3 years ago my brother had a brilliant idea, literally. We dug a 1 foot deep, 3 foot in diameter hole in the backyard for our fire pit. We surrounded it with limestone rocks and some chairs. During the fall and winter months we sit out there and have a fire and a few beers. It's great kicking back taking off your shoes and letting the fire warm you.
I remember a while back there was some controversy in one thread, and someone said you shouldn't have a fire in the city. Well, I disagree. We have a huge mound of dirt, shovels and the water hose nearby incase anything happens. We also never leave it unattended or have a fire when there is a burning ban going on for Travis County or when it's windy. We also let all the flame burn out before leaving it to go to bed, and we place large pieces of limestone rocks on top of the coals to smother it.
Onto the pics...