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

B.E.L. Post # 210

After the morning meeting, Leo headed out with Stephen to the Abbey to continue working on the wing walls along with some other tasks. Meanwhile, Melissa, Jesse, and I stayed behind at basecamp to keep things moving.

I had Melissa focus on soil probing and irrigating areas as needed, making sure the plants were getting the attention they needed. Jesse continued with chop and drop work up at Lightning Hill along with mulching, while I worked on putting together some tree cages from the fencing material we had brought over from the pond.

I assembled four cages, and after getting them put together, I installed the first one around a young hazelnut tree to give it some protection as it continues to grow. The remaining three cages will be set up tomorrow.

After that, I spent some time doing chop and drop and watering some of the trees around the site. It was a steady morning of tending, building, and supporting the systems we’ve been putting in place.

After lunch, we headed over to the lab and continued where we left off yesterday. Jesse and Leo kept knocking out filling in their framed junkpole panels, while I continued making progress on my own section by framing up the six panels I’ve been working on.

Another productive day of moving projects forward, caring for the land, and stacking small accomplishments that add up over time.

Coydon Wallham wrote:Great shot of Melissa with the raptor(?) soaring above...

😂 Haha yeah, it really does look like Melissa has a little wildlife escort watching over the garden operation. I’m pretty sure the raptor was just making sure the mulch work was being done correctly… supervisor from above. 🦅🌱

B.E.L. Post # 211

We started the morning over at the Abbey, where Stephen brought over the large water container on a trailer. He took some time to demonstrate how to properly operate the water pump and showed us how to attach the manifold so multiple irrigation hoses could be run at the same time. It was great hands-on training and will definitely come in handy moving forward.

Once that was finished, I got back to work filling in the junkpole fencing. By the end of the morning, I had completed one full panel, making sure every pole fit nice and snug. Meanwhile, Leo and Jesse were working on filling in the other recently rebuilt fence panels, while Melissa made her usual rounds doing chop and drop, irrigating, and mulching around the lab.

After lunch back at basecamp, I assigned Leo and Melissa to continue working on their firewood rack project. Jesse kept busy with mulching and doing chop and drop around the baby trees up at Lightning Hill. I spent some time setting up a sprinkler system at Apricot Alley to keep the young trees well watered, then headed over by the Red Cabin to do some chop and drop before installing a protective cage up at Raspberry Island to help safeguard one of the young trees.

Later in the afternoon, Jesse and I made our way back to the Abbey and continued working on the junkpole fencing. It was satisfying seeing the fence gradually come together as each panel was filled in. Overall, it was another productive day with everyone making steady progress on a variety of projects, from irrigation and tree care to fencing and firewood storage.

B.E.L. Post # 212

This morning started with Leo heading over to the Abbey with Stephen to continue some cob work. While they were engaged with that, the rest of us focused on soil probing and irrigation work around basecamp.

A big part of the morning was chop and drop—taking fallen material and using it to build mulch donut rings around the caged baby trees. We also set up another cage over at Raspberry Island, continuing to expand protection for young plantings and improve establishment conditions going into the next season.

After lunch, I tasked Leo with another full boot shift on the firewood rack project he’s been running point on, keeping that momentum going and pushing it toward completion.  I tasked Melissa with continuing irrigation along the guest parking area behind the classroom and out toward Far Arrakis, while also making sure both the shop and classroom stay tour-ready in anticipation of the arrival of the new boot and WWOOFer.

Meanwhile, I continued chop and drop work around the Red Cabin area, building out more mulch support for nearby plantings. Jesse was working around Lightning Hill, continuing mulching efforts around the caged baby trees there.

Later in the day, Jesse and I made our way over to the Abbey to work on filling in the junkpole fence panels. I was able to complete another full panel during the shift, adding steady progress toward closing in that section for the boot shift.

B.E.L. Post # 213

The morning started off with feeding the barnyard cats and doing a quick round of checks around their usual hangouts. Everything was calm and routine there, no issues noted.

From there I moved into irrigating the berms within the garden paddock. Focused on making sure the water was getting where it needed to go rather than just running surface-level. Some of the higher spots were starting to dry out more quickly, so I slowed the flow in those areas and gave them a bit more time to soak in.

After irrigation, I shifted over toward the red cabin area and did some chop-and-drop work. Mostly clearing out small growth and laying it down in place to continue building up mulch and organic matter. It’s simple work, but it’s starting to stack up nicely in terms of ground coverage.

The remainder of the day was quieter—spent journaling, studying, and taking some time to play with my dog. Good balance after a more hands-on morning. The slower pace gave a chance to reset and observe the land a bit more without being in task mode.