It didn’t take long this morning for me to decide how we’ll use the area I cleared yesterday. I didn’t need to set up a chair and sit awhile. It felt right, pretty much right away — parking pad out, fire pit in.
Smack-dab in the middle of the space are two small outcrops of ledge, each about a foot proud and five or so feet apart. The ground is relatively flat between them. I raked away leaves and duff and considered incorporating the natural feature into the ring — yup, that’d work.
I looked around to confirm that I had a decent safety perimeter. My only concern was overhead, where several cedar limbs were a bit too close for comfort. They probably would’ve been fine, but I took care of them anyway with the pole saw.
That meant another trip to the big brushpile. This time I was able to drag it all down in one trip instead of using the truck.
After raking again and refining the spot some more, I began the task of choosing, moving and arranging rocks into a suitable ring. Some of them I had to carry as far as 15 feet.
(That was an Ozarkansas rocks joke. Just go with it.)
Far from tedious, I enjoyed the process. It was meditative, not unlike stacking cordwood. I suspect that my body will have a different opinion come tomorrow morning, but right now my brain, at least, appreciated the exercise.
I fiddled with the ring o’rocks ’til I was satisfied. Then I grabbed a bucket and a shovel and went looking for places along the driveway that had more than a fair share of gravel. I carried two full buckets back to the fire pit and spread a thin layer of the crushed stone inside the ring.
Physically, that might’ve been the toughest part of the whole job.
The last thing I did was kick around the cleared area, looking for trip hazards. I removed offending rocks (the ones I could move, anyway) and pitched them into the woods. I yanked up dozens of greenbriers. Using a 17-pound digging bar, I pulled three old cedar stumps.
Today’s work consumed over two hours, so at this point I’ve now invested six hours in the project. I’m thrilled with our new fire pit, but the job isn’t finished just yet.
There’s firewood to split, haul up and stack between a couple of trees I’ve designated a natural rack. I want to bring over two large oak rounds to use as butt-sittin’ and kindling-splittin’ stumps. And, of course, I’ll probably never quit fussin’ with the ring — knowing me, I’ll come across even more perfect rocks elsewhere on The Mountain, and I’ll be unable to resist bringing them back to this pit.
No doubt about it, this has been hard work. I did every lick of it myself, too, and I’m pooped. Still, the way I feel right now is what I live for — the essential satisfaction of doing a simple job that costs me nothing but effort.
That’s as good as it gets.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
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