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wheaton laboratories

Boots Love

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 13249

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

7110

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posted 6 months ago

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Great to hear! enjoy.

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 6 months ago

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Yes Nancy, it arrived and Paul picked it up earlier this week. Thank you so much for all the goodies. Fellow Boot Zach and I sampled the laverbread, and that kind of blew our minds. The biscuits went great with our homemade rhubarb jam, and disappeared way too quickly. We'll be chipping away at your generous bounty in the days ahead.

I'll have a closer look at those "pie spices" you included, and will likely find no other use for them but to drop them in the soil...

Once again: many thanks, Nancy...!!!

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

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Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 13249

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

7110

I like...

posted 6 months ago

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Stephen B. Thomas wrote:Fellow Boot Zach and I sampled the laverbread, and that kind of blew our minds.

It is quite strong tasting, but so good for one! I gather mixing it into sort of oat crackers is one way to use it. I tend to use it in moderation in spinach type recipes.

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 5 months ago

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The holiday tradition is still holding strong... Thanks Uncle Mud & Family...!!!

I'm baking some cinnamon raisin bread tonight, and this will be a splendid addition.

maple-syrup-uncle-mud.jpg

Thanks for the organic maple syrup, Uncle Mud...!

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

Chris McClellan

gardener

Posts: 689

Location: Burton, Ohio

358

posted 4 months ago

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The boots always have my back when I'm fiddling about at Wheaton Labs. A little sweet love goes a long way.

You can follow my latest adventures at
https://www.unclemud.com
https://www.youtube.com/unclemud
https://permies.com/u/164246/Chris-McClellan
Buy my stuff at https://unclemud.com/store/

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 2 months ago

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During my work tour travels in February '26, friend and fellow Permie James passed along this enormous jar of honey from his backyard behives. The team is well-stocked with honey these days.

Thanks for the sweet treat, James!!!

boots-love_james-honey.jpg

Honey from JCB in western North Carolina. Thanks, man!

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 2 months ago

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Permie staff Judith Browning and family granted me with these hand-carved wooden spoons for our use at the Fisher Price House. Both a classic wood spoon and a wooden scoop were gifted to us.

BIG Thanks, Judith...!!!

boots-love_wood-spoons_001.jpg

Hand-carved wooden spoon and wooden scoop from north-central Arkansas.

boots-love_wood-spoons_002.jpg

Perfect size to fit over a pot of boiling pasta...!

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 2 months ago

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Opalyn stopped by during her trip across the country, and took a break from her projects to coach myself and the rest of the team - including Paul - through some sewing and mending projects.

Thanks for your time and for sharing your expertise, Opalyn...!!!

boots-love_opalyn_sew-coaching.jpg

Opalyn helps with repairing my winter work vest.

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

Harry Malecki

Posts: 25

129

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posted 2 months ago

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Hello Permies!

If you haven't had a chance to hear my and my family's stories, please see the following threads:
Alexandra's SKIP to Homesteading
Harry's BEL Thread

As a new boot, it was brought to my attention that I should bring awareness to my BEL thread here on the Boots Love thread, but also reach out to the broader community with any recent requests for "Boot Love". Given that I have only been here for a little over a week, I solicited my companions for ideas and collated below:

1. Coffee -- all of the coffee
2. Chocolate - I prefer darker chocolates, but a mix would be great

3. Dog toys for the unofficial current boot mascot,, Cujo (see Esteban's BEL Thread)
4. Markers that are good for outdoors and for in the shop -- I have been surprised at how little options we have to mark lines, so anything on this front would be helpful. Example below:
Outdoor Marker Example

Thanks for all who have given in the past and continue to give! Your contributions show us boots how much our work is appreciated

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 1 month ago

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BIG thanks to Clay McGowan for his generous grab bag o' Boots Love.

His contribution ranges from coffee, to dog toys, to seeds, to even a battery pack for our 80v electric chainsaw.

THANKS, man...!

boots-love-clay_apr2026.jpg

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Big THANKS to SEPPer Bea Cates for her care package of cool stuff for the Boots!!!

Pictured here are the things she sent along: homemade tooth powder for me, a nifty cross-stitched kerchief, a book and tacti-CLIPS for Melissa, a detachable hard drive for Boots' data, and some homemade ache oil. The big bag decorated with snowflake cookies is zinc oxide sunscreen...!

Thanks so much for your generosity, Bea...!!!

boots-love-bea-may-2026.jpg

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

Esteban Ademovski

Posts: 285

990

posted 1 week ago

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I just wanted to publicly thank Bounce for the care package she sent to us boots not too long ago. It was incredibly thoughtful, and all the goodies inside were very much appreciated.

I especially wanted to thank her for the hard-drive she included. That’s something I’ll definitely be putting to good use. I’ve been taking a lot of photos and videos during my time here at Wheaton Labs, and it’ll be perfect for storing all the memories, projects, and experiences I’ve been documenting along the way.

I’ll also soon be dabbling a bit in some light video editing work, so having the extra storage is honestly going to help tremendously.

It’s gestures like this that really make this community feel special. Thank you again, Bounce, for your generosity and support toward us boots out here learning, building, and growing.

20260514_064847.jpg

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Stephen B. Thomas

pollinator

Posts: 1525

Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA

3045

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posted 6 days ago

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I have a very-specific, but accessible to nearly everyone reading this, kind of request.

We're having problems with Rex, the Lab's excavator. It our quest in attempting to fix it, I've acknowledged that an operator's manual would be exceptionally useful.

Anyone willing to pick up a manual for us? One link appears to cost $30:

https://heavymachineryequipment.com/downloads/hitachi-ex120-owners-operators-manual/

The entire bundle is nearly 1,000 pages. Thankfully, this is an indexed PDF file that will be helpful for us to root through so long as we're working with Rex.

Anyone willing to jump in on this, you have my gratitude...! Thank you!

"We carry a new world here, in our hearts..." --Buenaventura Durruti
"Don't wish it were easier. Instead, wish you were better." --Jim Rohn

We can walk to school together. And we can both read this tiny ad:

Edible Landscaping With A Permaculture Twist/ Second Edition - Kickstarter

https://permies.com/t/369458/Edible-Landscaping-Permaculture-Twist-Edition