"Bonfire at our place tomorrow night
if you guys feel like coming out!

That's usually how they start and it's now the season for them. There is a long tradition of humanity gathering around the fire for as long as there has been fire. You will notice I said "fire" this time and not "campfire" or "bonfire." The internet tells me there is a difference, that campfires are contained and they're for cooking and warmth when you're camping; bonfires are for celebrations, burning trash or as a signal, and they're not contained. Seriously? The line between them is blurrier than that. The fire exists for the reason you need a fire.

We made hamburgers on the nearby barbecue as the bonfire was heating up. There was a little bit of brush to burn too as that's how rural people frequently dispose of their Christmas tree, and of course we now have ash trees dying from the ash borer. There could very well be more bonfires than normal just to get rid of all that good ash hardwood. You want to start the fire with some kindling and work up to the hardwood. It's what lasts. When the fire isn't flaring up so much and you're done eating, the guitars come out. Sometimes other instruments too, but there were two guitars last night and they were being passed around.

We played none of those old campfire songs, choosing instead to play the sort of music we usually jam to but with only two acoustic guitars. Sometimes it was instrumental only, sometimes there was one singer, sometimes two in harmony, and occasionally the whole group of us sang. It was a very lazy evening, just over a dozen of us and a couple of dogs.

As night fell, Venus appeared in the sky first, quickly followed by all the stars of the milky way. Living in a city, you forget how bright the night sky really is and you forget that rural dwellers can have a bonfire every night as long as they have wood to burn. It's a luxury. You also forget other things, like mosquitos - a fire usually keeps them away. There aren't many out yet but there were a few and our hosts had insect repellent available.

As it got later, the people with small children left first. The rest of us lingered and chatted. Sometimes it was quiet and then the guitar playing started again. In the photo below you see the shadows of the diehards still singing and playing as the fire slowly died down.

References

The Difference Between a Campfire and a Bonfire.
Bonfire - Wikipedia
Campfire - Wikipedia

Images

From the iPhone of @kansuze's Sherpa.

@kansuze