Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Simple Backyard Fire Pit and Sunset Watching Zone
Post Hurricane Ian, we had some massive but gorgeous screw pines that were completely devastated. I always wondered if we should remove them, as they prevented us and our neighbors from seeing some gorgeous Sanibel Island sunsets from our backyard. After the storm, we learned how helpful the screw pines were in actually saving our parts of our house and pool cage from literally blowing away. I am now sad to see the pines sadly destroyed, but their departure left a nice little backyard fire pit sunset watching zone. Read on to learn what we added to create this new outdoor living space.
Our new Sanibel backyard view
While we still wait for our insurance and lawyer team to battle out what we are owed to repair our damages, (it’s currently been 9 months since the storm) we can’t touch much of it. So, we are looking for little DIY’s to make our property look a little better. We were given permission by our lawyer team to make our landscaping look better (check out our new tropical landscaping by clicking here), and finally fix the giant crack in our office (see our office renovation by clicking here), and do a few other things until we have our final inspection soon.
Part of the fallen screw pine held down our pool cage during the storm
We never thought an insurance company would see a house with an entire side of siding swept away by the hurricane winds as well as giant water bubbles inside the house due to our roof caps being demolished like ours and think it needs 3 separate professional inspections and opinions, spread out over 9 months, before settling. It’s insane behavior and we now hope anyone reading this understands that home owners insurance may not always be the best option, especially if you live in a coastal or very severe weather zone. That’s a story for another day.
See some of our favorite outdoor camping and beach gear in our quick YouTube video below!
Our backyard fire pit zone
Until our insurance settlement starts to move towards finalization, we cut the screw pines back as much as possible, leaving some of the branches that were still alive. This gave us a big space between two of the pines that is large and open and overlooks our Sanibel Island nature preserve that backs up to our house. We are thankful this space is natural, though it used to be much lusher. It now resembles an African tundra when it used to look like a tropical jungle. My mom always joked that it looked like a scene from Jurassic Park, as many alligators and other lizards do tread in the waters in the area.
You can see the brown grasses in our backyard
It all basically turned brown when Sanibel flooded on September 28th, 2022. Hurricane Ian washed a mixture of salt and fresh water to almost every single inch of Sanibel, killing many of the green lush landscaping that was present all over the island. Despite its new look, it is still quite beautiful.
I wrote an article about the best places to watch the Sanibel sunsets (click here to read it), and while the list is mostly made up of the public areas to watch the sunsets, this area still remains one of my favorite locations on the island. It’s part of the reason why we loved the property and purchased it in 2020.
When we returned home in January 2023 after a 4-month evacuation period (read about our Hurricane Ian evacuation by clicking here), and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned all the mud and muck away from our property, I stood between the former screw pines and knew a fire pit and chairs were needed. We have a little sandy beach where not a lot of plant life will grow, so I knew it was the right area. My husband agreed and liked the idea of making it a place to sit and watch the sunset.
The Thermacell bug repeller
We went to a local hardware store and purchased a simple firepit and Duraflame logs. I also gathered some pinecones from a recent vacation to use as firestarters. We also got some inexpensive TIKI torches and some adirondak chairs that were on sale. The bugs are terrible this time of year, so we purchased the TIKI Clean Burn BiteFighter liquid for the torches, which definitely help.
I love the clouds reflecting off the water
Our neighbor told us about how much they loved the Thermacell Patio Shield Mosquite Repeller, so we got one too. Despite it’s not great reviews, it’s actually very effective. I think the negative reviews are mostly because it’s expensive, which it is, but it works. I’ll pay anything to not get eaten by all the no-seeums!
We placed the TIKI torches in a circle around our chairs and firepit and within minutes, our backyard firepit and sunset watching zone was complete. Between our favorite deet free bug spray, the torches and the Thermacell, we are able to stay by the firepit for a little while, but the summer heat does get pretty intense, even at night. When this happens, we just get the torches going and do not use the firepit. We look forward to using it more when it cools off.
See the fire pit and sunset watching zone in action in our quick video tutorial via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden or below!
We do not use the fire pit when there is a NO BURN rule in effect, which happens occasionally when it’s not rained in a long time in our area. I encourage you to be aware of fire safety rules and your local laws when it comes to building fire pits and outdoor burning. Overall, it’s a nice and peaceful backyard fire pit and sunset watching zone and I’d put one at any house we will own in the future. It’s nice to sit and talk sometimes while watching nature do its beautiful thing.
If you love this article, we know you’ll love this one too: Fun Camping and Beach Gear
Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.