!!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

BRK #176

Sunday edition. After today's Cleaning Blitz, I started doing some research on rebuilding/redecorating the entrance to the FPH Paddock. It had been repaired, but it hadn't really been dressed-up. I hope I can do a decent job with it.
(special appearance from [Trash] Panda)



I hiked around Basecamp for some materials and caught some nice afternoon shots of the area called Sherwood Forest.



With my new foot-stool in tow, I took a tea break up at my tent site. The weather was mild today - easily in the low- to mid-40s F - with rain barely spitting down at all, and once I took a seat up there I caught up with an old friend in a phone call.



Finally: I suppose I'm really putting myself out here with this one. But I treated myself to some band merchandise and it arrived in the mail over the weekend. Maybe I'm the only person in western Montana (maybe all of Montana?) with a DEVO bumper sticker on their car... Additionally, I'll wear the t-shirt whenever I want a night on the town and have the urge to really scare away the ladies.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #177

Monday is here, and with it the beginning of another wintry work-week. The whole crew was outdoors for most of today.

Here's Boot Jeff, as he trims the limbs and little nubs off a large-diameter tree destined for the Sawmill. He, Caleb, and I had a little bit of fun today trimming this up, kicking it down the hill, then strapping it to the tree arch so the Tractor could take it up the mountain to the Lab.



Speaking of which, here's Caleb trimming the broader end of that log, up at the Sawmill. It was close to 12 feet long, and absurdly-wide, so trimming this bit off seemed the best choice at the time. Eventually, we'll use that stump for either a splitting surface, or break it down for firewood. Look closer, and you'll see the chains we wrapped it with so that the Tractor could maneuver it in place. The more I work with chains in rigging things like logs or rock, the better and the more confident I become in working with them.



Finally: here's the view of the Sawmill from underneath. I go down here to sharpen the teeth on the Sawmill to keep things sharp and effective. Yes, there are only two teeth on that blade...!



Also, I spent the afternoon and evening picking up PTJ alumni Austin from the airport. He'll be with us for a short time as a SEPPer, and will include a fermentation workshop as part of his time here...! Very excited to have him in town for our Fermentation Day half-assed holiday, this Friday.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #178

Taco Tuesday...! We have a special guest in residence for the next couple weeks, so it makes things a little more special than usual.

However, Boot work is still happening as per usual. I have a couple photos from this afternoon's work. Grey and I were up at the Lab. Our first stop was the Dogstar, where we fired-up the RMH in an effort to dry out the Cob Hat he had installed last week.



We then hiked over to the Sawmill, and polished-off one of the logs we had started processing last week. Here's the Sawmill "bay," for lack of a better term. It fills up with sawdust after every log is finished, so I spent some extra time this afternoon shoveling out the snow and sawdust so there's no delay in starting the next log once we have it up there. I hope we'll have time for more sawmill work tomorrow.



About 10 feet away, Grey was busy stacking and sorting the new paneling lumber I had cut. You have to put "stickers" between the layers of lumber so they dry properly and/or as quickly as possible.



I also had the time to check out some of the more-interesting chunks of wood that came out of this log. Although they're not necessarily lumber material, they still may be useful in one way or another. At the very least, they're fun to look at.





Finally: obligatory cat photo. Once back at Basecamp, I noticed Gandalf (AKA Mr. G, AKA G-Dawg)... Sitting in the heated water dish. There's [Trash] Panda attempting to photo-bomb the occasion, zooming in from the right. I would think G-Dawg actually liked sitting in that warmer spot, however you never can tell if he's enjoying himself as his perpetual expression is one of a grounded six-year-old. He only purrs when he's in your lap or wound around your legs.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #179

Happy Quilt Day to you...!!!

Entry to today was a little bumpy, but once it was all done and I was eating quesadillas for dinner, it was all good.

The start of the day was primarily about sorting out some lumber, specifically with retrieval and storage. We transported another log up to the Lab, then brought back a bunch of milled paneling slabs for walls, most likely in the Solarium.

The afternoon was all about Quilt Day. We started off with some minor repairs to one of the window quilts. Here's Grey taking measurements and sorting out some new cordage for Kitchen Window Quilt #1.



Here's the previous Window Quilt #2. We weren't satisfied with this particular design ("It looks like a blanket, not a quilt," was one comment I recall), so we opted to start fabricating a more authentic-looking window quilt. So this will be set aside for review another time.



We brought out a couple sewing machines and a pile of fabric scraps. We were motivated by listening to music from bands and musicians whose names started with the letter Q. Frankly speaking... That's a shorter list than you may think.



This was my view for about two and a half hours.



Caleb tests the structural integrity of one of his stitches.



Grey tagged in and gave me a break from the machine when I was having some "bobbin difficulties."





One of the rows finally takes shape.



We ended up with a series of quilt rows at the end of the day. So unfortunately a full window quilt wasn't completed. But we built our skills with the sewing machines, learned how to troubleshoot on the fly, and will come back to this task in the near future.



The rest of the evening was dedicated to eating foods that began with the letter Q. Again, this was a surprisingly brief - yet also exceptionally tasty - list. I was only able to stick around for the quesadillas, though I heard the quiche that came out of the oven a bit later was also pretty spectacular.

Special thanks to SEPPer Austin for his energy, enthusiasm, and music playlists for today's holiday activities.













That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #180

I missed quite a few photo opportunities today... But at least the afternoon was full of substance and I had my camera with me then.

SEPPer Julia and I teamed-up to take down a dead-standing tree for firewood. Here she is sizing it up, then using the chainsaw to cut it down.





If you've ever wanted to see the gears of an electric (battery-powered) chainsaw, well here's your chance! The chain popped off this one while Julia was working, and I set everything back to the way it ought to be for it to work properly.



Also: if you've ever wanted to see some truly impressive elk poop, well, here's your chance! We were working around this specimen while up at the Lab today, and for whatever reason I found it fascinating. I'm almost envious, really.



Meanwhile, here are Caleb and Boot Jeff showing off their boot warmers. Also features Caleb adjusting his safety glasses for optimal fit and performance.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!