Scary moment today…

So there I was getting ready to head off to pick the boys up from their first day of school today when I get a call on my cell that instantly raised the hair on the back of my neck.

“There’s a fire out here in the pasture off of the Arena!”

There was indeed. A confluence of conditions (I’m painfully avoiding referencing Sebastian Junger’s superb but WAY over cliched book title) led to a freak brush fire along the perimeter fence which while mostly a woven no-climb fence, does have one lower outside external line which is electrified. Three-plus weeks of super dry conditions and a nice breeze plus Mr. Sparky on an overgrown weed equaled perhaps 60 square feet of burnt pasture before it was contained. It scared the living you-know-what out of us!

Our deepest gratitude to Cefie, who works for us, for seeing the smoke from down the hill and charging out there with a shovel and a will to fight the spreading fire. Thanks also to the brave folks of the Ascutney Volunteer Fire Department for their quick response. Funnily enough (more now than then) the fire was ultimately put to bed by running out with buckets of water before enough hose could be found to reach it. Needless to say the fences are off for now until we get some rain. Here’s hoping all those wild turkeys that have been about can keep the coyotes entertained for a week or two…