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

Yesterday 2026/10/04

I woke up to a crisp, cool Sunday morning and started the day by taking my little doggo out for about a half-hour walk before joining everyone for the cleaning blitz.

After the cleaning blitz, I focused on getting the Solarium tour-ready for the arrival of the new boots. Once everything was looking good, I lit up the RMH in there and filled up the firewood rack so it would be nice and cozy for them.

I also made some time for journaling and reading, and spent a good part of the day hanging out with Dan and Jesse. Nothing too crazy or complicated today, just one of those simple, beautiful days that feels good to slow down and appreciate.

And today felt a little extra special because it marks one year here at Wheaton Labs.

Looking back over this past year, there have been so many experiences, lessons, challenges, laughs, hard-working days, and little moments that I’ll carry with me. It’s been a beautiful and delightful year filled with growth, learning, and plenty of unexpected adventures.

One year down… and I’m genuinely grateful for all of it. ❤️

Esteban Ademovski wrote:...

And today felt a little extra special because it marks one year here at Wheaton Labs.

...

CONGRATULATIONS Esteban!

Yesterday 2026/10/05

Dan and I started our day at the Abbey building a battery box for the solar system. We framed out the box on the left side of the Abbey sink. Once the framing was complete, we placed the slates on top for the countertop and nailed them into place. Then we installed the bottom shelving to support the four batteries. With that work finished, we wrapped up our morning shift.

In the afternoon, I paired up with Eric, and we headed over to the Red Cabin to consolidate the seasoned firewood. We moved the wood into the partition closest to the cabin, leaving one partition completely empty. Each partition can hold about two face cords of firewood. The plan was to return and fill the empty section with wood from the dead standing tree we processed this past Friday.

After consolidating the firewood, we headed to the shop, where I trained Eric on chainsaw maintenance. We started with general maintenance, clearing out all the woody gunk and sharpening the chains. I demonstrated the process on half of one chainsaw before having Eric take over while I observed. Next, I had him maintain another chainsaw entirely on his own, followed by the plug-in Oregon chainsaw.

I also showed him how we track chainsaw use on the board. We mark off each day a saw is used so we know when it has reached four days of work and is due for maintenance again.

Once we finished in the shop, we gathered up our timber tools, the plug-in Oregon chainsaw, and the Sanzu battery. We loaded everything into the back of Roy's bed and headed out to the fallen tree.

We spent the rest of the afternoon bucking, splitting, and stacking approximately 20 feet of the tree. We stacked the firewood at the Love Shack rack, bringing our day to a close.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:

Esteban Ademovski wrote:...

And today felt a little extra special because it marks one year here at Wheaton Labs.

...

CONGRATULATIONS Esteban!

Thank you, Inge! 😊❤️ It’s hard to believe a whole year has already gone by. Wheaton Labs has been quite the journey, with plenty of learning, growing, and blessings along the way. One year down, and I'm continuing to work toward my bigger dream of eventually returning to Europe and taking over my late father's apple orchards along Lake Prespa in Macedonia. 🍎🇲🇰 It would mean a lot to carry on that piece of my family's history. For now, I'm grateful for everything I'm learning here and looking forward to seeing where the journey takes me. 😊

Congrats on 1 year! That's amazing.