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

B.E.L. Post # 18

Started the morning by feeding the dragon its usual share of wood — keeping that classroom rocket mass heater happy and roaring. 🔥

Afterwards, Stephen, Zach, Chapito, and I made our way to the Abbey to feed the cats and walk the junk pole fence perimeter. Always nice getting to check in on that side of the property — peaceful, crisp air, and a few curious cats keeping us company.

Once we got back to Basecamp, we jumped right into working on the garden gate replacement project. Just before lunchtime, we all teamed up to prep for some hearty vegan soup — perfect fuel for a cool day.

After lunch, we got right back to it. By the end of the day, the gate was nearly complete — just a few finishing touches left before we can call this project done. It’s looking great!

And to top off the day, Stephan surprised Zack and me by treating us to dinner in celebration of my one-month anniversary here at Wheaton Labs. 🥂 It was a really special moment for me — a reminder of how this place isn’t just about projects and skills, but about people. Out here, it truly feels like family. ❤️

B.E.L. # 19

Yesterday’s (11/06)  Adventures at Wheaton Labs

After our morning meeting, Stephen, Zack, and I headed off to the shop to light fires in the rocket mass heaters and get everything warmed up for the day. Not long after, Stephen shared some saddening news — one of our barnyard kittens had passed away during the night. A quiet moment followed before we got back to the day’s tasks.

We loaded up our war truck “Roy” with buckets and shovels, gearing up for a boneyard run. Our mission: gather gravel material for the upcoming gate replacement project over at the Abbey.

Once at the Abbey, we fed the cats and walked the fence perimeter. Afterwards, we took measurements and marked off where the future gate posts will be placed. Good progress for the project ahead.

Back at basecamp, Zack and I were tasked with completing the latch repair for the garden gate. After a bit of trial and error, our first approach with the rebar idea didn’t pan out. We pivoted to adjusting the preexisting latch, but accidentally snapped a component in the process — setting us back more than expected. Some days are like that.

By the time we wrapped things up, evening rolled in, and we were lucky enough to end the day with some of our high commander’s famous banana pancakes. A solid finish to a long one.

B.E.L. # 20

After the morning meeting, we headed to the shop and lit up the fires like usual. Once things were warming up, we made our way to the Abbey for the regular cat feeding, fence perimeter check, and the rest of the routine tasks.

Back at basecamp, we did the final adjustments on the garden gate project. It’s officially completed to our satisfaction, which feels pretty great after all the little tweaks along the way.

After lunch, Zach and I jumped over to the paddock junkpole fences. Gotta get this thing done. The Duke deserves his chickens. Stephen joined us once he wrapped up his own project, and the three of us added another rock jack post plus three more horizontal cross beams. Everything is set now for junk poles to get threaded through, which I’ll be tackling this Sunday.

Wrapped up the day thinking about how it’s already been five weeks since I arrived. Time really slipped by fast.

B.E.L. # 21

I woke up a little later than usual this morning since it’s my off day, and the first thing I saw was a big group of turkeys right outside my main windows. It was a beautiful sight, and something I definitely never saw back when I lived in Pinellas County, FL.

After writing a few letters, I decided to take on some boot tasks for the day. I logged and bucked a big tree that had already been felled near the Love Shack. Then I moved over to the enclosed section of the garden near the road and did the same to another tree there. I started working on the tree that Stephen and I fell earlier, but the two goats showed up again and completely slowed down my progress on that one.

Tomorrow, after the cleaning blitz, I plan to buck the remaining logs and stage them by the shop so I can split them. I also want to put together five cages to keep on standby for protecting the little trees. I’d also like to thread junk poles onto the section of junkpole fencing that Stephen, Zach, and I completed yesterday, just to keep the momentum rolling. I’ll finish the day off by writing a few more letters and getting some reading in.

B.E.L. # 22

After our cleaning blitz this morning, I slid into some solo work. First task was putting together five tree cages, getting those little trees ready for when the deer come wandering through like they own the place. Felt good to be ahead of the game for once.

After that, I headed over to the section of junkpole fence we boots finished on Friday and threaded an entire panel of poles into place. It gave the fence that satisfying finished look, like snapping the last piece into a puzzle.

Then I split ten logs, just me, the rounds, and the steady thump of the maul. Kind of a rhythm to it when you’re in the groove.

I wrapped up the day by unwinding with my dog, just the two of us kicking back and letting the dust settle.

B.E.L. Post # 23

For yesterday Nov. 10

After the morning meeting, we kicked things off by heading out to warm up both the shop and the classroom. Once the heaters started doing their quiet magic, the crew and I rolled out to the Abbey for the usual fence perimeter check, cat feeding shift, and a bit of general upkeep.

From there we made our way to the sawmill site, where we knocked out a solid chunk of progress on the project. Always feels good when the boards and beams behave themselves.

Back at base camp, Zach and I loaded up several crates with woody bits for the main house, then swapped snow tires onto one of the work vehicles to get it winter-ready. Wrapped up the day by bucking, splitting, and stacking a few logs to keep the firewood flow going.

A full day of steady work and good momentum.

B.E.L Post # 24

After the morning meeting, Zach and I headed out to get the shop and classroom warmed up with the fires. Once things were nice and toasty, we made our way to the Abbey to feed the cats and walk the fence perimeter—everything looked good out there.

Back at basecamp, we got to work splitting more logs for firewood and managed to stack the majority of it over at my living quarters. After that, we teamed up with Stephen to take down a big tree, got it logged up, and hauled the sections back near the shop.

We wrapped up the day with some well-earned Taco Tuesday time—perfect ending after a solid day’s work! 🌮🔥🌲

B.E.L. Post # 25

After this morning’s meeting, Stephen and I got the rocket mass heater going at the Loveshack to warm things up in preparation for the new guy arriving this Friday. Once things were heating nicely, Stephen, Zach, Chapito, and I headed over to the Abbey to do our usual fence perimeter check, feed the cats, and put in a bit more work at the sawmill site.

After wrapping up there, we made our way back to basecamp where we continued with some solar light installations, prepped the area for a new shed, and finished the day off with some mint processing.

A productive day all around — good teamwork, good progress, and the Loveshack is just about ready for the newcomer! 🌿🔥