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

BRK #164

I hope everyone who sees this makes 2023 one of their best years yet.











Happy New Year to you, Permies community...!

BRK #165

Fell off the BRK wagon for a day due to adjusting to the event schedule, but hopefully you'll find these photos interesting. Today is Day 2 of the Garden Master course, and it's been a pleasure to pick up on excellent information a little bit here, a little bit there, whenever I pass by the Classroom. It's clearly a great opportunity to broaden and deepen one's knowledge in market garden know-how, as well as a wealth of knowledge in general gardening skills and ecology. Here are some of the students on their lunch break.



The Boots are busy with behind-the-scenes event prep and logistics, though we're also able to fit in typical boot tasks. For instance, here's the "second dog's view" of Grey as he changes-out the batteries on one of our trail cams.



Caleb and I visited the Sawmill today up at the Lab, and I did my first-ever operation of the tool. Here's a board we staged in the sawmill, ready to cut into 3/8" boards for various construction projects.



Finally: the mama cat here, Black Spark, is looking for a man again. She's passing through Choco's territory these past couple days, and he's never been one too slow on the uptake. I can't imagine that the icy driveway is an ideal location, however.



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

BRK #166

The Garden Master Course continues, and we welcome another Boot today. Hello, Motorcycle Jeff! We put you straight to work, didn't we?

Here's an experiment-related project. Paul is hoping to find ways to preserve air pockets at the windows, and then measure the loss of heat in the winter. These blinds will provide a second layer at all windows in the Fisher Price House and Library.



Here's what a set of blinds looks like when two are on the same window. We may need to find some way to build up the wall thickness between these two windows, or perhaps use a single, wider window blind.



Caleb and I visited the Sawmill today and sawed more 3/8" boards for wall and ceiling panels. Here's the log we polished-off today.



He and I also discussed some possible improvements to the Sawmill so that we would reduce the chance of delays or inaccuracies because of snow, ice, and built-up sawdust. I sent this doctored image to Paul, with the hopes that it starts a discussion about how we can address these persistent issues.



Finally, Grey and Jeff worked in the Dogstar today in an effort to install another "cob hat" on a Rocket Mass Heater. It's still in process, however based on it's current state I think the final result will look fantastic!



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

BRK #167

It's hard to believe that the 2023 Garden Master Course will be over tomorrow. Like most of my time here, days streak by, "like a flaming arrow." Here are some photos of today's happenings.

While up at the Lab today, I had a chance to hike around the Dogstar for a bit. I'd only seen the place for the first time maybe two weeks ago, so I knew very little of the environs. There's at least one moose wandering around up there - we saw it yesterday as we were driving through Ant Village. It looks to be a young moose, though we couldn't tell if it was male or female. I think today I picked up on its trail through the snow.



Here are two sides of an old stump that's been through quite a bit. It had been affected by a forest fire some time ago, then finally cut down. Later, it became the house for a few animals.





I also grabbed a few shots of some larch that were hanging on, while dormant through the winter.







Grey continued his work with the Cob Hat over at the Dogstar cabin today. The larger opening is an attempt to accommodate some of those heat-powered fans. He's hoping the aperture will be large enough to fit one of the twin-bladed fans inside. We'll see how the final version works out.



At the end of the day, we all worked on firewood harvesting. Here's Grey and new boot (but seasoned veteran of Wheaton Labs events) Jeff as we bucked and split today's collection.



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

BRK #168

Well, I took a half-sick day (to clarify: half a day off, while I was fully-sick) and mostly slept for about 19 hours straight. And after today, the worst seems to be over and I can actually complete a sentence without coughing. It sucks to be out of commission like I was. There was a lot going on this weekend, but I was useless for a day.

Missed Paul's RMH presentation today, which was terribly unfortunate. While passing through, it looked to be a full house. For my part today, I ended up ferrying three Garden Master Course participants to the airport, and meandering my way back to Basecamp before sundown.

Here are the mountains to the south in the afternoon: one of my favourite views.



The morning here today was fitfully misty and mysterious. I wish I caught the birds hanging out on the branches here before they were spooked, and darted away.



Finally: curious news regarding our potatoes. Somehow, a few buckets of the spuds caught a bunch of water while in the Basecamp Pump House. I'd set them out to see if there might be anything to salvage and store again. Note to self: keep buckets of spuds away from the "corners" of the lid.



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