Nightfall on an Ozark River
Dusk finally fades into darkness. Night has fallen on the river and on all of its inhabitants. And tonight, that includes a couple of visitors.
They come well equipped to light up the darkness and celebrate the night.
The kindling is kind as it sparks to flame; the roar of fire is soon a sweet choir
That sings from a ritual of wonder, warmth and light
The bustling sounds of the blaze, the vision of dancing flames
Sparks an ancestral memory that whispers through the ages
Gather around the fire, bring a song and a story
there’s comfort in this light beneath the night
Log on, log in. Let festive times begin…
some kind of campfire dance?
I’m bustin’ another branch that sort of resembles a dance. And pretty soon, we’ll be throwing on the larger pieces of wood. There’s something deeply gratifying about tending to the fire and building it to something bigger than a fireplace; but we’re not doing any bonfires* here.
*(bonfire: believed to be derived from a Celtic custom of burning the bones of the cattle that were slaughtered at Samhain, a Gaelic Harvest Festival)
Though I do recall a story from our “shuttle man” about a time in December when he torched a gigantic root wad(from a fallen tree)right on the river. He grinned from ear to ear when he described the big blaze of that bonfire beauty. I found myself grinning too(self-confessed pyro since the age of 3)as I pondered that kind of spectacle on the river. I’ll bet the critters on the river and in the woods were talking for weeks.
So our fire is nicely stoked and we’re settling into lounge mode. It’s not much later when we break open a fresh bag of salted peanuts in the shell. Once you start on these, it’s hard to stop and we keep the cooler close.
Peanut shells are still flyin’ as we start reciting the events of an adventurous day on the river: an unexpected and close encounter with wildlife; the discovery of a new spring; or reeling in the biggest** fish of the year.
Sharing these narratives around the campfire infuses more meaning and sometimes mythologizes* the experience in still more meaningful ways(*anything that helps me explain the natural world and my place in it).
So gather around the fire,
this mystical force of nature conjures up its own stories and calls us to do the same.
Peace on the River
**(A digital camera keeps that aspect of the story real; but it can never connote or explain the drama 🙂 )
