Fall Brush Pile Burning

We have been making burn piles of limbs from tree trimming, carpet pulled from the house, debris from the greenhouse, tearing down the old chicken house and the like all year.  We have been waiting for the wet weather of Fall to burn the piles so that we wouldn't inadvertently burn down our barn or house.   We have also been working on clearing the barn lot of miscellaneous stuff left from the previous owner and wanted to mow around the piles before we burned them.  It was a beautiful weekend, no wind and it had rained the day before - perfect time to set the brush piles ablaze.
This is one of our neighbors who came over to check on the farm when he saw the smoke from his farm.  We have the most wonderful neighbors in the country.  Everyone waves when they drive by and we happily wave back.  Sometimes they stop and chat for a few minutes before making their way home.  
We burned two brush piles the one in the photo above was mostly branches with dead leaves which made a quick blaze and the most wonderful crackling noises. 

Erin had requested that we wait to burn the brush piles when she would be home of Fall break. The girls had a ring side seat to watch the bonfire.  

Later that night we had our first fire of the season in our firepit.  The log benches worked out really well with cushions to sit on and our feet on the rock wall around the pit.  It was toasty warm.  

Then the coyotes began to howl - alot of them.  It was the first time Erin and Ryan had heard coyotes howl in the night.  It was a little creepy for them.....

and then the fog came creeping up the lawn and Ryan started talking about zombies and how the only way to get away from them would be to climb on top of the house due to zombies not being particularly agile.

The coyotes heard us laughing in the night in answer to their yips and howls.