Day 283

Even after a truck and trailer full of metal scrap were removed from the barn, we still had plenty of cleanup to complete. Luckily, the majority of what needed to be removed was wood. Time to bust out our burn barrel.

This spring, I remember using online resale places to try and find a metal barrel I could transform into a burn barrel. People with more experience shared that every property of our size needed one. There would be plenty of farm treasures we would find and want to get rid of. What couldn’t be used or recycled could be buried or burned. 

After acquiring the barrel, we decided on placing it behind the barn on a location where it was close to where we had started piling up our treasures and still visible from the house. I drilled  a few small  holes into the side to help it take in air and protect itself from burning itself out. Then, it was time to burn. Over the summer, with all the renovation work, we had plenty of materials we felt could be salvaged. Others were dumpster worthy and others were ready to burn. After my kids created and played with their cardboard city made from boxes of new cabinets, we burned the boxes. After fixing and updating chicken coops and their outdoor yard, leftover wood was burned. We took a midsummer break to use all burnable items in our firepit for s’mores and beers but after clearing out some of the barn, I went back to the reliable burn barrel. After using some newspaper and/or cardboard  as an accelerator, I added some wood, set it ablaze, and added wood as necessary. It is somewhat satisfying to see piles of unusable and often rotten wood burn into ash. The snap, crackle, and pop and orange glow of the flames combined with the smoky smell wafting through the air is quite a sensory experience. Because much of the wood has old nails and screws, I use the magnet to capture any metal once the fire is out and cool. At this rate, I’ll need to call the metal scrap guy again and restart the entire process.