We have a new neighbor. One of the more prominent locals bought the field down below our small farm. It was always just used for hay or corn planting, with occasional cows to clean up and fertilize. The nice thing was they left the hollow alone. Over the last several years I have posted pics of the hollow:
He has been cleaning and clearing out the hollow. Yesterday he stopped in to say if we received enough snow, he was going to burn the wood piles today. We have burned wood piles in our yard from fallen branches, spring or late fall weed collection, miscellaneous debris but nothing like this:
First, I forgot he was going to do that and, I smelled smoke – INSTANT FREAK OUT! Started running through the house to see where the smell was coming from (praying hard it was not another fire), then I stopped and remembered – it’s outside stupid! I casually came back upstairs and headed to the west window in the bathroom (best view), and sure enough, the massive log piles are on fire.
It was kind of cool to watch because it reminded me of my teenage years. Friends from Prentice and Ladysmith Wisconsin should remember the parties we teens had with bonfires in somebody’s dads’ field. During the summer there was usually one or two that went on. Some pretty wild and fun times back then.
I still love our fire pits which are outside and only the size of a small charcoal grill. I love the smell of a good BBQ cooking (and my sister is STELLAR at the grill!). But get a ton of smoke floating around and the horrific memories flood in. Roasting marshmallows – fantastic. Roasting house, not so good.
I then spotted something I was not anticipating. Little black particles and pieces are floating all over the place? Suddenly it dawned on me what they were and where they were coming from – the burning wood piles! Just as our burn barrels will send up bits of burned debris, so were these monster piles. Now the rest of my day will be spent on watching EVERYTHING. I could see his truck down by the fires earlier, but don’t see anyone down there right now – not a good feeling. I am sure he is probably just down farther behind our barn, and I cannot see him – I hope.
Funny how something like a smell can bring back such fun and such scary feelings all at the same time.
You can also check me out at: www.lifelessonslived.com for all the fun things I have learned in life.
HELBERG FARM STORIES 
I’m with you, I would be watching until it went out. The farmer behind our house lit a section of weeds that were on an old railroad and never told us. It was only feet from our house. He left the fire so I freaked out and called the fire department. No fire hydrants here at that time so they had to put it out with a water truck! He broke every county law and about gave me a heart attack!
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We are lucy picking the place we did to settle down. We have great friends and fantastic neighbors. Everyone watches out for everyone else. When this man bought the land next to ours, he took the time to catch me on the mower last summer and introduce himself. I was so pleased! I have known everyone that has owned or worked on that land because I make it a point to flag them down and do introductions. Our driveway is the only major way to get down into that field (there is a small tunnel under the highway but it’s too small for vehicles or tractors, just big enough for critters. You could follow the RR tracks but that could be a mess too.) so they have to pass by the house and our front gardens.
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