Up in Smoke

I burned 3 BIG brush piles yesterday. The wages of 12 felled trees is death by fire. 12 trees have a lot of branches!

I now smell like wood smoke. My clothes, my hands. I did wash my hair before going to dinner at my neighbors last evening. But they probably didn't notice since the wind blew the smoke in the direction of their house for much of the day.

In smoke we can "see" all 4 elements--air, fire, earth, and water. We can--unusually--see air, which is otherwise invisible. We can see waves of heat. Dark smoke is tiny particles of earth (or solidity) flying up in sparks. White smoke is the water element being released from pine needles and maple leaves.

One day our own bodies will go up in smoke, and all that will be left will be a pile of ashes.

Next summer, the grass that grows where the brush piles were will be oh-so-green.