Right in my own back yard

Evidently I haven't had enough excitement lately, so yesterday my husband decides to start a burn pile in the backyard on a dry, windy day.

The excitement begins.

At about noon, the back door flies open and he yells for Nathan to bring buckets. We look out of a window and see the back corner of the yard on fire. Our back yard is very large, nearly an acre, with a hurricane fence that borders it from the three acres of wooded area we own behind it and our next door neighbor's yard.

My mom, brother, and cousin are still here. We all race outside to carry water from the pool to the fire, which is a good 30 yards away.

I repeatedly suggest that we call the fire department, and repeatedly get told not to. But that's another story for another day.

We get the fire out. The chair that was in the burn pile is still crackling, but I'm treated as though I'm being naive for thinking it could rekindle. (See above note - another story for another day.)

Two hours later, I hear the back door fly open again. This time the fire is almost up to the outer building in our yard we call the "pole barn," and has spread into the back woods and our neighbor's yard. There are already two firefighters in the yard, one I knew, the other I didn't, and I have no idea how they got there. The trucks could not make it into our backyard because the ground was so marshy.

Nathan jumped the back fence and started fighting fire back there with a rake, I grabbed another rake and started helping the two firefighters closer to the house. We had brooms, shovels, rakes, anything to keep it from spreading toward the houses.

Momma T's husband Paul - the Tarkington Volunteer Fire Department's chief -was already there but I didn't see him until later. I think he's the one who saw the smoke intially when he was driving by and called it in, but I still don't know for sure.

I called Tina and she was there in minutes, jumping the fence and helping me so the other firefighters could go elsewhere. It was a family affair. There is no greater bonding experience than beating the crap out of a smoldering tree limb that won't get dislodged from a barbed wire fence. We took turns pretending it was the men in our lives, and finally got it out.

Thank you, Tina and Paul.

Three fire departments ended up paying a visit to my house yesterday, and the Texas Forestry Service. I was the object of lots of mirth, seeing as how most of the guys knew me from my news reporting days covering fire scenes. Oh they had great fun with it. And they didn't let me get away with giving the forestry guy - who didn't know me - the name of Rita Hayworth for the fire report.

The best part was having wine with Tina afterwards. And I apologize for any of you who fell victim to the resulting drink-and-dials.

Also, Nathan is now seriously giving thought to becoming a firefighter. More than one of the guys yesterday said he made a hell of a stop on the fire where he was, and they all want him to join their departments. He needs 15 college credit hours to get in the Marines, so he's thinking about fire school to help him get there. Sorry Cleveland VFD - he's pledged his loyalty to Tarkington.