Indulged in one of my all-time greatest pleasures today. No, not sex, (overrated in my opinion) This is far, far, better.
The Powers that Be have allowed us to have backyard bonfires for the month of April. This has not happened for several years, because of concerns about air pollution and safety. But this year for some unknown reason its OK.
I cleaned the garage out on Saturday, and found a lot of very dry offcuts, rosemary bush trimmings, lavender, etc. that have been waiting for an opportunity to go up in flames. So I dragged out the brazier and had a wonderful morning pottering around supervising the fire. Having a bonfire is an atavistic pleasure; it brings back memories of my childhood, when people had large gardens and a forty-gallon drum down the back for burning garden waste. Dad and I spent many happy hours throwing stuff into the drum, and I would always try to roast potatoes on it overnight. They usually burned, or got lost in the ashes. I tried it again today, though, with a better fire and more ash, and success! Yummy, smoky, baked potatoes for afternoon tea, with Lapsang Souchong tea to continue the smoky theme.
Then I covered the ashes with earth to make sure they were out. I prefer this to dousing with water, because I can use the potash enriched earth next year for my tomatoes, and adding water to ashes just makes a mess.
Mum's birthday today, the first one without her. Beautiful weather, better than summer, she would have loved it.
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