Sunset, full moon and a big campfire
Sunset, full moon and a big campfire

Sunset, full moon and a big campfire

Crimson rosellaThis is my favourite part of the day.

I’m the only one up and it’s very peaceful. I’ve thrown a few twigs onto the remains of last night’s fire and brought that back to life. The coffee pot is sitting on the coals, there are crimson rosellas in the tree watching me, and a swallow is hopping around nearby showing off its tail in what I presume is a mating ritual.

SunsetAll I can hear are birds all around – parrots, finches, willy wagtails, rosellas, and others I can’t identify, and the sound of the fire crackling.

Bliss.

I  didn’t get up for the sunrise this morning, there wasn’t much point. But last night was superb. Beautiful sunset, clear skies and a full moon that cast enough light so we didn’t have to use torches. It was even warm enough for shorts and a light shirt well into the night. And a young kangaroo that came right up to the fence in the next paddock and sat there nibbling the grass while I crept right up close to him. KangarooHe even looked at me a couple of times and went back to eating before he decided to hop off

During the afternoon Doc remembered something he’d seen on youtube about standing a log on its end, cutting some grooves into the top, and lighting a fire on it. Apparently it’s supposed to burn very slowly for hours. Ours didn’t, but it did give us an idea to light a fire on top of a stump in the middle of the yard.

Starting-to-burn-the-stumpThe stump has been there forever, or as long as I’ve been coming to the farm anyway, and it’s big. Too big to pull out, and really tough, so Doc carried some hot coals from our campfire and put them on top of the log. It took off immediately!!

Sparks-flyingAfter about four hours Doc gave it a helping hand by breaking up the burnt parts of the log to get more air through and sending sparks flying. It got so hot that the roots started burning underground and we had to soak the earth all around to stop it spreading. It kept burning, and kept us warm and entertained, for another three hours.

And now, in the morning, it’s almost gone, but there’s enough of it left to make my coffee and give me some more warmth while I watch the fog over the dam and the birds play in the trees.

Heaven.

 

Night sky lit only by the full moon