The Annual Bonfire

We live on five acres in rural Jefferson Davis Parish.  The 3 acre pasture in the back is pretty much tree-less except for a line of trees on the eastern border of the property. The western border has trees as well, but they aren't ours.  In the yard we have numerous live oaks, water oaks, and pecan trees.  Throughout the year we enjoy their shade.  The leaves that fall get mowed and raked up and get incorporated into the soil of the garden.  The sticks and limbs, however, that fall present more of a problem.

A neat thing about living in the country is having a "burn pile."  A buddy of mine was transferred to Houston and moved into a big subdivision.  Burn piles are against the rules of his homeowner's association.  Imagine that!  When the limbs fall from the trees, we pick them up and carry them to a designated area in the southeastern part of our pasture.  They're stacked up and over the course of the year, the weight of the branches compact into a tight pile of wood.  By the time the cold weather comes around - usually late December, the pile is begging for a match.

Burn Pile 2013

The burn pile occasionally becomes a hiding place for eggs by some sneaky hens of ours.  As we found out the other night, some of our hens use the burn pile as a roost.  When we lit the pile, numerous hens started scurrying out of the pile.  They were all intertwined with the branches and ol' Benjamin jumped up on the top of the pile and rescued all of them just in the nick of time.

New Years Eve night, which also happened to be Russ' 19th birthday, was a premier opportunity to light up the pile.  We invited some birthday party guests, Tricia made a big chicken and sausage gumbo, and after we had eaten to our heart's content, we walked out to the pasture to fire up the annual bonfire.

C'mon baby light my fire...

The wind was blowing gently from the east, so I lit it on the eastern side.  We stood around as the fire started to climb.

Growing fire

Wood that had been drying for months proved to be excellent fuel for the bonfire.  It lit up the surrounding pasture as the flames leapt into the night sky.

Glowing fire

Initially we had benches arranged on the eastern side of the fire pretty close up so that we would be able to keep warm by the heat put off by the fire, but as the fire really began blazing, we had to scoot the benches back.

And then we had to scoot the benches back again!

Shooting balls of fire at the top

At its peak, the fire had flames climbing maybe 18 feet into the air.  A large fire, to be sure.

Campfire song, anyone?

Benjamin and I had gone to the Fireworks Stand down the road that was set up in a big yellow tent and we purchased $22 worth of a various assortment of fireworks.  The guests to Russ' party brought some as well. When we began setting them off, the animals all ran away, unsure of what "their people" were doing.

Fireworks amidst the cow patties

We all had a good time with the fireworks and the bonfire.

A cone of sparks

The fire quickly consumed the woodpile and it didn't take long before all that was left was a stack of beautiful, glowing embers.  I walked around the circumference of the pile, pushing the outer sticks into the center so that all the wood would burn.

Burn baby burn

Believe it or not, the pile was still smoldering 3 days later, even after a light rain, but after 3 days, all that was left was a small pile of ashes.  I was going to use the ashes to make lye as we want to see if we can make lye soap, but the rain put the quietus on those plans.  No worries, though, I have a drum of fireplace ashes I'm saving for that purpose.

The Remains of the bonfire

We all had a good time ringing in the New Year and enjoying Russ' birthday.  I wanted to add a couple photos of the old boy and his Momma and the day he turned 19.

Happy Birthday, Russ!

We've already begun to throw sticks on the burn pile we're building for 12/31/2014.  The fun never stops!

Russ & Tricia on Russ' big day!

Happy New Year, all, and Happy Birthday, Russ!