Weeds are a constant consideration on the farm. A convenient method for weed abatement is the torch. Burning weeds with a propane torch is a convenient way to address all those hundreds of little plants that would take hours to pull out by hand.
This is one of those differentiated tasks for weed control that is done on a commercial scale, but not so often on a personal garden scale. The machine used to torch the weeds is a multi-burner cart-like torch that can be used to burn everything in a single pass because it has multiple burners.
The first time I used it, I assumed that there would be a trail of ash behind me as I pushed the cart along. That is not actually how it works. Simply touching the plants with the intense heat of the torch causes the cell structure of the plants to be compromised and then they began to wilt and die. The effects are fairly quick but not as immediate as a trail of ash behind the cart.
Of course, there are several life lessons that this activity could teach me. I think the one that stands out to me is the reminder that there is a necessity to clearing the path, and sometimes it is best done with fire.
Frequently fire is used as metaphor in my life’s story, which makes sense for a person with both arms covered in flame tattoos. I can look back to times when I burned bridges and permanently ended relationships and opportunities. I also could look to the analogy of burning the boats as a way I have set my commitment to plans by eliminating my opportunity to back out.
However, this farm task has sparked a new thought. There is an intensity in me that burns hot and radiates to those around me. In an intentional way, I can commit my intensity toward my goals and allow it to clear the path. Not by burning up obstacles, but by simply allowing them to wilt away as I keep moving forward.
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