Your Weekly Boo: Bravery in The Burn
In case you haven’t been paying attention or just don’t care, Texas has only recently received rain. This means that up until about one month ago, the entire state was a tinder box. This is always a problem for obvious reasons, including daily brush fires that occur along the highway in such conditions. Brush fires along the highway cause traffic. And traffic really screws up my mood at 8:30 a.m. when I’m trying to remain chipper about heading into the office. Of course, the lack of rain is a problem for slightly more serious reasons as well such as….hmmm….drought. Forest fires. It’s nothing to joke about people.
What I didn’t realize is that it would pose a serious problem for us at the land as we cleared brush and trees and cactus. There are only so many piles that one can create. Also, large brush/tree piles make cozy homes for snakes and rats, the two least savory characters in the country. Therefore, Jeremy announced that as soon as the burn ban (imposed in our area for over a year) was lifted we would burn the crap out of those piles. The weather refused to change but in our characteristically patient style, we checked the ban status daily.
And then one day it rained, and rained. And rained. Burn ban = lifted.
The joy this caused for Jeremy is indescribable, but I’ll go ahead and describe it. It turns out that creating large amounts of controlled FIRE is nearly equivalent to owning a TRACTOR in Jeremy’s list of THINGS THAT ARE AMAZING. To illustrate, I’ve included a picture of the three of them together.
However, the most entertaining aspect of the Great Burn May 9, 2009 was caused by, as always, the animals. It was a true test of courage for the little guys. The cows’ insatiable curiosity (read: stupidity) leads them into all sorts of trouble as documented here. This caused them to get too close to the fire:
Which led to them scurrying up the hill and into the purple shed for safety.
Boo, however (Yes. This post is actually about the baby donkey) exhibited a perfect balance between bravery and intellect. Like most baby donkeys (I guess) he was obviously curious about the smoke, the fire – the general drama of the situation. So, he cautiously checked it all out.
After this photo was taken Boo slowly walked down the hill towards the smoke but quickly became aware of its danger. He retreated to a safe distance but within viewing range, while the cows cowered in the the shed for the entire afternoon. And now I give you Boo the Brave Baby Donkey.