Fire!

Today I tackled the formidable burn pile. When the site for the workshop was cleared back in the spring, the stumps and branches of the trees that were removed were piled up in a spot under the cedar trees. Good spot except for the fact that they could not be burned there. So today, I started burning the pile by moving it, armload by armload, out into the open area in front of the workshop. The fire was never too big, but over the course of the day a lot of stuff got burned. I must have made close to 100 trips between the burn pile and the fire, a distance of maybe 15 yards. So that adds up to 1.5km of me carrying heavy armloads of wood. OK it's not a marathon, but I feel like I did a day's work! As the day wore on I began to view the pile as my nemesis, my arrogant enemy. I vowed in my heart to vanquish it/him. Little by little I would pull him apart and tear him down.... Humble him!
It was a silly game but it kept me going for a while. I figure we ended up in a bit of a dead heat, the burn pile and me. It's still huge, but not quite as huge.

Fire!
Dance of transformation.
Intense heat.
Penetrating heat.
I feel it in my bones.
Like no other heat
Fire radiates
Right through me.
Fire reaches into me
Finds my hidden places
Warms me completely.
Fire is so rare these days
Hidden from view
Like sex.
Fire is almost an alien in our modern world
The devil's energy
The energy of volcanoes and forest fires
And arson.
Yet fire is the missing element
In our lives.
We have air, water and earth in relative abundance (if not purity)
But where is fire?
Hidden in the hearts of our automobile engines
Hidden in our gas furnaces
Hidden in our garbage incinerators
But wait...
Fire has been tamed and civilized.
Fire is now acceptable and available at the flick of a switch
In our fake log, gas-powered fireplaces.
Oh joy!

Tonight John Vosper came over and we had a meeting with David to discuss the excavation work. In typical island style we talked about many things before we got around to the excavation work. I am confident John will do a good job.