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

BRK #8

The only time I recalled ever seeing a blue sky this electric is when I was a passenger in a plane that banked to one side and I was staring upward through the window. What. A. Day.



Visual marvels persisted through the day. For instance, I'm still fascinated by watching flames burn sideways in a rocket stove. This is the J-tube of the water heater I staff during event mealtimes.



Here's the "mutant monster" asparagus at Basecamp I. It's now six stalks total, with the original three I knew of now each about 4 feet in length. Not good for eatin' but most likely great for seed.



Pleasant plant find: while filling the fire truck Judy for today's watering tasks, Cory and I found a pineapple flower. They might not look like much, but one whiff and you'll understand how they earned their name.



To wrap up: a sunny morning from this busy week.

I appreciated reading about your adventures.  Thanks for keeping us updated.

BRK #9

Gardening today was a blur of watering plants and recording soil sample data. We're also staffing events, which makes things a bit more challenging.

In the afternoon, the PDC attendees had a brief garden tour of the hugels at Basecamp. Following that, we dealt with some uncommon home-improvement style tasks.

For instance, I moved a smoke detector to a more appropriate spot in the Library:



Cory and I replaced leaky valves in the Shower Shack:



And likely the most-impressive improvement we've had since installing Bob was adding a shade tarp to Bob's cable:



The PDC is winding down, and it's been interesting seeing all the design projects the different groups are working on. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of their diagrams in the future. We'll see.

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

A big Friday here at Wheaton Labs. PDC attendees are scrambling to put the details in their presentations, and the boots are busy as ever supporting the event and, of course, gardening.

We were gardening at the Lab today. Here's a quick shot from the inside of the Truly Passive Greenhouse, next to Allerton Abbey.



Spent some quality time (and watering!) at Cricket Hill and Swamp Castle while there, then we headed back to Basecamp for lunch support, then handiwork in the afternoons.

Cory and I did a bit more plumbing, then added a roof to a long-time-dormant project: a rocket dehydrator. Yes, that's me...



The final result was particularly impressive I think, especially after a coat of linseed oil. Here's to a long-lasting rooftop for a fascinating device.



After dinner, I snapped a photo of one of our eager greywater recipients: this gigantic rhubarb!



I also have a brief video to post related to Swamp Castle, but I'm out of time for the day. I'll have details on that likely tomorrow, and I hope to continue posting videos at a weekly pace...so stay tuned. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!

BRK #11

Better late than never... Here's the inaugural episode of Footage Fridays. Ideally I'll be able to do these each week, covering different locations and/or topics each time. This one's about five minutes long, and features Swamp Castle. Enjoy!