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

BEL #795

Say hello to the Wheaton Labs Boot Team - Growing Season 2025.





This is a exemplary crew, and today in particular they made some great strides forward. Congrats to Seth, Shawn, and Matt, who successfully found and fixed a bug in the tractor's systems (literally, an insect was clogging the fuel line...), and moved Leviathan to hopefully its home for the next several seasons . It's intended to collect and store energy for the solar-powered sawmill. It's been out of commission for several months, so hopefully we'll have it back up and running before too long.

JP and I set up the Kiddie Pool behind the Classroom. This will be helpful for irrigation at Basecamp, as well as provide us with a cool-off spot when the day turns out just too darn hot.



Over the past couple years, we've found some highly-effective sprinklers for prolonged irrigation. These cast aluminum/iron sprinklers have turned out to be our favourite. They're a single piece, with no moving parts that can break down or wear out. They can launch gouts of water with no fuss, to muss. We've added four more to our current collection.



The trellises that Catherine and I made were finally placed over at the spot where we had a landslide last year. This will help direct foot traffic away from potentially fragile spots, as well as provide some clinging structures for vines and tendrils. The goal of all this is to restore stability to the soil, and I think these will be a useful addition.



This afternoon in the Woodshop, Catherine (left), Stephanie, and Caroline plot out the frame supports for our backyard shed project.



Did you know that yesterday marked 12 years since Paul had purchased the Lab property...?!?!? We celebrated with a huckleberry pie. Since I had the final slice, the pie tin served as a perfect plate.



Congratulations, and thanks for everything, Paul...!!!

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

BEL #796

I joined fellow Boots Matt and Stephanie over at the new Sawmill site today.

Here's Matt slotting Leviathan, the big battery trailer, into position. I had originally asked them to park the trailer in the wrong direction, and fortunately Matt was already experienced as a solid tractor operator and made it look like an easy fix (even with one blown-out tire).



We stretched out the legs, supported them with big rocks, then after a quick phone consultation with Paul, we had the solar panels up and orientated towards the south, to maximize solar energy collection. The winch mechanism to lock the panels into place is a clever engineering marvel.



Stephanie and I removed the tarp from the sawmill frame parts, and it really didn't seem like much to look at, at first.



We did test fittings of all the connections, and were relieved to learn that we hadn't lost any parts in transport to the new site. Tomorrow we'll use this as a guide to put posts into the ground, surround them with gravel, then level them off. Still not much to look at, but mounting it to posts will ensure it achieves and stays square, which is the main motivation to move the sawmill to a permanent spot.



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

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:BRK #343I use a homemade electrolyte powder mixed into my water, called "snake bite juice." It tastes like salty water, and I drink it throughout the day. A rounded teaspoon or less in a typical water bottle is more than enough to help you through a shift. There are four ingredients:
    1. 1 cup of Potassium Chloride.
    2. 1 cup of Baking Soda.
    3. 1/2 cup of epsom salt.
    4. 1/2 cup table salt.

It's the cheapest Gatorade I've ever had, and it's imminently effective.

Stephen,

Do you know the origin of this recipe?

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:BEL #796 . . . the new Sawmill site today.

I like the new spot!