Molly and I love our home and its location directly across the street from Amity Creek. When the windows are open we are able to hear the spring runoff rapids and “The Deeps” waterfall. We firmly believe in being good shepherds of the environment. Our yard is a combination of forest trees and tall grasses / wildflowers. We want to be welcome spot for the nature.

A healthy grass yard requires periodic burns, but this is something one should never conduct oneself. Given our location at the northern edge of Duluth, this past Tuesday we worked with the Duluth Fire Department (Fire Marshall: Captain Lisa Consie) and Prairie Restorations. Fire Marshall Consie insured our burn was conducted both professionally and safely. Prairie Restorations has a strong history of managing these kinds of burns and grass habitats … even for many Minnesota State Parks. Enough talk (actually writing) from me. Here are images I took during the burn (directly below the two videos). You will see Fire Marshall Consie in one of the photographs taking an active role in managing our burn. In addition note how men with automatic water pumps follow the men conducting the burns everywhere.  The water pumps were hooked up by long hoses to a water tank / reservoir back in a truck. (video links for email subscribers: Burn Vid 1 | Burn Vid 2). Folks should not be fearful of fire. If used and managed wisely it is a great tool for the environment.