Friday 12 March 2021

Winter tasks.


Most winter tasks have been completed, but just a couple remained.

I had a small building job to do; the top of a wall needed re-working. A 30 min job (now completed!).


The only other task was burning all the leaves from 'The Royal Oak'. I presume that the Hedgehogs have finished with them, so time for a bonfire. We found no creatures beneath the piles.

I'm sure most people enjoy lighting fires, there is something very satisfying about getting a fire going really well, and nothing worse than struggling to get it lit at all.

This one was titillated with a good splash of White Spirit. The dry leaves roared away, then burned to ashes in about 10 mins. Job done.


Everyone who lights garden bonfires knows that this is one of the most wonderful aromas. Lovely.

27 comments:

  1. The joys of a bonfire. We had one that was going for 10 days and that was through a couple of episodes of rain. It is amazing how long they will keep smouldering if you feed during the day.

    In this next of the woods white spirit would be seen as cheating.

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    Replies
    1. I use it for lighting my wood-burner; it works a treat.

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    2. In a wood burner even more of a sacrilege! Apparently only paper and kindling is permitted!

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    3. My lighting is 'smokeless'; more eco-friendly.

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    4. I will try that argument!

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  2. Your remark about the white spirit reminded me of when I was in our friends' garden one bonfire night . I had got there early and was the only person outside with the host who was trying to light the bonfire. He was having trouble and went to get some petrol...just as he stood by it and was about to throw said petrol onto the pile of wood, I saw a tiny thread of smoke coming up, but not in time to shout NO, don't do it! Needless to say it erupted into flames and there were tiny flicks of flames all over G's coat. He threw himself on the ground and rolled and he was fine. It was not a nice experience and 10 minutes later I suddenly burst into tears...delayed shock I guess. Never let him forget it!

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    Replies
    1. I only ONCE made the mistake of using petrol on a bonfire; albeit a very small amount. I ended-up on the other side of the road. That is why I now use White Spirit.

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  3. That is just one of the reasons I want to move to a house with a smaller garden in town. No more nailbiting moments watching P with his bonfires.

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  4. I am relieved there wasn't a Victor Meldrew tortoise killed in the leaf burning. We aren't allowed to burn here.

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  5. It does smell good, though I would make leafmould myself.
    We have burnt brashwood after pruning though, good ash for the compost heap and fruit trees and bushes

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    1. I'd already taken a load to the compost, but it was spilling over. The rest was burned.

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  6. The is a big satisfaction in knocking out those small jobs. At the end of the day, you feel quite productive.

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    Replies
    1. All those jobs are finished now, so I start on Haddock's. I planted a new row of Strawberries this morning.

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  7. I have to admit that when My Retired Man Burns our grass plants, I make it a point not to be around. Fire frightens me.

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  8. I can literally hear the fires crackling around here and there's always smoke in the air. It is satisfying to see a big heap reduced to a pile of ash. They all use petrol around here. Have to on the olive branches. They're all very green. Don't hear about accidents though. I suppose they've all got it down to a fine art, year after year.

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    Replies
    1. Most farmers here use old car tyres; not too kind to the environment, but it works well.

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  9. Watch out for the gendarmes !
    Except for the farmers, it is now forbidden to burn green waste in most places in France, you can be fined 450 €.

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    Replies
    1. Out in the Styx we tend to ignore such rulings.

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  10. Not sure we are allowed to do so in the UK.

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    Replies
    1. That's possibly why there's so much fly-tipping in the UK. Much better to burn it.

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  11. Once I used a cup of petrol to get a reluctant bonfire going. The roar was like a wild beast. I will never do that again. The bottom of our suburban garden is forty metres from any other house so I still occasionally light garden bonfires. There's something primeval about it.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Petrol is not a good idea. I like a good bonfire, we have one in a field for all the bigger stuff that gets lit on Nov' 5th.

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  12. Open burning is illegal in my state, but happens, especially in rural areas. My brother in law burned everything that was burnable scrap. The neighborhood men would occasionally fall out with one another, and took the occasion to report my brother in law to the local fire chief. That man came around, hung around the burn barrel with Tom for a bit, and left, after advising him to keep a pack of hotdogs and a fork handy. Open cooking fires are not banned.

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    Replies
    1. When we have real bonfires, we often put a few foil-wrapped spuds amongst the cinders. I suppose we could always claim that it was a BBQ.

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