Midnight burn
Well, not really. But a fun way to end the holidays. A few days back I got a last minute notice of a clandestine, late night bonfire on the beach comprised of a collection of Christmas trees set to be collected by the city the following morning. The dried trees were promised to go up in a flash. It seemed too fun not to witness, so we made an extra effort not to fall asleep on the sofa after having attended happy hour earlier in the evening and headed out to the water. When we arrived we were the only ones there, despite showing up ten minutes later than the announced burn time. We gave it a few minutes though, and just as we were about to pack it up spotted a line of people emerging like mice from the shadows, each with a tree in tow. Scurrying through the dark they dragged the trees out across the sand and beyond the berm, piling them out of site of anyone not already out on the beach and just feet from the water’s reach. Beneath the full moon, someone reached in with a lighter, igniting the needles of one of the trees. Within seconds the entire pile was ablaze, shooting sparks 20 feet into the sky as a group of 15 or so gathered around. As promised, the pile burned quickly and brightly and in a matter of minutes had nearly exhausted its fuel supply. By the morning the waves would wash away the ashes. It was a beautiful moment shared by only a few and was definitely worth waiting up for. Content, tired and smelling of campfire we decided to make the short trek home, stopping along the way to photograph our dancing shadows as they reached out to meet the surf. A fun way to officially end the holiday season. (More photos after the jump).
