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

B.E.L. Post # 230

Today was a full, hardworking day at the Abbey. Jesse and I got back to work on the junk pole fencing, framing more sections. Meanwhile, Melissa and Leo worked on irrigation and mulching with chop and drop.

After lunch, Melissa and Leo shifted to work on the house paddock before heading to the bay door of the classroom. There, two turtle tanks were staged, and they filled them with water and headed back to continue at the paddock.  Meanwhile Jesse and I begain irrigation, then maintained and sharpened chainsaws, chop and drop, worked on the junkpole panel along the drive ... then headed off to the Abbey to continue with work there ...

B.E.L. Post # 231

This morning started out with splitting and stacking firewood as a group. Once we finished up with that, we all headed out to Far Raccas and irrigated the entire area.

After lunch, we split up and continued working on different projects. Leo and Melissa continued with irrigation, while Jesse and I worked on the junk pole fencing at the Abbey, making more progress on the project and moving it forward.

To wrap up the day, I also made a post in the Boots Love thread.

B.E.L. Post # 232

We started the morning by gathering all the tools we needed from the library and the shop before heading out to the Abbey.

Jesse and I continued working on the section of junk pole fencing, making progress on the fence panels and continuing to develop the overall structure. Meanwhile, Melissa and Leo focused on chop-and-drop work and mulching, building organic matter and supporting the landscape.

Later in the morning, Stephen brought over the trailer with the two turtle water tanks, adding another piece to the ongoing water infrastructure work.

After lunch, Melissa and I headed back to the Abbey. I continued working on the junk pole fence panels while Melissa focused on irrigation alongside Stephen.

Back at base camp, I tasked Leo with continuing work on the house paddock, including irrigation of the berms and giving the berms some extra attention and care.

Jesse continued working on the junk pole fencing along the drive while also giving some much-needed attention to the chainsaws.

Another productive day of building, maintaining, and improving the systems that are taking shape across the property.

B.E.L. Post # 233

Today started with irrigation. We irrigated the hugelberms and then watered all the baby trees along Lightning Hill and Apricot Alley using water pails to give them a good soak.

After that, I switched gears and assisted Stephen with felling a tree, once the tree was down, I helped with cleanup ... 

While that was happening, Jesse and Leo were working on irrigation at far arrakis as well, keeping up with the watering needs of the site.

For the afternoon shift, we all headed over to the Abbey. Leo focused on irrigation and chop-and-drop work, while Jesse and I continued making progress on the junk pole fencing.

Another productive day of working with the land, building infrastructure, and moving projects forward.

Before you cut that tree down, it looks like one of the few that is providing any shade and shelter for far arrakis. Where those few big trees are, the brush and greenery seems to eek out a survival underneath and to the north of them.  When they get cut down, everything around them seems to shift more to rock and dust.

I realize that converting to deciduous trees is a huge goal for the site.  Please consider using those big trees as some sun protection and mulch generation (needle drop) for those deciduous trees during their first decade of life as they try to get roots down to a bit of water.

Sorry, just my .04 cents

B.E.L. Post # 234

   Woke up to a cool, delightful morning and walked my little dog for a while before joining the cleaning blitz. Afterwards, sat with Stephen, Leo, and Jesse, and Stephen talked about the new boots that will be arriving. Once that wrapped up, made the solarium tour-ready as usual, then went off to do laundry, some journaling, studying, and had some great conversations with Leo. Later did some chop and drop work and chainsaw maintenance. And ended the day meeting the new boots.

B.E.L. Post # 235

We started the day by getting the new boots—Andrew, Daniel, Stevie, and Michelle—paired up with Stephen and his crew. Their tasks included filling the turtle water tanks, hauling water up to the Abbey, and helping with a variety of other projects around the lab.

My team consisted of Leo, Jesse, and myself. We kicked off the morning shift at base camp by getting the irrigation going. After that, Jesse continued working on the junk pole panels, performed chainsaw maintenance, and kept the irrigation going with the watering cans.

Meanwhile, Leo and I worked together on the junk pole panel fencing at the house paddock. After a while, I broke away to focus on chop-and-drop and mulching.

For the afternoon shift, we headed up to the Abbey. Leo continued with irrigation using the drip jugs while also doing more chop-and-drop and mulching. Jesse and I continued making progress on the junk pole panel fencing.

Overall, it was another productive day with good teamwork, steady progress on several projects, and a great opportunity for the new boots to get introduced to the work and rhythm of Wheaton Labs.

Yesterday 2026/08/06

Started the morning with Leo, Jesse, and me handling irrigation around base camp, making sure everything got a good drink. Once irrigation was finished, Leo and I moved on to the junk pole fencing at the house paddock, while Jesse continued working on the junk pole panels along the drive, which she completed. We wrapped up the morning with some chop-and-drop, leaving base camp looking a little better than we found it.

For the afternoon shift, we headed to the lab, where everyone had the opportunity to spend time operating the excavator. It was a great learning experience, and I was surprised by how natural the controls felt once I climbed in. It felt intuitive from the start and was easily one of the highlights of my day. I'm looking forward to getting more seat time and continuing to build that skill.

To finish the day, we made our way to the Abbey. Jesse and I continued making progress on our section of junk pole fencing, while the rest of the crew focused on chop-and-drop and irrigation. It was another productive day with a great mix of hands-on learning and meaningful work. Every day the projects move a little further along, and it's rewarding to be part of that progress.