{"id":42083,"date":"2013-03-06T12:19:52","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T17:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=42083"},"modified":"2015-07-21T15:57:34","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T20:57:34","slug":"last-evening-at-the-firepit-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/last-evening-at-the-firepit-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Last evening at the firepit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was a busy day of administrative work and catching up on phone calls and emails. \u00a0I took a few breaks to walk through the property, picking up fallen branches and moving the sprinkler. \u00a0Earlier in the week, I\u2019d cut a lot of the older, lower fronds off my\u00a0sabal minor<\/a>\u00a0palmettos. \u00a0I also have some\u00a0sabal minor Mccurtain<\/a>s that I leave untrimmed. \u00a0I picked up the trimmed fronds (with gloves this time!) and wove them into\u00a0the driveway wall,<\/a>\u00a0filling in the empty spaces. \u00a0I have to leave the structure very airy so the wind can blow freely, and not knock it down. \u00a0Until the freeze in February 2000 something, a five feet tall ficus hedge lined the driveway. \u00a0It just last year began coming back. \u00a0 I love that the plants have a cycle, that all of Nature has a cycle. \u00a0It lets me know that nothing dies, everything is reborn in another form, ever changing. \u00a0That keeps me hopeful for the future. \u00a0Not just about my yard, but about my life.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

I saw the frost of two nights ago had burned the tips of one exposed\u00a0turk\u2019s cap bush<\/a>, so I trimmed\u00a0the tips. \u00a0All of the other turk\u2019s cap and arbicolas, shielded by loquats, bamboo or oaks, received no damage. \u00a0I picked up a few more armsful of kindling and branch deadfall and broke them into size, and decided that was enough work for the day.<\/p>\n

It was late afternoon when I got a chance to step outside and do yoga as I assessed the sundown situation. \u00a0Did I want to kick back in the rocker with a small fire in the chimenea on the back porch, or did I want to grill some veggies in the firepit in the west woods? \u00a0It was about 60 degrees, so I opted to sit outside. \u00a0I wrapped a sweet potato in foil. At the last minute, instead of grilling, I opted to toss the zucchini, red pepper strips, onions and chunks of pineapple and apple in a foil packet with olive oil and oregano, salt and pepper and a half dozen unpeeled garlic cloves.<\/p>\n

I made a small fire and nestled my foil packages into the coals. \u00a0It felt good to sit back in the cushiony outdoor chair with my boots up on the bricks. \u00a0I had kava tea brewing and the teapot set on the warming stone just inside the pit, up high, not too close to the flame. \u00a0Remember the handle is hot. Ow. \u00a0I added some dry camphor and bay branches and leaves and caught their fragrance as they danced in the flame.<\/p>\n

I love watching a fire, the flames dancing, changing from one form into another. \u00a0I love poking a fire: this area could use a little more oxygen, this area needs another stick on it. \u00a0I love managing the firewood: not too much, don\u2019t choke it, no waste. \u00a0Use just enough to keep it going, use only as many branches as you need. \u00a0I know exactly how much wood I need for an hour\u2019s fire, then I watch the coals burn down for another hour. \u00a0That\u2019s the typical routine. \u00a0I never assume it\u2019s really out until I pour water on it before going in.<\/p>\n

I like the walk back into the house, because by then it\u2019s dark and where I live, it\u2019s WAY dark. \u00a0If I\u2019m barefoot, it\u2019s easy to tell where I am on the path. \u00a0I can feel every root and know to bear right at the gnarled oak root and then duck under the low branch two steps beyond. \u00a0With yard boots on, I have to pay a little more attention, especially since I\u2019m also carrying in everything I had outside for cooking. As I take off my sweatjacket, I can smell the woodsmoke on it. \u00a0I assume it\u2019s in my hair also. \u00a0No matter. \u00a0It\u2019s a familiar and comforting smell.<\/p>\n

Inside, I enjoyed dinner on the back porch: my roasted sweet potato, zucchini, red pepper strips, onions, pineapple and apple with spices and yummy fresh roasted garlic, all dumped atop a bed of fresh spinach. \u00a0I sat in the recliner with the folded fluffy blanket and called YinYang, who jumped up in my lap. \u00a0I petted her and brushed her a bit and then she fell asleep. \u00a0Shortly thereafter, I did the same. \u00a0I was glad when I awoke a few hours later, to find she was NOT asleep on my chest as she had been the night before. \u00a0But a little attention is nice.<\/p>\n

Another day in Paradise. \u00a0I am so grateful.\u00a0I want to look back on my life and be giddy with joy\u00a0that I was the one who got to live it.<\/p>\n

Andrea<\/p>\n

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