Week 33: ‘Cozy’ 

There’s something hypnotising about a fire. A real open fire with logs, flames and smoke. The orange, red and yellow swirling lights all mixing together in a magic potion with an occasional blue and purple bursts like firework as the first break up a knot in the branch. The warm of the flame soothes the soul as you stare into it’s fury. Depending on the watchers mood the fire dictates the atmosphere. Sometimes it draws a crowd of talkers, the laughers, the singers and the loners. Fire is much better when it is controlled, unlike the raging bushfire that destroys anything in its path. A well built fire pit whether it’s made of stones and twigs, an old washing machine drum or an expensive man made fancy one, mankind has the power to control it and keep the embers alight. Some pyromaniacs just can’t help themselves to damage property and are totally oblivious of the trouble they’ve caused.

My children when they were little would sit on their grandparents lawn with their cousins and burn patches of grass with a small magnifying glass they’d been given for Christmas. I’ve got footage of them in action doing a little dance on top of the small fire as they thought it was getting too hot to handle. They’d be in a trance as they watch it unfold. The awe and wonder of a fire is still relevant in my now adult children. Jacob loved to have friends over for a bbq (cooked very badly mind you 😊) and topping the night off with a gathering around a fire pit. Luckily he worked at Bunnings (a home & hardware store) which sold the wood and fire starters and he’d always get a staff discount. The girls have had there share of friends gathering around a fire and coming home with their clothes smelling heavily of smoke. Ben carried on his burning interest from a youngster and was always keen to keep adding the fuel to keep it alight, adding leaves, paper and other things to watch go up in flames. 

‘When you light a fire, you commit an act of magic…what thrilling enchantment, what cunning sorcery, has the work of your hands created?’