One of the first bonfires I recall was when I was probably 5 or 6 years old and it was the Fourth of July and my family was at a summer cottage on Lake Erie. Family friends were also there and the cottage had a great little beach where we had a bonfire to roast marshmallows and make s’mores in between dancing around with sparklers in our hands.
Perhaps ever since that first bonfire I have always loved sitting, standing, crouching, and just being around a blazing outdoor fire. I don’t consider myself a pyro but I take every chance I can to be involved with collecting wood, making a fire pit, getting a fire to burn, and keeping it going. From camping fires in high school to neighborhood bonfires on the weekend to box burning parties, Christmas tree burning parties, more camping fires, and bonfires on the beach, there is nothing like being in front of mesmerizing flames.
While I would argue that there is no wrong or right way to build a fire, stoke a fire, or enjoy a fire, there are clearly some methods that work better than others. I also happen to be married to an almost Eagle Scout who feels just as strongly about being involved with the making and stoking of fires as I do. It all begins with wood collection. One of my favorite wood collecting expeditions was when a girlfriend and I went on a wood collecting mission for our camping group at Green Ridge State Park. We had a blast collecting all sizes of twigs, branches, and logs and we just kept going back into the surrounding tree areas for more gathering what felt like every last scrap of dry wood.
Like my husband, I prefer the tee pee method of building a base for the fire. A small but well layered tee pee made of thin twigs and sticks is made atop a pile of brush or newspaper, anything that will burn. I like to gradually increase the size of the branches around the tee pee adding layers of larger and larger pieces of wood so that once a flame catches it will burn for a long time. While I like the idea of rubbing two stones together to start a natural flame, I have no aversion at all to using a lighter to get it started. Once a flame catches, it’s helpful to blow on it to help it spread to the other sections of the tee pee.
After a good flame is going, you can just keeping adding slightly bigger pieces of wood and eventually full logs so that the fire will last a long time. The actual building and starting of a fire is definitely rewarding but I think I prefer being the tender. There is something peaceful and calming about sitting at the edge of a bonfire carefully, slowly stoking it, moving outlying wood closer to the flame, and making sure that air is circulating through the wood pile.
Whether you’re building the fire, adding the wood, stoking the fire, or simply being mesmerized by the colorful flames dancing in front of you bonfires seem to have a way of making time pass slower than normal, and that’s nice. Of course, having an excuse to make s’mores isn’t all that bad either.
