Kyle's Permie Bootcamp (BRK)

BRK Post 133

Back to some real gardening today.

We started the morning with fetching water from the neighbors instead of the creek. And the neighbor has horses. So I got to meet two horses and give them a few rubs and pats. Then they stepped on the hose (looked deliberate) when Dez tried to pack up. They have senses of humor apparently.

I got to harvest some of the potatoes I planted in spring. A lot of them are still small so I'm going to try to leave them growing as long as possible.

I picked a bunch of kale stalks that were fully grown, it should encourage the plant to put on new growth.

The rose in the garden had a bunch of dead canes so I pruned them out and gave the others space to grow.

The new boot, Grey, helped me break the canes down into mulch after he drained and cleaned up Zeek's wound. I like this guy, he's gonna fit right in.

BRK Post 134

This morning we got a break from the heat, the mountains were blanketed in mist and the sky stayed cloudy until late morning.

We spent our morning getting the shop and berm shed in tip top shape. Cleaning up wood shavings and chips, raking up loose straw, organizing the berm shed, putting away rocket heater bits.

Everything looks much better now.

After lunch I worked with Dez and Grey to get  the next step done on the solarium. We filled in the surrounding area with large rocks, then gravel, and finally fine gravel. There is a bit more to add but it is nearly there.

We'll likely be working on the solarium a little bit most days until it's done.

BRK Post 135

Today's work was all about the solarium.

Grey and I made some more gravel with picks, a sledgehammer, and a jackhammer. I think we have enough now but the mountain side isn't going anywhere if we need more.

The trail next to the solarium had to move over a bit anyway so some of the gravel came from there and made room for a lower pathway.

Grey had quite a bit of enthusiasm for making gravel so I left him to it and jumped over to some woodworking.

I got the two short base plates for the walls in place, I carefully measured where the rebar pins would go and drilled out holes for them. Got them both right in one shot, woo! Good thing too, I lost my undriller bits.

We took a break and did some tree care. There are young trees all over basecamp that need water during the dry season. So we set jugs of water at the base of each and let them slowing drain.

I think Mags and Dez put out two whole loads of water today over all of the gardens, pretty impressive!

Back to the solarium. Grey and I did some more work getting the long sill cut to size. We took off the two sides to reach the right width and shaved down a lot of the cut sides to flatten any wavy spots.

Tomorrow I hope to get the final sill prepped and in place.

BRK Post 136

I took it a little slower today. Spent time seeding a good portion of the primary gardening space with winter peas. They should improve the garden over winter. And I'm soaking some more peas to get them ready to plants

I observed lots of life in the gardens today, lots of mycelium threads in the mulch, ladybugs, beetles, a mushroom, squash flower, kittens wrestling. Everything is appreciating the daily watering.

Dez and Mags put out around 1500 gallons of water today, plus there is a rain storm predicted for tonight. I'm hoping for a late summer flush of growth.

Other than gardening, Grey and I finished getting the long sill to the right dimensions and roughed out the notches on each side. It took a lot of relief cuts, hatcheting, and chainsaw shaving. It's a 20 foot length piece, so every time we need to take the width down it takes a long time.

I'll get pictures of it tomorrow. We get to make peg holes through the ends and I'd like to document the process.

BRK Post 137

Summary of the morning: Watering, chopping grass, composting, cleaning up the classroom.

Onto the good stuff.

For the afternoon, Grey and I got the sill notches squared and planed. Then the mortise through the center chiseled out. It is much to talk about but doing it gave me a good idea of how precise the cuts need to be and how sharp my tools need to be. Spoiler, they need some care.

We just need to do a test fit and make sure everything fits.