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

Hi Esteban, spotted something to comment on.  Sorry I only pipe up when things look a touch off, I love all the photos and stories you post :)

For the notch you show in the picture, that's fine for a junkpole.  But if you're cutting an actual tree the general recommendation I go with is for the notch to only go 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the tree.  Also, you don't want to leave that chunk of wood in the back of pac man's mouth cuz it keeps the notch from closing smoothly.  Stay safe out there and keep up the good work!!

B.E.L. Post # 129

After the morning meeting and gearing up, Melissa, Seth, and I set our sights on the Abbey—where the fencing had apparently decided it wanted to cosplay as a frontier fort. 😄 Those sections had a bit too much “defensive stronghold” energy, so we got to work pulling down the junkpole pieces and rethinking the layout.

Of course, no proper fencing adjustment is complete without a little tree felling. We dropped a few well-chosen trees and turned them into much-needed horizontal pieces to bring things back into balance. There’s something deeply satisfying about taking a standing tree and, a short while later, seeing it become part of a functional structure. We kept at it steadily until lunch, making solid progress and dialing back the fortress vibes.

After refueling, we made our way back to the lab, with a quick but important stop at the Dogstar. Final adjustments were in order to get everything just right for the new SEPPer arriving tomorrow—always nice to have things squared away and welcoming for fresh boots on the ground.

From there, we rolled over to the sawmill site and got into log processing mode. Nothing fancy—just good, honest work turning logs into something more useful, one cut at a time. The kind of rhythm that makes the day fly by.

All in all, a day of transforming: forts into fences, trees into building materials, and a pile of logs into future projects. Not a bad way to spend the day. 🌲💪

Mike Haasl wrote:Hi Esteban, spotted something to comment on.  Sorry I only pipe up when things look a touch off, I love all the photos and stories you post

For the notch you show in the picture, that's fine for a junkpole.  But if you're cutting an actual tree the general recommendation I go with is for the notch to only go 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the tree.  Also, you don't want to leave that chunk of wood in the back of pac man's mouth cuz it keeps the notch from closing smoothly.  Stay safe out there and keep up the good work!!

Hey Mike,

I really appreciate you taking the time to chime in—and no need to apologize at all. That kind of input is exactly what helps keep us learning and improving out here, so thank you for that 🙏

That’s a great point about the notch depth and cleaning out the back of the “pac man’s mouth.” Makes total sense about allowing it to close properly and keeping things predictable during the fall. I’ll definitely be keeping that in mind moving forward, especially when we’re working on actual trees versus junkpoles.

And thank you for the kind words about the posts too—it means a lot to know they’re being enjoyed. Always happy to share what we’re up to out here.

Stay well, and I appreciate you helping keep us safe out there ...

B.E.L. Post # 130

This morning, Melissa and I kicked things off by heading over to the Dogstar to get things dialed in for Roger’s arrival. Gave the place some final touches so it felt welcoming and ready, then got the RMH fired up—nothing like that steady, cozy heat to bring a space to life. It’s always a good sign when the fire’s humming and everything just feels right.

After that, I shifted gears (literally, at one point 😄) and started working on rehandling that broken shovel we found earlier near Cooper Cabin. Gotta love giving old tools a second chance instead of sending them off to the great scrapyard in the sky.

Midway through the process, I paused to give Paul a lift to the shop so he could reunite with his magical Prius—which had apparently been receiving some much-needed TLC. Safe to say, that car has seen some things and lived to tell the tale.

Back to the shovel—knocked out the old peened pin, then carefully draw-bored the new wooden handle to get a solid, snug fit. Once everything lined up just right, I reattached the shovel head and gave the handle some wood love to help it stand up to the elements. It’s always satisfying watching a broken tool come back to life, stronger than before.

Plan for tomorrow: sharpen it up, wipe down the metal bits with some linseed oil, and then stage it at the Abbey’s utility shed so it’s ready for action.

B.E.L. Post # 131

Today had a steady, grounded rhythm to it.

I started the morning by slipping into a solid cleaning blitz groove—one of those flows where everything just clicks and you knock things out without overthinking. After getting things dialed in, I filled up two large containers of water to haul out to the sawmill site. I also brought along the shovel I recently gave some love to and dropped it off at the Abbey’s utility shed so it’s ready for its next chapter of work.

When I got to the sawmill site, I noticed four logs that had already been milled. I went ahead and marked them out to buck length in advance—figured it would save time and help keep things moving smoothly for whoever picks up that task next. After that, I gathered up all the scrap cuttings left over from Friday and hauled them back to basecamp.

Back at base, I processed the scraps and stacked the woody bits neatly in the classroom—always satisfying turning what could be clutter into something organized and useful.

Took a little time after that to relax and hang out with my dog, which felt well-earned. Later on, I met the three new folks who arrived today—good energy all around, and it was nice connecting and welcoming them into the space.