!! In the quiet hours of the bootcamp grind, I found myself: Esteban's Bootcamp Experience

Hmm, is there a theory behind putting the brush pile on the stump?

Coydon Wallham wrote:Hmm, is there a theory behind putting the brush pile on the stump?

Good question and yes there is ... by putting a brush pile on a stump, it helps it break down faster. The brush holds moisture and shade, which fungi and microbes love, and they move from the brush into the stump and roots. Over time that turns the stump into soil instead of a hard obstacle.

It also catches water, builds organic matter right in place, and provides habitat, so you’re stacking functions instead of hauling or burning material. Very hugel-adjacent thinking.

B.E.L. Post # 78

After the morning meeting, I got right into processing materials — 6 crates of woody bits total, with 3 crates being strictly bark, plus one crate of cardboard knocked out. Felt good to get that flow going early.

Then I headed up to the Abbey and fell 6 more trees for future horizontal junkpole pieces. Before rolling back to basecamp, I topped off the green work rig with gas — small things that keep the momentum smooth.

After lunch, it was back to the Abbey to continue framing out the fencing. The horizontal pieces are still staged near the tipi site for now, but instead of hauling them today, I shifted gears into some woodland care. Harvested a few trees right along the fencing rebuild line that’ll become horizontals — saving steps and keeping the work local. I’ll restage the tipi-site materials tomorrow.

As I was wrapping up, I got a pretty special send-off: a moose standing about 100 feet from the main gate. No photo (of course 😅), but definitely one of those moments you just stop and appreciate.

Closed out the day a little slower, spending time playing with my dog — a good balance to a solid, productive day.

B.E.L. Post # 79

Today was another solid “chip away at it” kind of day.

For the first half of the day I focused on the turtle berm. I added more wood matter on top, and kept the flow going by processing more woody bits and cardboard. It’s one of those tasks that doesn’t always look dramatic in the moment, but you can feel the berm getting more built out and intentional as the layers stack up. I also knocked out a small task for Paul in the middle of all that.

Second half of the day I headed over to the Abbey and kept working on the junkpole fencing. It’s definitely a slow-but-steady project, but it’s coming together — one panel at a time. Every little framing section finished, makes the whole thing look more “real” and less like a pile of poles waiting for a purpose.

Not flashy work today, but very satisfying ...

B.E.L. Post # 80

After the morning meeting, I spent some time giving three chainsaws some much-needed TLC — a little maintenance goes a long way, and it felt good getting them all running smooth again.

From there I got back on the turtle berm and continued building it up, then knocked out two crates of woody bits for processing.

After lunch I headed over to the Abbey and kept pushing forward on the fencing project. I’m officially in the home stretch now — I’ve got about 2.5 panels left to frame before I can start putting in the junkpoles.

Slow, steady progress… but it’s coming together nicely. 💪

B.E.L. Post # 81

After the morning meeting, I knocked out 3 crates worth of woody bits,  then kept rolling right into the turtle berm work—adding more material and continuing to build up the height little by little.

After that I headed over to the Abbey to keep pushing forward on the junkpole fencing. Good progress today: I’ve nearly framed the whole section and I’m down to just about 12 more feet to go before I can start running junkpoles through the horizontal pieces.

Slow and steady, but it’s really starting to come together!

Yesterday 01/30/2026

Yesterday was a solid, satisfying boot day with a big milestone at the Abbey and some good progress back at basecamp.

For the first part of the day I was focused on the final stretch of the Abbey’s junkpole fence repair. There was a tree butting right up against the fence line, so I felled it and repurposed it as the final vertical post for the last section.

After that, I was able to finish framing the final section of the fence — which feels so good to say.

Starting this coming week I’ll begin threading all the junkpoles through the framing, which will officially mark the completion of repairing 250 feet of completely down fencing.

At that point, the only fencing work left in that area will be addressing about 5 panels (~50 feet) that are still leaning — in some cases being partially propped up by a nearby tree.

After wrapping up at the Abbey, I headed back to basecamp and kept the momentum going:

* Processed another box full of cardboard
* Processed a crate of woody bits
* Spent the rest of the day widening the hugel trails directly outside the Fischer Price house

Overall: big win kind of day — closing out the framing phase on a major fence repair project, and still getting some solid basecamp improvements knocked out.

B.E.L. Post # 82

I started the day by heading over to the laboratory and felled a few trees to turn into more junkpoles for upcoming projects. Always feels good adding to the supply pile — future fencing and builds will definitely appreciate it.

After that I made my way back to basecamp and got back on the turtle berm height project. Little by little it’s coming together, and today I was able to extend the berm another 8 feet. Slow and steady, but it’s really starting to look like something substantial.

To wrap up the day, I helped Paul for a quick moment by recording him while he harvested sunchokes and walking onions for one of his videos. Simple task, but it felt good contributing and being part of documenting the work happening out here.