Our friends and neighbors (the rural definition of neighbors, a couple miles away), Kris and Maynard, have restored acres of native prairie surrounding the beautiful house they built about 15 years ago. To maintain a prairie, it must be burned, and they invited us to help with the prairie burn.
Maynard is a member of the Prairie Smoke chapter of the Prairie Enthusiasts group, and was the leader for the burn. He had spent many hours in advance preparing for the burn, mowing and raking the paths that would serve as firebreaks.
We were instructed to wear leather boots and cotton clothing. Actually, Rog and I were more observers than helpers - they had a large, experienced crew of prairie enthusiasts, but I took photos.
Four areas were burned. The largest area had a bare cornfield on the north side, a great natural firebreak. First the downwind side was burned. Then the upwind edge was lit and a wall of flame raced across the field.
Too bad the Internet doesn't have smell-o-vision yet so you could sense the acrid, smokiness of the fire.
3 comments:
These things are quite amazing. The growth of the land afterwards and how quickly things recover are astonishing. Great coverage. Some of those pictures the smoke looks enormous. Wow.
@ 3Beeze Homestead
I got to help with a prescribed burn for work once. It was amazing!
I hope you can show some pictures of this area in the coming months. This is so interesting!
Brenda
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