We celebrated the fireflies this weekend at the farm with the third annual firefly festival! It was so much fun. We started on Saturday with the first guests and lots of party preparation, and partied on through Monday afternoon, with energy to spare. Having party hosting practice just makes each year better than the last. Even though the weather forecast promised nothing but storms and floods, the sun was shining, the breeze was constantly cooling, and our only brief shower was over before we even got wet. The kids didn't seem to mind that the swimming pool was frigid, either. Everyone brought delicious foods and beverages, and we kept the blender whirring mixing drinks.
After many rounds of corn hole, second helpings of burgers, chili dogs, and some of Joe's home grown brats, followed by a cup cake overload, we gazed at the millions of fireflies dancing in the fields, and then settled in for a true bonfire. Brandon and I tend to burn small fires inside our metal ring. Safe and cozy fires, with chairs pulled up close and we barely make a dent in our wood pile. Not this year. This year, we attempted to clean out the wood pile and had an exciting roaring blaze! The metal ring was completely covered in a blazing inferno of logs and old lumber. When a new log was added and the fire was stoked with a shovel, giant clouds of sparks would rise high into the sky flowing in twisting eddies of hot air.
In the wee hours, those of us who hadn't yet found our beds, backseats, or tents, were discussing the beauty of the hot coals, and someone said it was a shame we didn't have a pig to roast over the fire. Wait a minute - I have a pig! I have had, for some time now, a small pig in the freezer, given to us by our good neighbor. I wasn't sure what we would ever do with it, so we decided to try to cook it on the fire! Mom and I seasoned it with herbs and spices, and wrapped it foil. I wondered if anyone sleeping in the house would wake and hear the crackle of the foil at 2 am and wonder what I was up to.
Hot coals were dug from the fire ring, and the foil wrapped piggy was buried inside.
The next morning, I dug the foil package from the remains of the fire, and we all laughed to see that it was cooked to ashes! We cremated that poor pig, instead of cooking him. It was so burnt, even the dogs weren't interested in it. Now we know, that is not the best way to roast a pig!
Thank goodness we weren't relying on our barbecue skills for breakfast, right? Instead Jamie cooked a giant campfire breakfast scramble. Onions, peppers, and potatoes were cooked in coconut oil and then scrambled with three dozen home grown eggs!
Once the giant omelet was out of the frying pan, Jamie cooked up sausage patties and warmed some frozen blueberry pancakes, which were served with honey and butter. It was the fuel we needed for more time at the corn hole boards and dips in the frigid swimming pool. I'm already looking forward to the next party.
1 comment:
It was a great party!
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