I'm sitting here, looking out the window after spending the last several hours making charcoal. It was a perfect day for it - an uncharacteristically cool July day, with plenty of sunshine and the wind was just enough to keep a good fire going. The cats decided to keep me company as well...either that, or they wanted to be there for their amusement in case I burnt myself down.
I finally found a decent method of building a fire, putting the wood down in a platform shape. You put two pieces on the ground to form the legs of the platform, so air can flow freely throughout the fire. The floor of the platform is made of the thickest pieces of wood and you continue to add levels to the thing, adding smaller and smaller pieces of wood until the tender is added to the top. Not only does the fire burn for quite a while but if you did it right, it is smoke free as well.
I haven't quite gotten to that point, though. I think I left out a step. It fell over and infused me ( and the house as well, as I discovered when I came inside) with its hickory goodness. Still, though, it did burn for a long time. I think I'll get some good charcoal with a minimum of brands (unburned spots in the wood.) While brands are neat to see, they scratch the hell out of paper and then you have all these unwanted lines all over the place.
Many paths assert in order for any creation to occur, there must be some destruction. I can see that with my charcoal. It is broken down so that something else can grow. Instead of the downed wood returning to the earth to feed either another plant or some critter with the nutrients stored within it, it is converted to charcoal by fire. Later, it will be used to create what I hope will be a wonderful drawing. It is yet another circle within the many that are in this world.
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