Burning Brush

I just finished burning a brush pile. While I live in the suburbs, we are still allowed to burn, and the nature of nature in Louisiana, things grow. Sometimes, things grow that you don't want on your place, so you cut them down, pile them up and when they dry sufficiently, you set fire to them.

In that pile I had an unwanted sycamore tree, a dead elm tree, some scraps from the fence project and assorted other limbs, boards and twigs that I have gathered over the past couple of months.

Burning a brush pile is art, because if you stack it properly and wait for it to dry sufficiently, you can burn the pile with one match and all you have to do is watch it. When you are done, take a rake and scatter the ashes and the lawn benefits from the fire. Except of course where you actually lit the fire. Fire is tough on grass and you don't want to set a burn pile where Milady might get offended. Mine is in the empty lot near the lake, in a spot where there isn't much grass anyway. Milady approved the placement of the burn pile.

I went to see my Dad today. Milady wants a deck and we've set aside some money for that, and I have drawn the plans. I wasn't sure if I was planning enough foundation support for the deck, so I took the plans over to my Dad for review. He approved the plans as drawn and gave me a list of options and considerations for when I begin building. Construction starts Monday on that project, and hopefully that will be the last project for the summer. I hope that I can finish the deck before school starts. I've got three weeks.

If I can at least get it decked in and the railing on it before school starts, I'll feel okay. I can build furniture at my leisure in the garage and haul it out to the deck as it gets completed.