Burn, Baby, Burn

John 15:6 King James Version (KJV)

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Having trees on the property is certainly a blessing.  In the summer, we enjoy the shade.  We are always picking up sticks and limbs that fall from our trees.  In the winter, we like to burn campfires to keep warm or just to sit and relax watching the flames devour the wood.  This weekend we set fire to a wood pile that is in the eastern side of the pasture in front of the barn.  I got a bench for us to sit on as the sun went down.

The hens are going to miss the woodpile.  Some of them roost on it at night.  They'll have to find a new spot.  Some of them lay eggs beneath it, too.  We find them and are unsure if they are still good, so our dogs end up being recipients of the eggs found in the woodpile.

Sitting in front of the fire would have been really peaceful, but an unpleasant aroma kept wafting over.  It took a minute for us to figure out what it was.  When we moved the chicks out of the brooder in the garage and into the chicken tractor, we collected all the pine shavings mixed with poop that was on the bottom of the brooder.  Our intent was to trench compost it in the garden, but we haven't gotten around to it yet. 

As the fire grew, we had to move the bench.  Although it was a cool evening, the roaring fire was putting out some awesome heat.

When the wood pile is gone, it will be one less obstacle to walk around when going to the barn.  When trying to catch the calf, sometimes he plays a game of running away from you and running round and round the woodpile.

As the fire burned, I circled it and kicked errant sticks into the center of the fire so they would burn completely. 

We marveled at the tongues of flame dancing in the fire and talked about how only God could create something like that.

The fire was consuming all of the wood that was in the pile and the flames grew higher and higher.  We moved our bench again and again to get away from the incredible heat.

In the morning, there was nothing left to the pile but some smoldering ashes.