Having an Outdoor Supper

It was cool the other night.  Tricia made homemade tortillas, chicken and Mexican rice and suggested that we build a fire outdoors and eat outside.  Good idea!  While she finished up with supper, Benjamin and I got a fire going with numerous oak and pecan branches that had fallen all throughout the yard during winter storms.

We arranged several cut logs that we used as seats and set them in a semi-circle around the fire.  Then we sat down with our plates full of food, said "Grace" and enjoyed supper around the campfire.  It was nice to do this while the weather was still cool and before the swarms of mosquitoes arrive.  We looked up at a beautiful starry sky as we ate.  A cloudless night sky made the stars seem extra-bright and we remarked how looking up at them always makes us feel so small and insignificant. We also discussed the constellations and Benjamin pointed our Orion's belt.

It would have been a real trick to hold our plates while we ate, but Tricia served us on TV trays.  Do you remember those?  At my grandmother's house when we were young, she had some large TV trays that had legs that folded out and you could sit in a chair and watch Carol Burnett, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Rockford Files, or Wonderful World of Disney.  Now we try to eat at the table so the TV trays don't get much use.  Actually, our TV trays were made for 'breakfast in bed' as the legs are very short.

Gazing into the fire on a crisp, starry night 

As we enjoyed the evening and each other's company, we looked at the dwindling firewood pile that has less than 30 pieces of wood on it.  That is all that remains of the firewood we split from the large water oak tree we felled in the front yard 3 years ago.  We've burned a lot of firewood in the fireplace, but the wood inventory from that tree is low.  Fortunately, we cut 3 trees down this past summer.  If you look closely to the left of Tricia's back in the photo below you can see the stack of logs that need to be split.  Benjamin and I will work on that project before it gets too warm.

A campfire supper

We weren't alone for supper though.  Nosy Rosie showed up to enjoy the fire as well. The whole time we were there, she camped out right by us, chewing her cud and eavesdropping on our conversation.

Nosy Rosie joining our campfire meal

But she wasn't the only creature joining us.  The 3 hens that roost on top of the brick pile stretched and preened their feathers before fluffing them out and taking a seat for the night.  Up until December, they would roost on top of the firewood pile, but since that pile disappeared, they moved over to the brick pile.

The big water oak tree we cut down 3 years ago reminded me of something that I hadn't though about in a while and I told Benjamin about a job that existed back when I was in Elementary School that is obsolete now.  Back then, we didn't have Dry Erase boards or the computer boards.  We had blackboards (some were green) and the teacher would write our lessons on them with chalk.  The erasers were made of felt and after writing on the blackboard, she'd erase the board.  After a while, the erasers would be filled with chalk dust.  What to do?

Well, she would call on students to go outside and "dust erasers" against the big water oak tree that was just to the east of the school.  We would dust the erasers against the tree, banging them on the bark as billowing white chalk dust covered the tree and us with dust.  The tree seemed to always maintain a white tint that only disappeared in the summer.  The job of dusting erasers has gone the way of the buggy whip makers as time marches on.

Barred Rocks Roosting

After a little bit, Amy the heifer, sidled over and took a seat on what remains of the last hay bale. I'm sure this talk of dusting erasers was riveting and she had to come listen closer.  Although laying on the bed of hay is comfortable for her, it is a reminder to me of how wasteful cows can be.  Even with a hay ring, I estimate the cows waste a good 10% of the bale.

Chewing cud on a bed of hay

Finally Daisy came and sat down behind Amy and Annie, the dairy goat, did as well.  

With all the barnyard animals bedding down for the night, we realized that it was about time for our bedtime as well.  We told the animals good night, picked up our TV trays, and walked back inside, happy for the opportunity to enjoy the simple things in life like starting a fire and sitting around it with the ones you love, talking, laughing and enjoying the evening together.