A "Harebrained" Idea

My mother would have said this was a “harebrained” idea.

Eucalyptus is one of my favorite fragrances. When I go to Milwaukee, I pick up bunches of eucalyptus at Trader Joe’s. Some I keep in a vase, and one branch acts as a natural air freshener in my car.

All good things must come to an end, however, or, in the case of eucalyptus, dry up.

How to Keep That Fragrance Going

I decided to burn some of the dried eucalyptus stems and leaves, to see how the fragrance would fill the room. You know, similar to the idea of Native Americans burning sage in their homes.

As I thought about it though, if I burned them inside my apartment they would set off the smoke alarm. Maybe even activate the sprinkler system. That would not do. I decided to settle for smelling the fragrance outside.

What could I burn the leaves in? I didn’t want to crack any pottery or create black smoke marks on good pans. Hmmm. Aha. I would burn them in a foil pie pan. Perfect.

Hmmm. If I burned them outside in a foil pan the ashes might blow around the neighborhood. What could I put on top of the pie pan? How about a cake cooling rack? I could light the leaves by putting a match through the rack.

What a Great Idea

Great idea. I gathered my materials and settled down on my patio. The pie plate held the leaves on top of my outdoor ottoman. The rack kept the plate from blowing away. After several tries, a match lit the leaves and they burned smokily. The fragrance wasn’t very compelling. Perhaps it was the wind.

Anyway, my experiment ended. I picked up the pie pan to take all the equipment indoors. It didn’t lift. It was stuck to the ottoman. Uh oh.

Is There a Problem?

I pulled harder. At last, it came away from the ottoman with a patch of nylon fabric attached. Whoops. I guess that pie pan got pretty hot and the ottoman fabric melted to the bottom.