The Flaming Rainbow

I haven't posted much lately about being out at the farm. There for a while, a stop out at the in-laws always provided for a good post the following day. I guess it's just been a dry spell, kind of like the weather... this is one of those posts I started and never finished. We've actually had some rain the past few days...

One Saturday after work, as soon as my feet hit the back door, Chuck greeted me with, "We want to build a Bon fire."

...well hello to you too Honey... "Who is 'We'" I asked, one eyebrow cocked.

Overly excited about the idea of burning something, Chuck replied, "Us kids"

..."us kids" is right. I sometimes wonder if he is my 5th child... Not having any other plans for the rest of the afternoon, and perfect weather for a good ole bon fire, I happily agreed... nothing better than the smell of burning brush on the breeze of a crisp fall evening...

The boys... that includes Chuck too... played a game of touch football, then a game of 4wheeler ball tag. The girls and I went for a walk in the pasture, while trying to avoid getting run over by a speeding 4wheeler.

Down over the hill, Chuck's dad had a small brush pile burning. The girls and I went down to check it out. When remnants of Hurricane Ike blew threw in September, he blew down a lot of limbs. We helped Papaw pick up sticks and toss them on the fire... the burning wood smelled so good...

Gracie needed to potty so we walked... quickly... back to the house. We stayed up at the house and played on the porch. Suzie found the spray nozzle to the hose and began flipping it around... sparking that imagination of hers...

"Hey mom", Suzie beckoned, "watch this!" She turned the spray nozzle toward her face and positioned it in front of her nose, "I gonna sqwirt me in da face" she laughed tossing the nozzle to the side, "I so funny".

It's a good thing the nozzle wasn't hooked up. I seriously think she would have squirted herself, especially if she thought it would get a big laugh... that would have been a big winner on AFV...

****
I was anxious to get a Big bon fire going, and was surprised that I actually had to talk Chuck into it.
"But it's not dark yet" he protested.
"So" I argued back "Its getting cool outside and I'm sure there will be plenty of 'fire' left by the time it gets dark. Besides, there are plenty of brush piles around here to burn."

Chuck gathered some stuff from the barn, called for the girls and we hopped on the 4wheelers... the boys were too interested in playing football with Brandon and another boy from school... Down over the hill and to the other side of the pond, Chuck found the perfect pile to burn. Of course it was the biggest pile in the pasture, at least 7 feet tall and probably 30 feet wide... lots of fallen trees in this pile...

Chuck doused the pile with diesel fuel but couldn't get the flames to take off. His dad joined us, bringing with him a can filled with something-er-other. Chuck splashed some of whatever-it-was on the pile. The flames quickly spread, engulfing the majority of the brush.

The right side of the pile consisted of mostly large tree trucks. Bright orange flames stretched high as they danced around the wood. Toward the center of the pile was some trash and other stuff. We heard some glass crackle and break.

Just in time for the sun to vanish, our fire was burning bright. Situated in our chairs, we fell silent as we watched the orange and red 'Dance'. Several minutes passed and I noticed the most beautiful colors develop in the center of the pile. The brush turned white with heat as shades of purple and pink flamed up. The base of the flames flickered in colors of blue and green... a rainbow of flames... It was the coolest fire I've ever watched.

Curious, I asked Chuck if the fire was just that hot or if there was something in the pile causing all those colors. He laughed, "With dad? Who knows what's in there." We fell silent again, hypnotized by the flaming rainbow. Enjoying its warmth.

The extreme heat burned up its fuel rather quick and our fire slowly died, taking with it the spectacular light show. Almost as if a spell was shattered- An evening chill set in. The girls began to whine. Our bon fire was over!

We gathered up our chairs, tossed left over trash onto the smoldering fire, then followed the glow of the distant porch light home.