Fire Light, Fire Bright, How You Warm My Heart Tonight

One can enjoy a wood fire worthily
only when he warms his thoughts by it

as well as his hands and feet. 

~Odell Shepherd

Finally getting around to sharing the story behind our new stone patio, well, not so new anymore, as it was started and completed last fall.  My husband, quite a self-sufficient handyman having grown up on a farm, collected stone from that same farm that his mother still calls "home."  Over the course of the summer he made several long trips to haul rock and stone, painstakingly measuring, cutting and laying each one strategically into place.  Voila!  A beautiful stone patio is born.

Laying out the design

Digging up the lawn

With the help of our sons, he unloaded the stones from the truck bed each trip, my middle son, better known as "the big guy," being the force behind manhandling the center stone, a round stone weighing approximately 400 lbs, placed in the center of the patio. 
We have been enjoying a wonderful fire on the patio ever since.  And it all started with a Christmas present to me Christmas 2010 from "the big guy."  He knows his mommy well and how her heart had been pining for a fire pit for years.

Winter has not stopped us.  New Year's Eve was celebrated both inside and out as we kept a warm fire burning throughout the evening.  Even on the coldest days of this winter season, we have managed to build a fire on average once a week.  Complete with wiring for music and lighting, it makes for a perfect end to a long and otherwise uneventful day.

S'mores for dessert following dinner out with friends

And this one....taken Christmas Eve day with my youngest son

~ ~ ~

Last night we decided to unwind by the fire, finding ourselves there for hours, recalling the week's events and planning our days ahead, enjoying our favorite beverages under the stars and sliver of moon above.   Mesmerized by the dancing flames and the crackling of wood, I poked, prodded and rearranged the logs with a childlike fascination.  And when it was time to head indoors and get ready for bed, I exhaled with a gratifying sigh of contentment.  Another day is done.

To poke a wood fire

is more solid enjoyment

than almost anything else

in the world. 

 ~Charles Dudley Warner