Pyrotechnics

You could NEVER accuse my husband of being a firebug or an arsonist. Bless his heart, building a fire is not his strong suit. Building a bondfire is not his talent. It was hard enough this winter letting him build a fire in the fireplace. Most days I built the morning fire and nursed through the day. Yesterday I finished cutting all the boxwood trees shrubs from along the edge of the road opposite of the orchard except for one. So much debris was beginning to pile up we started another burn pile. This morning Steven gave himself the chore of burning it. This is FAR easier said than done. We woke this morning to a light rain that change to a misting rain and then to a drizzle. This was good. My fears of the fire getting out of control was somewhat relieved. Steven used the tractor and cut a fire break around both of the piles. Then he started the fires. It took awhile. As I said he is NOT a firestarter. I was awake and sipping coffee when I heard a rumble. I thought one of the kids was up in the attic and had toppled something over. "Gracie?" I called up the stairs, "What are you doing? What did you knock over?" "Nothing, I'm just watching TV," she answered. "What was that noise?" I called again. "It came from outside, " Colby called down. OMG! I was in my pink flowered nightgown, grabbed an umbrella and slipped my feet into my waterproof clogs and head outside. "He has gasoline!" My head screamed. I walked out back to where he was at the two massive piles to be burned. He was having trouble getting the fire started. We talked a few minutes. "If I were going to start the fire I would pour just a little gasoline low at the bottom and light it." Having grown up in the country I am well aware of the dangers of starting a fire with gasoline. I am also aware that huges piles of debris do not start easily. It is common practice when a feild is cleared for everything to be bulldozed into a huge mass and then set on fire after a little dousing of a flamable agent. Steven did not listen. He poured gasoline over the TOP. I was watching and I swear I did not know what in the hell to scream at him. He stepped back about 10 feet, struck a match and tossed it onto the pile. VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!! That damn pile of limbs and vines came at least a foot off the ground and the percussion from it made the ground shake. I felt it pass through me. He is standing there grinning. "Did you see that?" I yelled. "See what? I was trying to watch were the match went." He NEVER saw the 6x6x5 foot pile lift up off the ground and smash back down. At this point my nerves were shot. I know I am not his mother. He is an adult, but by God some men need supervision. "What me to bring you a cup of coffe while you watch it burn?" I was high tailing it to the house! "That would be great, thanks." He was walking toward the barn for the shovel. I came in started another pot of morning coffee and got dressed. There was no way a fire like that was burning without my supervision. By now the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. The first fire had been burning about an hour before I remember to get the camera. It burned far quicker than I thought it would. Most of the stuff was freshly cut. In less than an hour after the inferno began it was burnt to ashes. The larger pile which was 12x20x6.5 took hours to burn. I thought it would burn the quickest and the hottest. Everything in the bottom of the pile was dry but it turned out to be so compacted it took much longer to break it open and get the oxygen in to fuel a good burn. Finally at near 3pm the fire was burned down to mostly ash. While the fire roared we had enjoyed a little picnic lunch of sandwiches and chips and sat in the grass. He got up often to stir it up to help it along. I walked around and took some pictures of the peonies and roses. I took photos of the back of the house. I walked out to the road and took a photo of the area I had spent this week clearing. Remember what it looked like before? This is what it looks like now. I have one more bush to go! We are taking the rest of the day off. Steven has showered and gone to take a nap. I made potato salad and have pork chops marinating waiting to go on the grill. I also have a pot of butterbeans waiting to be warmed. I was planning to do NOTHING tomorrow. But you know the one about the best laid plans of mice and men? We signed a contract last night to sell the townhouse. We have to go in the morning before we go to his parents for a cookout/birthday party and pressure wash the deck and he has to fix a shingle and clean the gutters. Thank goodness an end is near. The people buying it want to close June 27. I hate waiting! I am ready to be done. The way it has been raining we will have to cut grass Monday and there is plenty of weed eating to do. So much for a couple days of rest.