Fire 101

Two nights ago I knew I would be spending the evening alone and thought a fire might be nice. There is a certain type of company only a fire can provide and I was really yearning for that type of quiet comfort. While I was building it I thought it would be fun to share the process with you! Not to mention the fact that this was my very first "all mine" fire in our back yard, I had to document it!

1. Find a fire pit! Andrew and I made this one in our back yard with carefully selected stones. Making one was part of the journey for us. 2. Gather your starter wood. Start with very very small kindling first and graduate up in steps. My wood was wet since it has been raining, a good trick for getting your tender together is to use branches off a hemlock tree or mountain laurel, both burn quickly though so beware! 3. Gather your larger pieces of wood and organize them appropriately. While you're gathering your wood be sure to have it close to your fire pit, that way you can access it easily and there is less chance of your fire going out from lack of fuel. 4. This is the tricky part. We have a bag of birch bark that we keep in the house. Why? Because it makes the BEST tender in the world. However, I couldn't find it. My alternative was dryer lint. But of course, when you're out in the woods dryer lint probably won't be available haha! Now, get your lint/bark burning and begin placing your smallest bits of tender on top. 5. Begin to place your larger sticks on top of your flame - be super careful not to smother it, remember your fire needs oxygen. 6. Once you're confident in your flame, add more wood accordingly. As you can see mine is in a teepee style but you can do a "log cabin" also. Both are great ways to build a fire.  

Once you have it going have fun tending it! This little one burned into a hot and cozy fire that heated one pot of coffee and then perked another. I'll share that in another post though ;-) Happy Friday!

xo S