Rules of the Fire

There are a few rules to observe when starting and tending a fire in the winter to burn limbs after felling trees.

I’m kidding.

There are no rules.

It’s winter.

It’s fire.

Yesterday, Arnold and I spent the day at my cabin, felling huge beetle-kill trees in the meadow and cleaning up the branchy aftermath.   He felled the trees, actually.  I, on the other hand, broke through the ice and fell in the creek.

Both of us fed the fire as we limbed the fallen trees.   For several hours, we dragged limb after limb to feed the fire.  The fire raged, sounding, at times, like a mechanical contrivance.  Bright flames wove themselves high into the winter air.  Heat pushed at us as we pitched our chainsaw cuttings into the flames.

Singed hair and good stuff all day long.

Posted are photographs of our fire and a video of a tree dropping.

—Mitchell Hegman