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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Pyromaniacs Gone Amuck!


Yesterday morning, we took advantage of the fact that there was no wind....we had a fire!




Not content to just burn the pile of wood that had accumulated down at the barn, I took the Lil John Deere and scooted around the property, picking up branches. I also gathered all those aspen saplings that I had cut down.....





Meanwhile, the Gman went out the pasture.....he first started with a firebreak at the edge of our property.

Then, he began burning the dead grass out there.





A few times, the wind came up just a bit....it actually helped a bit of a larger area get burned.






And....here's what it looked like at the end of the day! He got quite a bit burned off....and it will be great for the soil!

It'll look bad for a few days, but wait till the green grass starts to grow! Lots of people here burn their grass. We're trying to get a larger part of the pasture done each year.

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9 comments:

Unknown said...

Neat! we are going to have a bonfire this weekend. We haven't had one at this house yet and we've been here three years!

Cedar View Paint Horses said...

I'm jealous. We're under a burn ban right now. Every spring I gather stuff in piles, go get my burning permit, and they enforce a burn ban. I'm surrounded by acres of plowed dirt. Last I checked, dirt doesn't burn. But the ban is county-wide, and the fine is the same whether you live in the woods or in the fields, so burn I don't.

Blossom Barden (NorthLaurel) said...

I'm not sure why but I expected to see huge fires blazin all over..! lol

Linda Foley said...

We burned off the lumber that was in the back goat paddock the other day. makes it nicer so I can let the goats out once more in that area.

We aren't under a burn ban yet. We have had a very wet winter and spring...

Anonymous said...

Can I just say something...be very careful. If your fire gets up and runs away, you will be paying for the cost of the ministry putting it out. And, considering the cost to fly planes and helicopters and to mobilize fire fighters...SPENDY!!! Fire is a tricky, tricky thing and most fatalities occur in small fuel grass fires. Why? Because people figure, "Ah, it is just grass." But fire in grass or trees is hot and fire in grass tends to spred/move faster.

Also, remember you can have rain in the morning and the grass will be tinder dry within hours afterward, especially if the wind is blowing.

Buy a Mark V gas-powered water pump, nozzles, 5cm/2" hose, fire retardant shirt and pants, leather boots, a couple bladder bags, and shovels. Use your heavy equipment to construct a fire break no less than 3-5 times the heigh of the fuel to be burned. Light of small/thin strips so the wind will push the fire line up against the break. Light off wider strips as the black area grows/widens. Make sure the relative humidity stays high and the wind stays low (buy equipment online). Keep checking the wind frequently, before lighting off another strip. Make sure EVERYONE stays in the black. I don't know, it has been years since I fought wildfires. Talk to the local forestry folks and they will be able to help you out. They might even be willing to light off your land as a training exercise? Whatever you do, be careful.

Other than that...I think fire is probably the answer to your pasture's future.

Julia said...

After the wildfire here last summer, it was amazing how quickly the vegetation returned. Hardly any rain, but the green was all back in a couple of weeks.

Fire does amazing things for the soil.

Stay safe!!

Anonymous said...

Hello All Annie's faithful readers. This is Annie's GMAN. I am off working in Vancouver for a while and I would just like to leave a comment to ease some peoples minds as to my experience and expertise in CONTROLLED burns. I will not go into details as I don't like typing very much, but there was heavy equipment and fire hoses near, and when you have a wet morning in the Cariboo in early spring, well what better time is it to have a burn. Have a nice day.
Hi to Linda

Linda Foley said...

Hi Gman... I KNEW you had it under control and hi back at ya!

Annie said...

We're pretty careful when it comes to burning....Anon brought up some very good point and we appreciate your commenting.

Anon, you're the same commenter who was giving me feedback about rejuvanating our pastures....am I right? I think so...anyway, thank you for all the info you gave here!

There's nothing like a clean up fire around this joint. There is NO shortage of small board ends, bark, unearthed sticks, etc...and it sure does feel good to get that cleaned up when the weather is such that we can safely do it!

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