On Firewood...

The new house we have has a perfectly quaint wood burning fire place. It is about 35 inches wide by 33 inches tall and has an earthy, greenish brown tiled surround. The tiles are about 4 inches square and looked to be hand cut and glazed. Centered above the firebox are three griffin heads, with two above and one below forming a triangle on a large center tile. They add a very distinctive look and I find myself staring at those giffins quite frequently. The fire grate fits the firebox quite nicely, and the back of the grate is taller than the front. This extra height is adorned with a sun motif, similar to many I have seen above doorways or windows on homes close to the water. Actually, a house down the street, not close to water at all, has a sun above their entrance, so what do I know?

I have built maybe 10 fires in the fireplace thus far, mostly with wood that was already stacked in the back yard. I believe it is wood from a large cottonwood tree that was removed from the back yard a few years ago. The large hole from the stump is still visible just off our patio. The wood seems to be seasoned well, and after splitting, it has burned well. The fires are fairly hot and the wood does not create much popping or cracking. However, I am about out of the cottonwood so I am searching for a new source and recently bought some pine from a local "earthcycling" business. I was planning to go with my neighbor and cut some beetle kill pine, but we just haven't made it yet and I am not sure we will. I will cut some wood soon, but in the meantime you use what you can. Now, this pine I purchased was already split, but it did not seem very seasoned to me. Sure enough, it has not been the best burning wood thus far. It pops and hisses, reminding me of a cat at a fourth of july fireworks display. Every time you are starting to relax and close your eyes, CRACK, BIFF, POW, like the old Batman tv shows. I have come up with a bit of a solution. I use a piece or two of my remaining cottonwood to get some good coals and then throw on a piece or two of pine. This seems to be working and keeps the pine from slowly burning out.

This whole experience really got me thinking about firewood. A hundred years ago I would bet that every man, woman and child had an opinion on what kind of wood to burn for different purposes. They knew the merits of each species, from quick lighting, to steady heating, to good, low burning for cooking. In fact, I bet every person could build a respectable fire and keep it going throughout the evening. Probably also knew how to properly stoke a fire so there would be embers for relighting the next morning.

I grew up burning wood for heat in the winter, but we did have an oil furnace for backup to keep the pipes from freezing. There were numerous occasions though when the furnace pilot light went out and we had to rely on that old wood stove to keep us warm throughout the night until Mr. Price could come and relight the furnace. I also remember sleeping by the wood stove on really cold nights because our upstairs would be too cold for comfort. It was fun to drag out a mattress and throw it on the floor by the fire. We would pile the stove up with slabs of white oak and shut the stove vents down so it would burn low and slow all through the night.

It is hard to get oak out here in Colorado unless you want to pay an arm and a leg. Plus, buying local wood is the right thing to do, especially when we have millions of acres of beetle kill pine. It just means I will have to hone my fire management skills just like the old timers. I am sure I will come up with the right combination and method for keeping a good pine fire burning.

Woodburners have a special place in my heart, and if you spend some time in front of one, you will never look at a gas fireplace again without lust in your heart for a wood fire. Heck, a wood fire is the reason the fire truck came to my sixth birthday party, but that is another story....

Coffee...

Coffee is one of those beverages that no little kid seems to like, or at least it used to be that way. When I was little, I did not have a single friend that even thought about drinking coffee. Coffee was bad stuff. But now, I see little people toddling up to Starbucks and sucking down a double venti machiatto crapbucket all the time. I just don't get it. But I also did not know a single kid that was allergic to gluten.

I digress though. Coffee is a fantastic beverage. It wakes you up, keeps you focused and provides the occassional stomach ulcer. Much like beer, there really is a wide discrepancy in flavor and quality and you sometimes get what you pay for. Some brands are hyped a little high, while other great ones seem really happy to stay right below the radar. I don't really know the ins and outs of coffee roasting and how important the whole process is, but I bet someone who really knows there craft is the difference between good and great. My current favorite coffee is the Bean Cycle Blend by Bean Cycle Coffee here in Fort Collins. I like a strong coffee and this fits the bill. The coffee is great, but I also like their packaging, the fact they are big into bikes, and I can buy the coffee at Beavers Market just around the corner. It costs me $4.95 for 1/2lb and that seems pretty fair.

Job Hunting

What a mix of anxiety and frustration. I sit searching the internet job sites every day for possible jobs only to feel like I have wasted time with nothing to show for it. You would think that two Masters degrees, one in Ecology and a second in Business Administration would make me a pretty marketable commodity. Well, no such luck. I think I am doing something wrong. Maybe I am being a little picky about jobs, but I really am at a point in life where I want to be doing something I feel good about and not just pushing a pencil in middle management.

Thanks for letting me vent. Now, if you know of anyone who needs a highly skilled, very creative and energetic employee to build and grow a company let me know.

Happy Monday!