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

BRK #259

Saturday, and our day off from typical Boots work. Outside of running errands, I spent a fair amount of my time walking around in nature just a short way out of town. Went down to Hamilton (a village south of Missoula) and the Lolo Pass area, both south of Missoula, wandering off the beaten path.

Here's a train engine found in the rail yard just north of Missoula.



There's a "Canada Smoke" haze over the mountains. Personally, I doubt I'll ever be comfortable with this phenomenon and how the dominant culture seems to simply take it as a matter of course. I just don't understand.



The Clark Fork is swollen this time of year, courtesy of the copious snowmelt making its way down from the mountain peaks.



Found a fishin' hole by these fast-flowing waters. Fish were jumping out of the water from time to time, and the river lapped on the shore and bobbed this floating log up and down. I was expecting a snapping turtle or two, but maybe they're not in these parts.



Storm clouds threatened to move in, but they never made it to this spot.



Finally: back home at Basecamp. Lots of life right now, and more on the way.



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

BRK #260

Today I wanted to showcase "The Best Little Cat Box In Montana." Well, if there ever were contests for "Best Outdoor Cat Litter Box Made Entirely With Scrap Materials," this one might earn Third Place.

Seriously, this is another Nest Labor task I was able to finish today. Considering the constraints I placed on myself, I'm pleased with it. I mean hell, one day I just might take a shit in there. It would surprise no one, I suspect.

Here's the structure with the ship-lapped roof halfway complete.



And here's the finished shell. In the second photo, the litter box frames I cobbled together are placed underneath.





Here's the finished litter box and shell, behind the Library where the cats all congregate. The boxes are loaded with dry, soft sawdust.



Here's to hoping they'll use this instead of, you know, the hugelkultur garden beds.

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

BRK #261

A wild way to start the week, says I. The day's just about over. We've been chipping away at a new well at Wheaton Labs, and it's nearing the finish line. So now it's a whole bunch of stuff that personally I'm not familiar with at all, and everything is new, fresh, and confusing.

One thing I am quite familiar with is tree-felling, and I started the day off with some of that. We need an additional support pole in the rear of the classroom, so I scouted it out and felled it today.







Were I to critically-examine my work, I'd say the only thing I may have mucked-up a bit was the height of the back-cut. Things seemed tilted downward a bit on one side (typically, this happens with the end of the bar), and overall I think there wasn't enough space between the back of the wedge and the back cut. However the tree fell where I wanted it to, and no one was hurt or anything.

We took a 35-foot section of it (there was maybe an additional 4 feet at the top) to use as the new support pole behind the Classroom. This is intended to be an extension for the "Bob Line" to hold more sunshades over the classroom and adjoining areas during summer events. Wesley drove it down the hillside with the tractor and log arch, and I think we'll mount it with Rex (the excavator) tomorrow.

Additionally, I made the requisite three trips to the hardware store to find proper fittings for a plumbing project. Two new hydrants will be installed along where the new, kick-ass well ties into the existing water system. Plumbers have to solve an awful lot of problems. This smattering of fittings was a piece of cake for the staff at the store, and I'm grateful.



Finally: And that gigantic roll of steel wire that I hauled in from town last week? We unraveled it all. That's a lot of wire.



Lots of good things being put together, and the team in general has been treading into new territory. Paul stays positive and hopeful as ever. I'm looking forward to the summer and all these steps forward that will make the summer events smoother.

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

BRK #262

Hello and a very "Happy Taco Tuesday!" to you. This was another heavy day, as we're still working intensely with the new well project. There are a few other things folded into the same project: more electrical outlets, more hydrants, a massive sunshade assembly that will cover the entire classroom building... So there's a lot to it. We chipped away at plenty of that today.

The new hydrants are now fitted, taped, and ready to go into the ground.



We weren't able to place them in the ground just yet. The bulk of today's time was used to install this massive post in the ground. The entire team was involved at one point: Caleb, SEPPer Catherine, Wesley, and myself. Paul and SEPPer Jeff visited multiple times, as well.

At the start of the day, the base of the pole looked like this, and Rex (the excavator) was holding it upright.



By the time the day was done, Rex was moved out of the way, and the post was upright on its own. We used the "stones and gravel method" of securing the post into the surrounding earth and sand, and hope that there's no moisture intrusion that reduces the lifespan of this massive wooden pole. First we dropped several large, heavy rocks in the ditch. Then was a layer of smaller rocks. Then a layer of gravel. Finally, the post was added and balanced on that spot. We switched back and forth between filling in the ditch with sand, then surrounding the pole with more small rocks and gravel. The ditch in this area started at about 8 feet deep, we now have about 2.5 feet to go before it's back at surface level.



Finally: kitten update. All four of them are still doing well. Their eyes aren't open yet so I'm still taking photos from a distance. They seemed quite content to nap in a kitty pile. I am certain they'll be coming outside and playing in another couple weeks.



That's all for now. Off to digest my Taco Tuesday dinner... Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #263

SEPPer Jeff made burgers for everyone's dinner tonight. Had a black bean burger and SEPPer Julia's roasted sweet potatoes. What a lovely meal. Thanks, y'all!

Right outta the gate, the team was back to work on the well project, out in the parking lot. Here's Caleb running the excavator, filling in the trench he dug, only this time the trench has electrical lines and a nice, fat water pipe deep inside there.



While Caleb was busy with the excavator, SEPPer Catherine, Wesley and I prepped the new hydrants. Here they are prepping the water pipe to fuse it to the bottom of the hydrant intake.



Meanwhile... tonight I'm going to see if I can salvage these pants, or if I will finally end up with a pair of cut-off shorts.



Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!