The Fire Ring

The Fire Ring

It was on a walk that I came across the fire ring. Long since abandoned and left by some travelers to this area. A small stack of dried wood in one pile and alongside a smaller pile of wood pieces used to get the fire going. It looked incredibly peaceful, a monument to a time where people had gathered under the stars either in solitude or in the company of others. I imagined the evening, the time of coming together and the circumstances.

I walk back to camp which is a good distance from the ocean this year as we wanted to enjoy the feel of the high desert and arroyo. We are perched on a small vista and our view is wonderfully panoramic. The sounds of the ocean are not the dominant force up here but are more the secondary melody of music.  They are the backdrop to the sounds of high desert life. On this vista, voices carry from places undetermined. The sounds of quail, osprey, frigates birds and coyote are mixed in with the wind and sea. It isn’t as damp as being camped right beside the sea. Another plus is the mouse population seems a bit tamer as well.

I fancied in my mind my fire ring and thus this day, since the surf was small, I decided to spend my morning designing my fire ring and collecting wood of various sizes to adorn and use in the evenings. I had no idea what a peaceful experience this would be. Since we are in the desert there are multitudinous boulders ranging in size from pebble-like to boulder size. The colors are many, varying in reds, to purples to slate to brown and black. I chose to create a multi-colored ring showcasing the various rock colors of the desert vista with some choice sea gems sprinkled about it. When I was satisfied with the ring my sweet mate had created a rope sling for me to carry the wood in. I had foraged this rope the day before when we were fishing. I had no idea of its use to me when I dragged it back home to camp but have found that many times the discovery of items or offerings from the sea has proven to be very useful.

I made several trips from the sea to camp. One plastic bag held the smaller chips of wood and the rope sling the larger. I balanced this on either side of the bike I rode. It was the gathering of the wood that was the sweetest, most delicious experience. The absolute simplicity of choosing the wood and using it for something was so satisfying. Just the using of what is around you to create something, like an evening fire is hard to convey in words, at least for me at this point in my self-expression.  I found myself thinking over what I read that morning in Scripture or singing songs of devotion to God. I thought of the people I love and the ones who strongly influenced my life. How God has gathered them up to me to keep my spirit in Him strong. How in this simple act of gathering wood for a fire could my faith grow? I don’t know, maybe because my mind wasn’t filled with all the trappings of a world gone awry. Removed for an hour from the spiraling funnel of a world oblivious to its connection to a Creator.

With the ring completed, the wood gathered I wait for the time when the sun is drawn into the sea. Oh, the sweetness of the evening fire is yet another story to be told one day, perhaps…