Ethiopia Illububar Roasted Coffee

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Ethiopia Illububar Roasted Coffee on Saucer

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I think this looks better

I roasted another batch a bit longer than the last and, they look much better. They taste much better too! I still think I need to back it off a bit on the time but, this was a much more enjoyable cup.

Ethiopian Illubabor Coop bean roasted at City+ (I think.)

I enjoy coffee, a lot. I received a new coffee maker that in my mind anyway, makes a really good cup of it too. So, I’ve been trying all kinds of coffee beans with it. Some Kona, Blue Mountain, some kind of Colombian stuff recently.

I also have spent hours agonizing over roasting my own at home. I’d read all kinds of advice from various coffee experts on how a home roast is the most bestest, freshest and flavorful kind of coffee there is. I went to lots of websites, read articles and visited coffee bean sellers trying to decide on the best way of trying to do this.

Roasted at 6+ minutes

I finally broke down and bought some green coffee beans from a place out in California called Sweet Maria’s. The shipment took about a week to travel all the way from the west coast to my house on the east. I waited excitedly for their arrival.

I followed some of the instructional videos over on their website on how to use a hot air popper to roast small quantities of these fresh beans. Its a pretty cheap option, especially if you have one just sitting around gathering dust. I would suggest you doing it outside though, its a pretty messy and noisy process.

So far I’ve made two batches. A lighter and darker roast. All I can say is that there is a huge difference between store bought roasted whole bean coffee and what you can do yourself. A store bought bean just cant compare in complexity to a bean you roast at home.

So, I’ll finish up with this first bag of sample coffee and move on to the next soon.

A couple weeks ago I had a free Saturday to make the short drive over to Chicopee Woods near the lake trails to do some photography scouting.

If you overlook the overcast skies on this January day and, close you eyes you would swear it was early spring. There was a stiff breeze above the lake that carried the scent of new growth and spring – not something you would normally get the impression of in the depths of winter. But then again this winter has been far from normal. I don’t think we even had a winter this year.

Take a look at the complete scouting trip for more information.

February 2012 Desktop Wallpaper of Waterfalls

This pano was made after one of many late winter downpours we’ve had here in the southern states. This particular waterfall is the last of many that cascade from the top of a long descent to the river basin behind where I’m standing for this shot.

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I’ve been spending a lot of time over the past year cataloging and compiling  places I photograph in Google Earth. Earth seems to provide me the best way of both keeping track of some of the spots I frequent and, where they are. Its also interesting how some of these spots have created patterns over the  years. They fan out from one spot I found near a road or stream to nearby locals. As if I was just being drawn like a magnet from one place to another.

(scroll down for the download)

Some of these locations I don’t visit very frequently anymore since they are too far from the new HQ and, with gas being so high I can’t make an argument in fueling up the old truck for many of these trips.

So, I’m going to be making a few of these spots available for my fellow Google Earth users. I’ll be posting from time-to-time some of my Earth place markers that you can add to your collection. If you want to download some of these please fill out the little form below. If you want to find out new stuff like prints, tutorials etc. check “yes” next to hearing more from me.

If you have any of your own Earth place markers in the North Georgia area you would like to share drop me a line or leave a link in the comments section. I’d love to check them out.

Price Mountain in Winter

Photographed during the winter in North Georgia, this is an image of a little “mountain” called Price Mountain. Its elevation is around 1250 feet so, I can’t really call it a mountain but, it is higher than much of the surrounding area.

Shot in the evening with a Nikon D5000.

Caney Creek Hillside Waterfall

I’ve been waiting months for these little waterfalls to start flowing. Located on a hillside above the river, they are very sensitive to the local water table. With the severe drought we had last summer it took a long time to raise the table enough to get this small feeder stream to start running.

Now, with some descent water I can finally take a few photographs of these little falls.

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Would you like to help keep me on the road? Please donate today by using the button below.

Using Earth and Bing help me visualize where I plan to go and many times pinpoint the spot I need to investigate. Cutting down on driving and saving me time and hassle.

Check out the tutorial.