Eric’s Blog

I decided to have a little fire in the backyard last night. The weather was perfect for it, not too hot, not too chilly, just right.

I poured myself a gin and tonic, went out back and made a nice fire. The neighbors were having one too that I could just make out through the trees.

The backyard is my favorite room in the whole house. I just wish the stars had been visible last night, it was a bit cloudy and I could only see a couple of the brighter ones on occasion.

I always feel at ease in the backyard making and enjoying a fire. There’s something challenging about it. Something primal. Something cathartic.Fire can be a destructive force or a useful tool. Wielding fire requires skill and responsibility.

To be able to build a fire and keep it going is a skill not everyone is capable of doing. It transports us back to a time before electricity when all that was available was fire. To sit and watch the fire dance and the logs burn is both soothing and exciting at the same time.

The feel of the heat on your face. The smell of the burning wood. The sound of the pops, hisses, creaks, and whines that the wood makes as they heat up and catch fire. And of course the different colors layered in on top of one another all the way from red to violet and every one in-between.

One of my favorite parts is that the hoodie I was wearing last night still smells like my fire.