Burn, Baby, Burn!

I had the idea to make a bonfire for my birthday, since we had so much shrubbery (especially invasive barberry that Rob had pulled out) to burn. We obtained a burn permit last week, which is good for the entire burning season until next March. On Sunday, I woke up so excited to start the fire that I couldn't wait until the party started at 3 pm. I started the fire around 9:30 am, not really considering that I would have to keep it going all day if I didn't want it to go out before the party. You can see below how the fire progressed throughout the day.

It took almost half an hour and a lot of matches to start the fire because everything was slightly wet from the dew.

But eventually I got it started!

Sick picture, eh?

We used the excavator to add big piles to the fire.

Look who's driving the excavator now - Rob gave me a lesson!

A really big load!

At one point, we kind of squelched the fire with too much shrubbery, so the Tillson Lake boys were deciding how to get it started again.

Look who's driving the excavator now - it's our neighbor Keb!

Not bad for two years old!

We kept the fire going until one in the morning.

The final embers. What a day!