Fern Burn 2008
Ferns, Fire, Food, Friends, Music and Apple pie


Today we collected the Dead Sea grass that had been growing and scattered throughout the grounds. The dead stalks of grass make for a nice winter landscape and their tallness helps to provide shelter from what few neighbors we have. But once a year it is time to cut down the grasses and get ready for the new spring growth, that will soon brightening up our now brown country side.

This gives us an opportunity to release the suns energy that has been built up in those grasses over the past year. Only when we burn the grasses or anything organic, that the energy is released 10,000 times as fast as it took to grow them. This created an amazing, extremely active fire and is our reason for the 2008 Fern Bern ceremony!
This year we built an enormous hay pile next to our fire circle in the center of the back of blue star. Many people were coming to the gathering bringing food and drink, but only a few would make it for the sunset lighting. John Ellis, myself, Sarah, Slow dog, Kathy, John, Matt and Doug all made it in time. Pete Duke our Australian friend was there for a short time, until the wi- fi lost it’s connection to the internet.

I believe it was Kathy that said, “The hay pile looks like a huge bean bag chair!” With that we all quickly piled on to the organic hay chair for the last few minutes of the sunset. It felt like all the tension was being pulled out of me through the sea grass, being pulled back into the earth completely relaxing me. Matt silenced my chattering and we soon, all seven of us fell silent in complete and total awe of the fiery star quickly dropping on our planets horizon.

Two minutes left to the sunset and our dear friends Bettie and Jim show up with their two young sons. The hill stood there for a brief moment completely caught in the moment. As Ellis emerged from the northern pines the sun set. We all rose up and I lit the fire. There proverbial/ceremonial ribbon had been cut. At that point some of us stayed by the fire while the rest rolled into the house to ready some food and drink. Ending the night we ate apple pie till we were full and played music until we were sleepy.


The Fern Burn was a success we all said goodbye. Until next Feb, when the Fern Burn returns, thank you to all who could make it. Here comes spring!