From High Heels to Gumboots     One Cow Pie at a Time
  • Home
  • Author Bio
  • Reviews
  • Buy It Here
  • I Am a Farm Wife
  • Gumboots Barbie
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Gumboot Tracks Blog

Pasture Pyrotechnics

4/12/2014

4 Comments

 

Equipment needed:

1 gas grill propane bottle (full) with hose and torch head attached 
1 plastic water tank (also full) with hose and nozzle attached, and battery to power the tank pump
1 Suzuki mini-truck
1 Pyrotech
Picture

Optional: 

1 very amateur photojournalist—Only photo available of this person is a pedi-selfie of her muddy feet. More on that later.

Also required:

Blessing from the county emergency dispatcher that wind conditions are calm and there is minimal risk of the fire rampaging out of control and torching the whole neighborhood. Unfortunately, early spring strong winds in northeast Kansas have caused flare-ups a day later that almost did just that!

Pasture Pyrotechnics 101

In my book chapter, “Pasture Pyrotechnics,” I stated the reason for burning pastures in spring: “Burning off a pasture in early spring is an effective means of grassland management for several reasons. Burning gets rid of dead grass and weeds left from the previous grazing season, releases nutrients into the ground that revitalize the pasture, helps break the crowns on native grass so they will spread out and kills ticks and parasitic worms. The result in a few weeks is a lush green pasture of nutritious, tender grass the cattle can’t wait to sink their teeth into.” 

Setting the Back Burn

Bill waited three weeks for perfect conditions to burn our native grass pasture: wind out of the southeast at about 10 to 15 mph and green grass in our pastures on the north and west of the burn area to keep the fire from spreading. Finally, on Friday it happened. He received the required blessing and assembled his equipment. I assembled my equipment: digital camera. Off we went to start and document the back burn along the north perimeter of the pasture.

Setting a back burn creates a burned out strip that stops the advancing fire for lack of fuel when it reaches this area. Otherwise, the fire could spread into our timber, which is very dry right now.
Picture
Picture
Even though the wind was mostly out of the southeast, at times it swirled from the north, widening the back burn area. This was an unexpected and welcome assist.
Picture
Picture

All Fired Up!

Once the back burn was set, Bill ignited the main event along the east and south fence lines. I positioned myself on the dam of a dried up pond—or so I thought. I saw the fire advancing from east to west and wanted to get a shot of the frontline flames. The quickest way to get in position was to cut across the pondbed. The surface appeared to be dried, cracked dirt, so I trotted down the dam, out onto the “cracked dirt” and sunk in up to my ankles! I struggled to lift one foot, then the other to get back to the bank and really dry ground.
Picture
Meanwhile, Bill drove along the south fence line, continuing the burn. The southeast breeze propelled the flames across the pasture.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
During the burn, Bill patrolled the pasture perimeter, dousing remaining flames to contain the burn. Our pastures to the north and west have green grass, but with dry conditions and low humidity even that will burn. The north pasture also has a stand of very dry timber mentioned earlier. To the east and south are more areas of timber owned by neighbors. Bill was particularly vigilant in making sure our fire didn't spread beyond those fence lines.
Get back, girls! We’re not having barbecued beef for supper! They really weren’t in any danger, just curious and always ready for any photo op.
Picture
Almost finished! Bill checks for hot spots.
Picture
Picture
Smoldering cow pie—Back in the early days when settlers crossed and settled the Great Plains, “buffalo chips” were used as fuel for cooking and heating. Wood was not plentiful on the open prairie.
Picture
There are some areas of dried grass left, but considering new grass had already started to grow, Bill is pleased with the burn. Depending on the weather and precipitation, we should be able to put cattle on this pasture in about three or four weeks.
Picture

Epilogue

The smoky (and muddy) clothes spent the night outside. The mud was hosed off the next morning—too tired to do it the night before—then everything was thrown into the washer in one load and hung on the clothesline to dry. Yes, the pink t-shirt got washed with the muddy shoes! We don’t get too picky about laundering farm clothes.
Picture
Picture
4 Comments
Tyler McMaster
4/15/2014 12:15:37 am

Nice pictures and description of the event. I feel like I was there. Glad to see Bill didn't burn a trailer this time!!

Reply
June Hilbert
4/15/2014 01:05:55 am

Thanks, Tyler! Did the smoke burn your eyes? Bill says "Ha, ha" about the trailer!

Reply
Doris Hurd
6/18/2014 09:18:15 am

I enjoy reading your stories. I have a comment about this one regarding "fuel from buffalo chips". My mother's younger years (1920-30's) were spent in Lea County, New Mexico and I have heard many stories of her gathering cow pies and making sure they weren't too fresh! ;-)

Reply
June Hilbert
6/18/2014 09:47:01 am

Doris, Thanks for your comment! A not-quite-dry-enough cow pie would probably burn about as well as wet wood, and smell a lot worse! There is a chapter called "Cow Pie Frisbee" in my book. One year, my husband attended the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on "Red Hat Ladies Society Day." One of the special activities for the ladies was a "Cow Chip Throwing" contest. Bill noticed one gal studying and poking at the selection of cow pies, so he asked her about her criteria for selecting one. She said to find one that has a slightly soft center and it will really sail! As we were taking our daily walk through the pasture that evening, he started poking cow pies. He selected one and requested that I throw it. So I threw it Frisbee-style. That gal was right—it really sailed! That's the short version of the chapter. I spiced it up with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor and used every non-vulgar term for "manure" I could think of. Examples: "missiles of manure", "disks of dung", "fecal Frisbees", etc. Thanks for reading and glad you enjoy my blog! June

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Categories

    All
    Around The Farm
    Calving 2014
    Calving 2015
    Calving 2016
    Calving 2017
    Cricket
    Fall Calving 2013
    Farm Fresh Filosophies
    Farm Fresh Haiku
    Fellow Farm Wife Blogs
    Fun Farm Stuff
    Hitting The Road
    I Am A Farm Wife
    Molly Bolt
    Nature On The Farm
    The Farm Hand
    Under The Cow Pie

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

Proudly powered by Weebly