Cowboy Coffee: A Divine Lifetime Indulgence

Although at times I don't believe it myself, there can be more to life than just carving a nice woodspirit walking stick or making a just right slide-top box in the woodshop. Sometimes life just needs to be an indulgence in pleasure  and that's what I mean when it comes to brewing the perfect pot of coffee. Recent studies even show that java is good for your health if you don't have chronic heart disease.

Just recently I purchased my first French coffee press and once again I've discovered the joys of chasing the perfect, yet elusive cup of good tasting coffee. As you can see in the pictures to the right from my 1979 Alabama log cabin it was a daily ritual for me to relax beside the fire pit and enjoy a fine cup of cowboy coffee made in an open pot right over the fire. The coffee made over open flames with my dog licking my face was always the "perfect" cup and I'll explain why as I go along...

And I'll tell you my method for making it but first I have to give you a little background about how my love affair with "real" coffee came to be. To do that I'll have to take you back to the 1960's and Grandma Brock. Whenever  we visited her there was always a pot on the stove or else she would make one. I always thought that her coffee was special because it just tasted rich and with full bean flavor. She made it in a peculator on the stove so it wasn't sifted through a paper filter which is what's wrong with most of today's coffee. The rich flavor found in the coffee beans natural oils are filtered out so the "body" of the brew is lost and that's the sad story about modern coffee.

As I came of age in the 1970's it wasn't long before my indulgence with coffee matured into what has become a life long obsession. In 1979 I went to work for an Alaskan  outfitter in the Chugach mountains where I was first introduced to real cowboy coffee.

One thing that I learned is that Alaskan's are tough people and if you want to learn how to make the best coffee possible then find people who work for a living in the Great Outdoors. For about two months of the season, we were up at 4:00 a.m. feeding and saddling horses, then up into the high country we'd go. We usually didn't get to bed before midnight so when you work like this, having good coffee isn't an option and Alaskan's do know how to make perfect coffee. Therefore I soon discovered that the best coffee is found not in the office, but 20 miles into the wilderness so I am fortunate for this experience.

The first two pictures to the left is the log cabin that served as our base camp and that is where I lived for about one year combining the 1979-80 season. And yes that is a pot of cowboy coffee on the stove after a long days work.

The picture directly to the left is about 5 more hours on horseback to what we called Glacier Camp and this is the exact spot where I learned about coffee that will make you clear your throat and leave hair growing on your chest, so ladies please beware! I had already learned about making cowboy coffee by the time I first arrived at Glacier Camp but this was a unique experience, to say the least!

At Glacier Camp there was a shortage of fresh water nearby so we had to use the river water coming directly out of the nearby glacier for making our coffee. The problem with that was that this water had a gray color due to all the silt from the glaciers underground erosion machine. We had to use this water or either take a layover day for hauling fresh water from a mile away so the choice was easy for us when time was short... learn to enjoy a cup of coffee with a "crunch". That was the wildest coffee I've ever had but it seemed to make us as tough and wild as the grizzly bears roaming the bush around us.

Imitation cowboy coffee can be made right over the stove at home but that's not the method I'm describing here. Real cowboy coffee is made preferably right over the flames of an open fire but a wood stove works good too. Ideally I like using a one quart spouted pot with/handle but a regular cooking pot with/lid and wire handle will work. Just fill the pot with water up to the desired level and at least a couple inches under the rim. I then pour in my desired "hefty" amount of coffee grounds, then place on the flames of the fire without the lid until it begins to boil. Set the coffee on just enough flame to allow brewing with a very subtle roll for just a few seconds then take it off the direct flame and let it sit for about 5 minutes with the lid on.

Now the fun part: With the lid securely on the pot take the wire handle and sling it around in a circular motion 10 times with a firm grip. This will finalize the brewing but mainly it settles the coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot by centrifugal force. Beware that you should first practice this method of "slinging" coffee first by using cold water because the coffee water is boiling hot and WILL cause serious injury if slung on you or a bystander. Make sure that the area is completely open and clear of other people and obstacles such as trees and bushes. Coffee can then be poured directly into a thermos or a cup but pour gently so that only just a few "complimentary" grounds get into your cup. Now that's real coffee!

Take a look at the video below for a quick example of how to sling your pot. Notice that he is standing far away from other people in an open area and actually slinging the pot over the river bank. Also notice how he uses very good "technique" in gradually stopping the pot and not so quickly that the grounds would mingle back into the brewed coffee. This guy does it exactly like I do it and he even has my 10-swing count down to a "T".

Then came the 1980's when I went to work as a counselor/teacher in a wilderness camp working with at-risk kids, and where I still work today as an educator. Part of our education program includes an adventure aspect where students experience a 2-4 week canoe trip so this is where my cowboy coffee brewing skills were further refined. I estimate that after 30 years I've accumulated about 8,000 paddling miles and more than 2,000 miles on Florida's Suwannee river alone. That's certainly a lot of coffee-making miles where I honed my brewing skills to a fine art. It was a regular competition among counselors to compete for the best cowboy pot so I've sure had my fun.

Coffee is something to look forward to after a long day on the trail and it's a wilderness luxury like none other. For some reason coffee tastes a lot better when out on the trail and for that I can only explain that it must be the chemistry of good company combined with the wilderness and a warm campfire that makes coffee so good while "on the trail". If you haven't had real cowboy coffee then in my opinion you haven't yet lived, so find some friends, grab a canoe, then make a pot and I bet that you will agree.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow,.. Let It Snow!

Seems like I was just here talking about the big snow of 2009.  Looks like it's a double header this winter since the North Carolina mountains got hit with another blizzard yesterday, leaving behind anywhere from 10" to 14" in our area depending on where the measurement was taken. I attempted to build another snowman but this snow was more dry-like and "powdery" so I couldn't get it to stick together. Looks like a walk in the woods was my only other option so I grabbed a few emergency survival items, put on a pair of good snow boots, then took off to the woods for a climb up the mountain behind my house.

I shot this first video just as I reached the summit of the mountain.



The second video is my favorite and it's a good example of stumbling upon the unexpected while hiking in the woods. I had broken away from the beaten trail heading straight down the mountain on one of my favorite ridges when suddenly this pileated woodpecker swooped down out of nowhere screaming his bloody-murder yell. For a minute I thought that he was going to attack me like something out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" but he just wanted me to leave the area where a very big feast was taking place and this bird didn't want to share! Anyhow, the video below will explain everything.

The Blizzard of 2009 & The (Birth/Death) Of A Snowman

I knew that at some point it just had to happen... it was inevitable because after all, snow does melt. Yes, the great and grand snowman produced by the blizzard of 2009 and posted here is now (almost) gone.

From the pictures (see above) that I took this afternoon you can see all that's left is just a snippet of snowy ice. It's hard to believe that this tiny few particles of white ice is all that's left from my snowman that must have had hundreds and hundreds of pounds of snow pounded into life just a month ago today. Just amazing that it's now reduced to not even enough ice for a glass of iced-tea. So sad.

Also you can see that I decided to leave all of his wooden arms, eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, and pipe on the ground right where they fell and out of respect they will remain on the ground one more night until his entire body is finally gone and returned to the good earth.

I will miss you good man...  R.I.P. - December 18, 2009 - January 18, 2010

The Blizzard of 2009 & The Birth Of A Snowman

If you live on the east coast of the United States then chances are you experienced some part of the blizzard of 2009. The mountains of North Carolina got hit pretty hard late Friday and early Saturday morning where our immediate area got between 12" and 14" of the white stuff. It's not very often that we get hit with a storm of this magnitude but occasionally those fronts that originate south of us in the Gulf of Mexico bring the biggest snowfalls.

With so much snow on the ground I knew right away that this past weekend wasn't going to be a very productive time for woodcarving. Looking outside the window Saturday morning I did know that it was going to be all about "snow" and that any attempt to suppress it would be nothing but a futile attempt at the impossible. Therefore I proceeded to make a plan.

Of course I couldn't get in my 4 mile run today, nor was I going to peddle my bicycle on my 13 mile route so I decided to spend some time getting my workout by building a classic snowman in the yard and that's the result in the picture to the right.

The first things needed to build a good snowman are to first have some warm clothing and wool insulated snow boots & neoprene gloves are what works for me. Next I retrieved a flat head shovel for maneuvering the snow into place. Back when we were kids the thrill of building a snowman was rolling a small ball of snow into a huge ball of snow but these days the shovel will suffice the order just fine, then the final sculpting can be shaped with my hands.

This was a great workout and kept me busy for the better part of two hours. I completed the sculpture by using various sized tree limbs for the eyes, nose, mouth, arms, and buttons. Of course I also used the same materials to make a pipe but it wasn't a corncob pipe. Although you can't see it in the pictures the limbs are 4" to 6" long and are set "into" the snowman with the idea that as the snow melts they will stay attached longer but either way Frosty's life is definitely limited.

I was quite pleased with the final result and felt that my time was well used and my body most certainly got a complete workout. On Sunday the sun worked hard on Frosty and he lost a lot of "bulk" so late in the day I spent another hour packing another several hundred pounds of snow onto his body in a futile effort to extend his life.

Snowmen have been part of my life since I was a kid living in Alabama so I'm glad that I got one built last weekend because no telling how long it will be until we get another heavy snowfall. The first snowman that I can remember was the one that my brother Mike and I built along with a LOT of help from our dad back in 1964 so I was just 8 years old and my brother was 12. That's us in the picture to the right with Frosty and two smaller snowmen.

Snow ice cream was also anther treat that always came with a big snow and I recall my mother mixing snow, vanilla extract, and sugar for a great winter time treat. That was great stuff for a kid to experience and I've never forgotten it and never will. Building a snowman is a must-have experience for any child and is a great opportunity to broaden their hands-on experiences.

Building a snowman will foster a rich imagination while at the same time bring to life real-time results for their effort. Even today I still get a very gratifying sense of satisfaction after building a snowman that in all ways is equal to the satisfaction after completing a nice project in the workshop. Unfortunately the snowman will melt and die within days unless your dad had the foresight to take some pictures of it like he did of our grand snowman way back in 1964.

July 20, 1969- 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Today

This is one of the best videos I’ve seen of Apollo 11’s historic moonshot and I keep watching it over and over. It is breathtaking ultra-high resolution photos of their journey from earth, on the moon, and the return trip. Nothing inspired my imagination as a child more than America's drive to land men on the moon and today it brings back many fond memories of that almost magical era in space travel.

I remember exactly where I was 40 years ago today on a Sunday afternoon during the moon landing. I was pouting about something in my treehouse and missed sharing that actual moment with Walter Cronkite. At least I remember where I was 40 years ago this afternoon. I suppose that kids will be kids.

Rhododendron or Laurel?

As mentioned in my July 12th posting I have recently been re-learning something that I knew first hand at one point in my woodcarving life a couple of decades ago. What I'm taking about is understanding the difference between two of my favorite carving woods found in abundance in the acidic mountain soils of the southern Appalachians. That would be rhododendron and mountain laurel. Both species are part of the Ericaceae family so perhaps that explains some of my confusion over the years.

Image by Gertrud K. via Flickr

One of my fondest memories of hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine was a place in Grayson Highlands State Park in southwest Virginia appropriately called Rhododendron Pass. As the photo on the right so brilliantly shows how an entire mountain side can come ablaze with this magnificent flowering plant. The flowering only lasts a few weeks in the spring so you have to be there at the right time.

Just recently while on a hike at Stone Mountain State Park in northwest North Carolina a friend was generous enough to remind me of the difference between these two magnificent plants. As you can see best from the picture that I posted on the top of this article, rhododendron has a much smoother bark and longer, thicker, and a deeper green color than does the mountain laurel. The mountain laurel in my area has a more 'flakey' bark and tends to be dwarfed by the usually larger rhododendron plants.

In the past I'm sure that I unfortunately mis-stated my some of my carvings by refering to the wood as laurel when they were really rhododendron. I'm glad now that I've taken the time to re-learn the differences because they are obvious when given a little study time.

July 20, 1969- 'Lewis & Clark' of the 20th Century

July 20th is only about a day away now. That will be the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that first landed man on the moon. I was only a toddler when President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act but I was born at a perfect time in history to grow up during the age of space exploration. I think that being a first hand witness during such an inspiring era had a lot to do with my own need to explore and travel during the years that followed. But most of all I think that it was a catalyst for helping me to put meaningful priorities to the forefront in my own life.

I clearly remember watching all of the rocket launches from Cape Canaveral on our black & white TV from Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I saved and still have all of the front page newspaper headlines of the space program milestones and especially those from all the moon landings. The space program fascinated me as a kid and it still does just as strongly today as it did in the 1960's. There's just something about space exploration that helps define the deepest mysteries of what it means to be human. Despite the debates I believe that there is no stopping of civilization when it comes to exploring the stars for as long as man inhabits this planet. To better understand the mysteries of life and to see what lies around the "next bend in the river" is at the core of what it means to be human. It's a huge part of what defines us.

Godspeed to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the thousands of other people that it took to first put man on the moon and to all those who will put us on Mars during the next couple of decades.

The Buzz of a Bee

Consider this video an intermission from the woodcarving norm. Today I had a nice break from the woodshop and went on a great hiking day trip with 12 boys from camp to Stone Mountain State Park, in North Carolina of course. We took the 'strenuous' 4.5 mile Stone Mountain loop trail to the summit, then on to a 200 foot waterfall. Along the way one of the kids spotted a bee on a yellow flower so I quickly got a pretty nice video of it hovering overhead like a helicopter.

Also, not pictured, I carved a woodspirit in a piece of found wood and kept my tradition of giving it to a total stranger as an act of random kindness. Sometimes I like to just leave my carving somewhere that it can be found but today I gave it to a little boy about 8 or 9 years old walking the trail with his mom and dad. It brought a big smile when I said, "Would you like this woodspirit stick?" and of course I got a big "Yes" and a "Thank you".

My feature woodcarving article!

Wood Carving Illustrated, Summer 2009 issue

I still have to pinch myself when I open up the summer issue of Wood Carving Illustrated magazine. It's hard to believe that I was published in a magazine that I've been a loyal subscriber to since issue #2 and most of all I was proud to appear in the same magazine that has showcased such pros over the years as Tom Wolfe, Ian Norbury, E.J. Tangerman, Mike Shipley, Lora Irish, and so many other accomplished carvers that would take a small booklet to mention them all. While I don't acclaim to have achieved a level of carving perfection as those mentioned, I have developed my own level of expertise which mainly has it's foundation laid in a love for teaching kids how to discover the joys of carving.

I sure hope that you enjoy the article which centers around the teaching methods that I've used over the last nearly 30 years helping at-risk kids learn to carve. You can get a glimpse of the article here: http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/issue47/Sharing-the-Joy-of-Carving-Wood.php but they've been available at the newsstand since May 26th.