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

Amy Berry wrote:I'm so glad this ended with a Python quote. I kept looking at the photos of the tall trees saying,"the Larch........the Larch". I guess you had to be there.

"I chop down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wildflowers..." etc. etc. I've been wanting to inject more Python into my posts, so I'm glad someone's picking up on it.

Thank you for the well-wishing! The worst is definitely over. The last 20% of a cold is usually what takes the longest to be rid of.

BRK #169

Sunday, and back at it. Things made this past week a long one, and then Paul had his presentation on Saturday, which essentially took out our day off. So for today, I elected to start the Cleaning Blitz a little bit later in the day, and then invited everyone out for lunch to decompress.

I woke up around 2:30am this morning and was stung with an idea for our upcoming Proenneke Day half-assed holiday. It's a shelf system made out of roundwood and split wood bits. Anyhow, I didn't want to completely forget the idea, so I hobbled out of my bunk and scribbled this down before eventually making back to sleep.



At the event yesterday, someone gifted Paul an absolutely massive slab of wood. The easiest things to think it would be transformed into would be a butcher's block or maybe another classroom Slab-delier (though I think it's much, much too big for that). Maybe we'll do something with it at this summer's PTJ? Has Paul set up a poor man's poll for this yet?





...Wet wood! It's not every day you split a log for firewood and it looks like maple syrup is cupped inside.



Finally, we bid farewell to the A/V setup in the Classroom with a screening of "The Color Out Of Space," a recent film featuring Nicholas Cage smashing the inside of his family station wagon, and lots of fantastic H.P. Lovecraft-inspired imagery. As a fan of the "literature," I'd say they did a pretty good job of delivering the typical vibe of his works. Meanwhile the practical effects and makeup were outstanding (if you like monster movies, as I do). If you're down for one freaky ride and an unabashed down ending, I'd recommend it.



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

BRK #170

Monday, and with it comes a considerable stretch of time before the event season. To spice things up however, there are a number of Half-Assed Holidays on the horizon.

Speaking of which, after a shopping trip today I acquired a few more pots and platters to help us celebrate tomorrow's Houseplants Day shenanigans:



Also, I found seeds so we can start an indoor herb garden. We seem to use cilantro an awful lot (*cough* Taco Tuesday *cough*) so this ought to help us supplement our supply throughout the year. The rest will be nice to have around as well, not the least of reasons being that the house ought to smell great...!



If that wasn't enough cause for celebration, we also have Proenneke Day this coming Friday (the 13th!). The dinner menu consists of scrambled eggs and flapjacks. I picked up some buckwheat flour for those of us interested in savory flavors and textures for our pancakes, as well as a number of fruit spreads to add as toppings. For dessert, we have a number of apples I'd like to bake in the oven, however I picked up more vegan marshmallows for s'mores as a plan B.



And speaking of horizons, here's another view of the mountains south of Missoula. There's absolutely nothing to be bored of whenever I look out there, ever.



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

My experience with cilantro is that it's great until one random minute when it all goes to seed. You might want to stagger your plantings.
Baked apples sounds GREAT. I have several left from our trip to Hollabaugh's orchard in October and I think I'll bake some apples tonight!
Nancy

BRK #171

Happy National Houseplants Day to you...!!!

First off, just a couple typical-boot-ish photos to start things off.

For whatever reason, I've not been sleeping well lately. Maybe it's just that I'm still shaking off the cold from late last week. Anyhow, I was awake this morning at 4am and couldn't sleep. So what better time to go outside and practice night-time photography again? This misty, dismal shot of the moon from behind snow clouds was my attempt.



The sun eventually rose, and the mist and clouds remained. Here's a snapshot of the view westward, looking towards the Caldera from the driveway.



In the first half of the day, the boots team was dedicated to cleaning-up the Classroom once and for all now that the event is over and done. Things are looking quite tidy down there right now.



Next up are a number of photos from Houseplants Day. We were busy and I think we bit off more than we could chew with this one, while still managing to successfully transplant, clean up, and plant new seedlings throughout both the Fisher Price House and the Library. I think the plants will be living much healthier the year ahead, regardless.



I just learned about Ocean Forest, which seasoned gardener Daniel mentioned is his go-to for seedlings. We also had some other organic potting soils, worm castings, and homebrew potting soil that Caleb had made for the Greenhouse.





Grey was very busy in the kitchen, dressing up the wooden plant-rack-chandelier over the kitchen table. Here was part of his workstation.



Here are two of the plants I re-potted today. I'm particularly fond of this little rooster pitcher.





In the Library, Caleb extended the windowsill so we could add larger plant pots to it to gain some of that late-afternoon sun. Here it is in-process.



We wrapped-up the day watching the 2006 film "The Fountain," which featured three intertwined storylines from past, present, and future, and a guy's whacked-out relationship with The Tree of Life. Then it was Taco Tuesday for dinner...! So, good vibes all around.

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