The magic of a good firepit

When I was a kid, August was the month of magic. We could ride bikes until after dark. And stay up late enough to watch Bewitched. And eat things that had trans fats in them.

We could sleep out under the stars in old WWII sleeping bags that emitted the complex aroma of kerosene, mould and the body scents of a teenaged brother who took one shower a month whether he needed it or not.

We were allowed to use The Flashlight. This was a huge privilege. The flashlight was the size of a small cannon. You ONLY turned it on for emergencies (i.e. an unexplained noise in the bushes, an unexplained crawling sensation in your hair, or an unexplained smell in your sleeping bag).

Light the Good Light

There were seven magic words we'd wait all August to hear. Only Dad could speak those charmed words. And when he did, there was more jumping up and down than you'd see at a Masai wedding.

"I think we'll have a bonfire tonight."

I'd squeal at pitches only bats can hear as we dragged wood from the brush pile to the fire pit. We'd run in and out of the house seizing things roastable - marshmallows, hotdogs, a 15-pound turkey - until Mum uttered the familiar phrase, "Calm down, Maggie."

There is nothing like the sweet perfume of wood smoke on an August night, as meteors scratch the atmosphere with their zippy trails, and ghost stories challenge bladder control.

Here are some tips for building your own backyard firepit:

1. Push a peg into the ground where you want the center of your fire to be. Tie a piece of string to the peg. Tie a stick to the other end of the string and scribe a perfect circle on the ground. Pour flour or construction chalk on the circumference to mark the outline.
2. Remove the sod and dig the pit six to eight inches deep, keeping the sides as vertical as possible.
3. Scrape out the bottom of the pit. If you have clay-ish soil, spread gravel in the bottom of the pit (about 3 inches thick) to help with drainage. Otherwise your firepit will become a pond.
4. Add a three-inch layer of play sand. The sand cuts off oxygen to the ground underneath so you won't start a root fire in any old tree roots that happen to be under the firepit.
5. Put rocks around the outside of the ring to help stop sparks from blowing out of the pit. SAFETY ALERT: Do not choose rocks that have been in a river or lake within the last geological era. These rocks contain trapped moisture and will explode with muffled firecracker sounds and likely deliver shards into the tender flesh of surrounding firemongers.
6. Pick up a box of Qwick Wick all-natural fire starters at the hardware or grocery store. Qwick Wicks are cupcake-sized nuggets of paraffin and recycled pine shavings. They burn with a 10-inch flame for 30 minutes, enough to light a fire in a rainstorm. Made by handicapped adults in Parkhill, Ontario, these things are the best fire-related invention since marshmallows. (I order these in bulk - 1-888-885-8883)

Things not to do around fires, based on personal experience:

1. Never throw aerosol deodorant cans into the fire like the boys did on the Richmond Hill High School canoe trip of 1974, and we could hear the explosions all the way down the lake at the girls' campsite.
2. Never throw gunpowder into the fire like my brother-in-law, whose eyebrows and hair took three months to grow back.
3. Never pee on a fire to put it out. Ever wonder where acid rain originated? That steam is going into our atmosphere, which has enough problems without you adding a bunch of atomized uric acid to the mix.

If digging your own fire pit is too much trouble, or your backyard is the wrong size, you can order a handmade steel fire pit from Shining Sun Gardenworks on Vancouver Island (250-954-0359). Shirra Wall is a brilliant artisan welder, making these lovely, hand-cut fire pits from recycled propane tanks. You can see the flames through the cut-out designs - perfect for grilling or camping too. Priced from $65 - $85 with fast shipping, an artful fire pit can transform your autumn evenings into the stuff of childhood.