Good old bonfire fun!

Monday, May 2, 2011

With winter fast approaching & the large amounts of moisture in the air, we decided Monday night was the perfect time to have our first official bonfire of the season!  One of the fun things about winter is the chance to get together with others around a sizzling, warm bonfire - it really has a double bonus because not only do you get to enjoy spending time with  with friends, family or neighbours in a relaxed environment while the children happily cook you marshmallows, but you also get to clean up a whole pile of rubbish (wood rubbish - not household rubbish - save that for the incinerator as it's stinky)  that's been sitting around the farm for a while.  In fact during winter time there's rarely a social time around here without a bonfire.  


Dave always spends time during the year making bonfires out of rubbish laying around the property - generally tree limbs that have come down.  We do allow some friends to come & cut wood for their home fireplaces here, however since we ourselves haven't yet a functioning fireplace (we do have a wood-fired oven in pieces that we are slowly doing up - can't wait to show you all!)  we find we have excessively large amounts of waste wood laying around.  We also have about 20 acres of forest on the land, so you can imagine how much wood there is.   These bonfires sit around & keep on drying out until after April through to September when we are allowed to freely light fires (the rest of the year is too dry so fires are not allowed without a permit).


A bonfire really is our winter excuse for a BBQ - we always cook meat over the coals (& just a hint if you're having one -make a separate much smaller fire as the cooking fire & get the coals from that - it's much too hot close to the fire to get them).  We have an old weber BBQ that we use the coals in & the meat always has the most delicious smoky flavour about it -other friends have an old circular blade (about 1m wide) on legs that they made up just for bonfires - this works wonderfully too!  You can make your bonfire as simple or elaborate as you want - sometimes it's just a sausage sizzle, while sometimes we cook potatoes or damper in the coals. Sometimes I make a salad & dessert, but always we try to keep it simple.  Marshmallows however are an essential & all good farm wives keep a supply of them in the pantry over winter for those unplanned bonfires.  I've even been told you can freeze them & will give that a try this year.


There is something magical about sitting around a fire - your eyes are drawn to it's depth & the myriad of shapes & sounds coming from within it are amazing.  I love the popping & spluttering as the wood cooks - the glow of the logs from within as the coals keep the original shape of the wood for oh so long.  We had such fun on Monday night as Dave's parents & grandmother were here to share it with us.  Our fire was only about a hundred meters off the highway that borders our front boundary & we had so many people beeping as as they passed by!    We were amazed to find out that in all of Dave's grandmothers 85 years this was her first real bonfire experience - she had so much fun!!



  
So should you come & visit Sunnyside over the next few months don't be surprised if we pile you onto the back of the ute & head down to one of the paddocks for a bonfire - great fun for the whole family & such an easy way to entertain!

Joining again...


Have a wonderful day,


18 comments:

Carissa Anne said...

Hi Renata,
What great pictures of GREAT fun!!!

I LOVE a bonfire!!! They just mesmerize me.

Funny how you are having your bonfire at the end of your fall with all of your outdoor summer rubbish and we are having one this spring with all of our rubbish from the winter months.

I am always so ready for autumn/winter by the time it arrives... it is such a nice break from all of the spring/summer yard work... Do you feel that way too?

Love Carissa

Ann at eightacresofeden said...

My children love bonfires but especially the marshmallows! Too much dense vegetation here for a big bonfire so the fire pit we bought last year has to suffice. I'm thinking of having a go at making my own marshmallows - hate reading all those numbers on the side of the packet referring to the artificial colours! Aldi used to sell marshmallows with no artificial ingredients but they haven't stocked them for months. Anyway, I have the recipe for giant marshmallows very suitable for toasting - just need to set aside some time to make them!

Ruby Jean said...

You always throw me off when you mention the upcoming season...I see "Winter's Fast Approaching..." and I think is this an old post.. : )

What a delightful way to gather as a family and as friends...To fellowship....It is amazing how when you Gaze into the flames of the fire..How mesmorizing it can be...It creates such beautiful images....

There is nothing better than a Marshmellow roasted in a campfire..

Have a Blessed week Renata...

Jen's Busy Days said...

I love bonfires. My kids are the same and here in suburbia we still manage to have one in winter just once each year. We have a lot of houses around here with wood fires for heating so the smoke isn't noticeable.

I would love to see one of your really big ones though. Beautiful!

Best wishes
Jen in NSW

Grandma said...

Hello Renata,
Lovely photos of your bonfire...so glad you all enjoyed it. So who makes the best marshmallows??????lol (or have you started making your own with all your egg whites????)
Just called before and then remembered that it's not a a holiday for you down there - we are the only state that celebrates labour day now! Sorry!
We have yet another glorious autumn day here - the green of the trees against the beautiful blue sky is just lovely (I wonder who it was that made up the saying about never putting green with blue (in clothes etc) - obviously they'd never looked out my back window!
Hopefully these comments won't go astray in cyberland as my last ones did!
Have a wonderful, wonderful day. Will send you an email.
Lots and lots of love to you all
Mum xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christy said...

oooh! such fun!!! I miss bonfires... I was only saying to Kieren the other day - I don't think our children have ever even cooked marshmallows over a fire but I don't think we are allowed to here in Suburbia :( We might have to come and visit sometime soon ;)
love and hugs, C xo

Rachel~At the Butterfly Ball said...

What fun! My family loves to have bonfires! It's been so rainy around here lately that the boys have been asking to have another one soon even though we are headed into summer.

debi9kids said...

OMGosh! Too funny. I just posted about our campfire this weekend :)
I just LOVE it and now I am completely convinced that you & I are made of the same cloth.

Your photos are so beautiful!

Amanda said...

There is something magical about sitting around a fire. We just made a little campfire last night and such a great time. I love the shots you took. Its dreamy with the setting sky in the background.

Unknown said...

What wonderful memories you are creating for your children! And how wonderful that they can share it with their great grandmother! Mine have been begging for a fire, but it's been far too wet to be considered.

Mum-me said...

I love a good fire too - although haven't been to a good ol bonfire for quite some time. We do enjoy a campfire, though.

I got a bit homesick reading about winter approaching. I am starting to think Brisbane doesn't really get cold at all.

Kath said...

We too have alot of bonfires.
How fun for the grandmother!!

Duckygirl said...

I love bonfires too! We're actually hosting one for a friends birthday next weekend, I'm excited. Do you have the giant campfire marshmallows? Those are fun too!

~Laura

Leanne said...

Ahhhh......we love bonfires! We live on a farm too, and although it's a postage stamp compared to your acreage, we are doing lots of bonfires as Husband clears away rubbish.

Visiting you is on my list of things to do before I get old!!

I'm thankful for your support, my dear Twin Mommy.

Smilie girl said...

Its sound like wonderful fun! Brett would very much like a fire place so he can poke at it and stare at it and eat marshmallows but it's just not cold enough. Enjoy.

Gina said...

Such fun! We are just starting into campfire season here! Had our first one on Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog! I've enjoyed prerusing yours!
Gina

Unknown said...

Your right there's nothing like a good bonfire! That first photo is amazing! Love it!

Shonni said...

What wonderful fun!!!!

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