Here they are, the puffin' things. Or at least as much of them as I could get into the frame.
Watch out below!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Fire, he bellowed!
It's very difficult to photograph bellows. Or a pair of bellows. It's not 'bellow' is it - use the bellow to get those embers glowing - but 'bellows'. They're an awkward shape. Not for bellowing, in which case they are perfectly designed to blow and puff. I have been until now blowing cheekily into my wood fire, whenever it faltered, and my family were growing increasingly concerned that I'd faint and fall head first into the flames and be disfigured, charred maybe, so they bought me a pair of bellows (or a bellow - still not sure). They're delightful. Brass, leather and wood, with delicate poker-work (appropriately enough) on the 'handles' wood mice and blackberries and brass dome-headed nails holding things together. They work beautifully and I can blow without pause and not feel at all light-headed. Watch out wet wood! Here I come. I try always to burn tinder-dry logs but occasionally a damp one goes on. I watch for salamanders but so far, nowt :-)
Here they are, the puffin' things. Or at least as much of them as I could get into the frame.
Watch out below!
Here they are, the puffin' things. Or at least as much of them as I could get into the frame.
Watch out below!
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8 comments:
The trick to blowing without getting light headed is to ensure you inhale more than you exhale thus saving some oxygen to keep head, heart and other bits functioning.
It's especially important when doing CPR.
Ahhhhhh!
That's the secret!
Can you do CPR with bellows?
In The Princes Bride, Miracle Max did!
Not sure about the effectiveness of bellows for CPR - maybe that was what made Max a miracle?
It was one of his skills.
Plus he had "I'm not a witch, I'm your wife" Valerie to contend with. And she him.
Burning wet wood? Isn't that a sackable offence as an Environment Southland councillor? I'm dispatching air pollution officers to Riverton, stat!
Yes it is Paddy, but don't fret, it doesn't burn ipso facto, I'm not burning wet wood. I learned (from an adroit lawyer) that phrasing and framing can make problems just go away.
There is something very satisfying about a fire that doesn't need to be blown on to get or keep going.
But using bellows to right a wrong is equally satisfying, Rg.
A word of warning - be careful not to let the bellows ingest a live coal/ember.
It can happen if you let the tip get too close to the embers at the in breath! And it most unlikely you will be aware it has happened until much later when the bellows burst forth in flame.
So your advice Fred: Don't inhale!
I'll remember that!
I too laud the fire-that-burns-unassisted but bellowing is a new experience for me and I'm getting a real blast from it.
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