes (They act like a bigass oxygen funnel) And I scoop leaves, straw, and manures onto piles. I also use some waste drywall sheets. (I get these from Lowes or Home Depot, they are always throwing the broken ones out).
The drywall adds good tilth and renedesr the compost more gritty like a light soil. (The only problem with drywall is that if you pile huge masses of compost around, say, asparagus beds, It can go anaerobic and release H2S as the drywall is anaerobically digested.