Burn Baby Burn

[Shuto]

There's a lot of things I like about Tulip Poplar trees. Their shape, their height, their quick growth. They're the tallest tree east of the Mississippi. They even secrete enough nectar to be a major source of a dark honey in certain parts of the US. But they have another characteristic that I can't stand. They drop a LOT of branches. I think it's due to the fact that their wood is so brittle. One can easily snap in half a live piece of wood as thick as ones's thumb. Why does this bother me? Well, I cut the grass on about 2.5 acres of semi wooded lawn and I must have over 2 dozen Tulip Poplar trees shedding branches that need to be picked up before I can cut the grass. In a normal spring I can easily fill up a full size pickup with neatly stacked wood from what fell over the winter. That's what I did last weekend and I'm almost done. I have a big stack of wood that I need to do something with.

I love to make fires. Every fall I can't wait to fire up our wood stove. It's usually not quite cold enough and we end up opening the door to let some cool air in but I continue to do the same thing year after year. I love to make fires.

Well, I haven't built a fire in around six weeks and I'm getting a real strong urge. It's around 60 degrees, calm, and clear skies. My guitar is in tune and I have a few cold-ones waiting to be opened and drank. It's campfire time at the Shuto estate.

 

[Sukerkin]

That's starting to sound like a place I'd quite like to be :tup:. Happy supping and fret-tickling .

 

[Carol]

Sounds wonderful, Shuto!

Save a stoop for me wouldja? I'll bring my 12 string.

 

[theletch1]

Well, I beat ya to the bonfire this year. When we moved in here there was a forsythia bush that had been left unattended for several years beside the house. It took a few days worth of work with the blade attachment on my weed eater to take it all down but when the pile was done it made one crazy fire. The best part about it was watching my oldest daughter dance around the lawn trying to get away from the sizable black snake that came crawling out of the bottom of the pile as we started to light it up. No harm to the snake, though. A quick grab behind the head and he/she was released into the woods. Now I have a spot about 20' x 20' to seed and care for to get it back into shape for some more managable flowers.

 

[Shuto]

I'll bring my 12 string.

Have you ever heard of a book titled Zen Guitar? My sensei recommeded it to me and I'm finding it very good reading. I'm not sure how much it will improve my guitar playing but I find it interesting because I can relate what he is saying about playing guitar to MA and other facets of my life.

One thing I learned from the book is that sensei, which is usually translated as teacher, can also be interpreted as "one who has gone before". I find that very cool since it goes against the old saying "Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach". I've never really believed that so I'm glad to hear another view.