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

Hi Stephen,
Looks like you made it back to the labs in fine shape!  Hope your drive up the Columbia River was enlightening as you passed through a number of different biomes.
Looking forward to you "throwing" some pottery (and firing it with the rocket kiln).

BEL #709

More rain today, and more drainage ditch-digging. I was recounting the experience with Paul today at lunch break, and realized that not only do I like tasks where I see immediate feedback as you take it step by step, but also... I just like being out in the rain. Fortunately today's biggest task indulged me in both of those dimensions.

I have a ditch system I like to think I'm developing into a discipline.

Step One = Rough It Out. For this stage, I just smacked a mattock into the earth in the general direction I wanted the drainage ditch to follow. At this point it generally follows the flow of water.



Step Two = Clear It Out. This stage requires a shovel, and I clear out the dirt the mattock has kicked-up. I also broaden the path to roughly shovel blade-width.



The water started to flow from the central area of the Arrakis parking area, but the largest pond - in a part of the driveway adjacent to the Classroom - also needed some attention. I moved my tools and operations to the area. I rolled back to Step One to start the process over again. This path didn't follow the water so much as it hugged the existing edge of the parking area. I blended it into a roughed-in ditch that had been done in the summer, so the toughest work had been done already.



In this photo I've wrapped Step One, and water is beginning to fill the upper end of it.



After Step Two over here, the path is much more defined. Then I moved on to Step Three: Smooth It Out. If a vehicle comes along here, I don't want its tire(s) to become stuck in a rut, so I essentially shaved away the soil from the inner (building-side) of the ditch, plus cleared up some of the lower areas - which were now visible, as more water was flowing, collecting, and backing-up in the ditch I'd dug.



The end result of today's ditch-digging was what both Paul and I consider the first phase of the overhaul of Arrakis. Far Arrakis - the sand pit, now has a nice delta where water drains.



When showing Paul what I'd done for the day, we both acknowledged that it was mostly a temporary, formative step. The entire parking pad will be lowered as much as 24 inches in some spots, with the path leading into Far Arrakis having a gradual but greater descent. More space for parking will be added on the hill side of the ditch I'd dug (in these photos, that would be to the left), so the ditch would also move further in that direction. One day at a time. My boots were wet enough.

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

Coydon Wallham wrote:I am totally looking forward to your Ghost-style homage to Demi Moore with this thing...

Best I could do was Whoopi Goldberg... But the seance scene here is my absolute favourite...!

BEL #710

Just a quick and brief update on things round here. Been doing a lot of maintenance and upkeep tasks lately. More firewood processing and general tidying-up. We have a new Boot scheduled for this coming weekend and SEPPers staying through December.

I've used my laser cutter for a couple Wheaton Labs-related tasks. One of them was a new sign for our shipment delivery spot. Here's my first draft:



Here's the one Paul recommended... after I had started burning the first version! I opted to finish that one first, then start this one. We'll post this version down at the Red Cabin.



...Yes, there's a little note in the corner that Paul specifically requested...!

And I also set up the kick pottery wheel in the Classroom, here at Basecamp. Thanks again, Bill!



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

BEL #711

Friday this week I had a full itinerary and agenda planned and ready to go. I visit Allerton Abbey to gather some ATI information from the Truly Passive Greenhouse and the Lab Pump House, and I notice this:



The upper support had come down and from all appearances it was long overdue for a replacement.

As part of the damage assessment later that afternoon, I noticed the lower support was also separating from one of the vertical support posts.



I was working solo Friday, and from the looks of things a full overhaul wasn't in the cards (I had a time-sensitive task to handle back at Basecamp later in the day so I had only one hour to come up with something here). I resolved to come up with a temporary - yet sturdy - fence substitute that would stay there until the new Boot and I could come up next week to do a full fence panel install.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who had to devise some creative ways to address "personnel shortages" while on task. So I drew upon a section of paracord I keep in my pocket for just such a situation, found a section of log, and... Ta-daa! Instant assistant! I had this fellow here hang on to the center support pole I found so I could eventually attach it to the vertical supports.



I attached two narrow-diameter poles together to form a single central horizontal support. My assistant was relegated to "on call" status, and is still on retainer as I type this.



Here's where things turned interesting. Since I only had two horizontal supports, I wouldn't be able to "weave" the vertical fence posts in place as per usual. So for this temporary fix, I alternated leaning junk poles on the exterior and interior of the fence. The result took a slightly larger quantity of junk poles, but I was able to eliminate the gaps. Imagine folding your fingers together, and that's essentially what's happening here. Instead of fingers and hands though, it's junk poles woven together across the upper support.



To ensure fence integrity (to, you know, keep the deer out), I shifted the junk poles on the exterior of the Abbey fence line to be more vertical, and most of them leaning against both the upper and lower support. The friction provided by the poles on the interior helped keep these exterior junk poles in place.



Although I think of this as a temporary fix, I do think the design has some promise and just may be worthwhile some serious consideration for at least some applications. We'll see. I'm confident that it will hold for at least a few more days.

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