FIRST BONFIRE

Last Saturday night marked the first of what will be many bonfires in my neighbours backyard. Sure there are some local bylaws against that sort of thing, but living in a small town does have some perks. Having connections helps but even better is positive relationships with everybody on the street. Everybody has backyard firepits out here, and everybody uses them regularly. The occassion? Nothing really, just the warming weather and an excuse to cook hotdogs, eat smores, and drink lots of beer. A television in the garage was tuned back and forth between the Detroit-Dallas NHL playoff game and the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington.

Should you be concerned if your neighbour has a firepit going? Absolutely not. Out here, a firepit that is going is pretty much an open invitation. Grab a lawn chair and some beers and come on over, no formal invitation required.

Funniest part of the night was that the host of the party is a local volunteer Fireman. His radio was going off now and then, with calls for other stations in the area. Nothing serious. One report of a restaurant sign that was sparking. Then a call came across "Station 10 report of a bonfire". Turns out we are not station 10, the call was for another town a few miles away.

If you are thinking of making a firepit you don't need to go and buy some fancy outdoor fireplace from Home Depot. I dug a hole and used the metal drum of an old washing machine. Keep it simple.