Burning Down the Farm... Again

 

Although we normally do our burning in late winter or very early spring, due to some other factors at play, I got to help in burning a few odd patches here and there on the farm. The tenants who rent it are going to seed some of these patches into alfalfa for hay which they will use to feed their cattle they raise elsewhere, during the winter months. 

It was not without it's tribulations though for me. In order to safely burn it, a fire break needs to be disked around the perimeter so that fresh non-flammable earth is exposed. Normally this is done in the fall as was this case, but when we burn it in the spring, rains and snows have time to settle things down so one can walk on it without too much issue. Freshly turned when we burned it this time, it was horrible to walk over. I was staggering and reeling like a drunk after an all night bender except I have a container of flammable fuel that I'm spraying across a flaming tip that shoots fire into the grass right next to where I am walking. Falling or even lingering is not recommended should one not have a desire to end up crispy.

To make matters worse, at the end of the afternoon while burning the above patch, I suddenly began to feel very weak and lightheaded. Knowing this was not someplace I wanted to pass out, I snuffed out my torch and walked a few paces from the fire. The dizziness passed but I still felt a bit clouded. Fortunately the others finished up the rest and after standing around talking and monitoring the flames until the subsided a bit, I felt good enough to drive home. It was only there that I realized how thirsty I was and I drank non-stop the rest of the evening. I suspect that I just got a bit dehydrated as it was hard work starting the fire around the perimeters and walking over the plowed areas and yet the day was cool enough I had a heavy flannel shirt on. It is just a reminder that I need to stay on top of these things a bit better as I get older.

I would continue going down to the farm to help out repairing tile risers in the farm fields and to cut thorn sprouts too for the next two days and I made sure to stay hydrated and had no other issues. Below is a picture I took of someone helping us who happened to have brought a four wheeler and decided they had enough walking and was actually lighting the head fire from it. I thought it was a nice photograph.