this spring i learned prescribed burning of prairies. driving 2 hours due west of chicago from urban to suburban to faceless sprawl to rural monoculture of genetically engineered corn and soybeans. the large tracks of land punctuated by the hormel meat factory, the delmonte processing plant, the dupont lab, the monsanto research greenhouses and then suddenly the blackened earth of the nachusa grasslands - a 1000 acre site managed by the nature conservancy. one of the last remnants of original prairie in illinois. crazy beautiful.

how fast that red buffalo moves depends on wind direction and speed, humidity, days without rain, the type of grasses and forbs present... we wore baggy yellow parachute suits... some of us carried kerosene mixed with gasoline, others with rakes and sticks mounted with truck mudflaps to extinguish spot fires started by stray sparks. we worked the charred margins following the fire eating up the center until it disappeared and ate itself.

burn baby burn.