We all have chores and to-dos that we keep pushing to the metaphorical back burner. It isn’t even procrastinating, really — often a more important task shoulders its way in front of the others on our list, or simple math tells us that we don’t have the time to devote to a particular thing.
For me, and for months, it’s been the matter of burning five good-sized brushpiles left from clearing we did around The Amphitheater. The piles have been there a long time, and I see them every time I step outside. And while I haven’t necessarily considered them an eyesore, they’ve definitely cluttered up the place and partially blocked the best view of our favorite rock feature.
This morning, my deck was clear. I checked the weather forecast to see what kind of wind I could expect — 8mph, gusting to 12mph. I had the time. I had the motivation.
Today would be the day.
I began shortly after 7:30am, while the winds were at their calmest, with the brushpile farthest to the north. The plan was to burn it in a depression about halfway between The Amphitheater and the cabin, essentially a rock pit. I was confident that would contain the blaze safely within about 30 square feet.
Once I’d transferred that first pile to the burn pit, I intended to use a propane torch to light it in several places around the base. The torch, however, refused to cooperate — the temperature at that hour was 22°F, and I’d stored the torch in our unheated soft shed.
On to Plan B. I grabbed a bag of paraffin-and-pine-shavings firestarters and lit several of them under the pile. One was more successful than the others, so I focused on that, basically treating it like a small campfire. It worked.
After it started spreading to the pile, I fired up our Echo leaf blower and used it like a power-bellows to fan small flames into a genuine conflagration.
It was daunting, that fire, big and loud and hot. I was tempted to stand and watch it, but I couldn’t — now I had to feed it, and there were four more piles of brush still to go.
The morning breeze was out of the west, blowing stronger than I’d expected but manageable. The burn was about half-done when the gusts picked up and the wind began to swirl. That raised the degree-of-difficulty considerably, along with amplifying the potential hazards of working around such a fire.
(In related news, soon I’ll be trimming the left side of my beard so that it matches the right side.)
When I tossed the last branch onto the blaze, I could begin to relax a little. I let it burn down some, raked the pile of embers and pulled wayward bits back onto the hottest spots.
Eventually all that brush was reduced to a few inches of ashes and coals. The rock pit had done its job. I hadn’t set The Mountain on fire.
The objective of the exercise — making unwanted debris disappear and opening up our view of The Amphitheater — had been achieved. And, I’m relieved to say, I finally can check that to-do off my list.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB