Spytkowice Ognisko
ognisko
Conestee and Ognisko
This afternoon, we went to our favorite park -- the first time since Helene. We knew a lot of the trails would be closed: those winding through the forest would have trees blocking the way, and those along the coast of the small lake were boardwalks and would likely be destroyed.
Most of the unpaved trails were closed; not all were. Most of the boardwalks were washed out; not all were.
In the evening, a party -- the best parties are often the unplanned parties.
"We're having our first ognisko tonight. You should come."
"Okay -- we'll bring dessert."
The evening flows, a bottle of vodka appears, the evening continues, the bottle is empty. A Sunday-night party that ends just a little later than it should.
Ognisko, Fall 2022
Family Ognisko
One of the things that must happen during a trip to Polska (from the point of view of our children anyway) is an ognisko in Spytkowice. We tried three times this visit -- three weekends -- and got rained out each time.
It looked like this time we'd get rained out as well, so we did the simple and obvious thing: moved the ognisko to Jablonka, where there's a covered gazebo. Problem solved. Ognisko complete.
American/Polish Ognisko
Two Days in a Row
It’s gradually cooling off, which means we might be spending more time around our fire pit.
We cooked dinner over it two nights in a row now, and I’m already thinking about what to cook next weekend.
American Ognisko
Bonfire in Spytkowice
Ognisko
Spring in the South. Morning temperatures in the low fifties. Afternoon temperatures twenty to twenty-five degrees warmer. In other words, spring in the South is summer in Poland. And summer in Poland means one thing: bonfires.
A home in the South with an enormous tree requires one thing: a tire swing.
Cooking over Fire
Except for organized, group events, I don't remember really having any kind of bonfire growing up. It just wasn't something we did. Part of it was likely where I grew up, for certainly kids who grew up in the country must have had bonfires. But for those of us who grew up in developments planned right down to the arrangement of identical-floor-plan houses, it probably never happened. At least it never happened in my universe.
For K, on the other hand, growing up in Poland, they were like baseball games or tailgating in the south: just something one did. Go for a walk in any of the woods that surround K's home village and you'll eventually find a spot where some group or other threw some rocks in a circle and lit a fire. And many houses have a fire pit somewhere on the property.
Since Nana and Papa gave us a fire ring that someone gave them -- it's Christmas all year round in our backyard -- we've been having bonfires fairly reguarly as the weather permits, which means generally spring and fall. Open fires in 90 degree heat and pea-soup humidity are not very pleasant, but now that things have cooled down and the humidity has dropped to normal level, we try to have a little fire every now and then. The kids adore it, and we find it's an almost magical family time. But there was always something missing: food. We roasted weenies on sticks sometimes and made s'mores every now and then, but that's nothing compared to the feasts Poles prepare on their bonfires. This week, though, we bought a cheap kit to suspend a grill over the flames, and tonight, it was like being back in Lipnica again.