!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seth's Lazer-Focused, Long-Winded, Lively List of Lab Lessons (BEL)

Led off the morning with surprise sourdough pancakes, the surprise being that they were supposed to be bread, and none did dread. The roll and write game of this morning was Cartographers Heroes, I won, of course. And now I sit to start my BEL in the freshly organized library, and attempt this sewing project.
I finished writing this after the 1.5 hour sewing project turned into a 5.5 hour learning to sew from memory extravaganza. I Sewed tubes and pulled them inside out, which is really hard when they are narrow. But the chair pad that I set to fix is now repaired with extra fancy denim straps. Since I already had the sewing machine and access to tons of fabric straps, I also made myself some multi use draw string type bags. Part of my everyday carry at the lab is a handkerchief or towel of some kind, and I wanted to add a small bag or pouch for small parts or foraging. Rather than add a whole new item to my limited pocket space, I picked some nice soft cloth and made a couple bags that can also be used as rags. I’ll be trying them out Monday, if anyone is curious as to how they work. For now, I’m off to the sauna. -Seth

BEL #16 Monday May 5, 2025 Cinco de Mayo

Starting out Monday morning we welcomed in a new boot, Catherine, a fellow Texan. We were back at Allerton Abbey working on the wing walls only to be reminded again of the lesson that the tool you need is the one you didn’t bring. Progress was made, but more will be made when we come back tomorrow with literally all of the tools. We harvested a boat load of stinging nettle which I had for lunch. I found out that cooking said nettle the way that I did causes my enjoyment of it to decrease by about 70%. I’ll be experimenting with some other alternatives. Paul has made multiple mentions of a fabled stinging nettle lasagna that blew his socks permanently off. Maybe I’ll just find a recipe to top it.
For the afternoon, we stayed at base camp to work on various other projects. The willow bank has water hooked up to the hand sink now. Potatoes have been planted all around the berms. The site for two incoming raspberry canes as raspberry rock has been painstakingly carved out of rock, and even a worm town was installed. We’re having dandelion fritters, and fried sunchokes for dinner. Corn is roasting for salsa, sprouts are ready for breakfast, and the sauna awaits. Oh and my habanda peppers have sprouted, they’re a sweet habanero, they’re delicious, and I’m excited to share and see how they perform on a hugelkultur berm. -SC

BEL #17 Tuesday May 6, 2025
Have you ever planted 25 trees in one day? The boots sure have. 25 hazelnut trees have been planted at Allerton Abbey as well as all over base camp. A good number made it inside fences, but we do have a few waiting for the next batch of bone sauce. I have finally uncovered the mystery of where Black Spark has hidden her kittens. An upright trash can in the berm shed with some straw at the bottom was her spot of choice, and her four kittens now make eight on site.
There is never a tacoless Tuesday at Wheaton labs, and far be it from me to change that. However it is near to me that the event should marginally improve. My all time favorite fast food is Chipotle Mexican grill. So when taco Tuesday rolls around, I eat mine out of a bowl with chips. I can abide not having Chipotle (my comments on Chipotle as a company later), but one thing I will not abide is a lack of corn salsa. So last week, in the spirit of improvement, I made my first iteration of corn salsa, and this week I made it with corn that I roasted in the oven last night. It is confirmed by myself and all pertinent parties. That was a long way to say that I like corn salsa and feel the need to write about it at length. Please enjoy the pictures. Seth

BEL #18 Wednesday May 7, 2025

Wednesday morning was spent at the leviathan, our big ass solar trailer that powers the saw mill. All four tires are flat and it needs to be moved to the other side of the lab, so we ended up taking off 3 that were dry rotted. The miracle of the day was that we found the specially sized tires we needed at the boneyard. Now the new(ish) tires, and old rims are off to get arranged with the kinds of machinery and techniques that we don’t care for here. Hopefully the tires are ready for pickup this weekend, then we can get the leviathan relocated, and sawmill in operation for this summer.
The afternoon was spent making bone sauce, labeling trees, and goat mode around the trees. I recorded a lot of video of it which will probably get edited down and then released somewhere. Finished off the night with some star wars andor, the action is rising, and it’s really stirring force around here. Back tomorrow. Seth.