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

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.

B.E.L. Post # 214

Started the morning off feeding the cats, then jumped into a cleaning blitz a bit earlier than usual so I could start getting basecamp tightened up and tour-ready for the new boot arriving.

After that I handled irrigation around Apricot Alley, the red cabin, and the horseradish berm—gave each area a solid ~2 hour soak so the water could really sink in. I also did a bit more chop and drop around the red cabin to keep building mulch and clean things up at the same time.

Later in the day I got to meet and get to know the new boot, which was a nice moment and helped set the tone for the next phase of things.

Ended the day with some journaling, reading, and reflection. Hard to believe I’ve already been a point person here for almost two months—time really does move differently out here when you’re in it day to day.

B.E.L. Post # 215

This morning started with Stephen and the new boot Matt hauling a flatbed of water up to the Abbey so we would have water ready for irrigation later in the day. After that, Stephen gave Matt a tour of the lab and showed him around some of the different projects and areas here.

The rest of us stayed back at basecamp and got to work. I had Leo and Seth take care of the quarterly maintenance on the little tankless water heater underneath the Fischer Price house, keeping up with the small but important things that help everything run smoothly. After that, we moved on to the firewood project and continued making progress there.

Meanwhile, Jesse was working on Lightning Hill and the horseradish berm, continuing to improve those growing areas. Melissa and I spent the day at Apricot Alley doing chop and drop, making mulch donut rings around the young trees to help hold moisture and build soil. We also worked on irrigation and set up a few more tree cages to protect the baby trees as they continue growing.

In the afternoon, I had Matt start cleaning up the ground from the front entrance of the Abbey toward the Cooper Cabin gate, helping tidy up and improve the area. While he was working on that, Jesse and I continued building our junkpole panels.

At the same time, Seth, Melissa, and Leo were busy irrigating and mulching around camp.

B.E.L. Post # 216

After the morning meeting, Stephen and Kathy headed over to the lab to make sure we had plenty of portable water for irrigation, along with taking care of a few other tasks.

Back at basecamp, I had Leo and Matt install three tree cages in Apricot Alley before sending them to the shop to continue working on the firewood rack project. Meanwhile, Jesse spent the morning on Lightning Hill before moving over to remove grass from the horseradish berm.

Melissa and I focused on chop-and-drop along the fence line on the opposite side of the drive. We gathered all of the organic material and used it as mulch on the berm across from the library. Once we finished there, we headed to the shop to perform maintenance on several chainsaws, making sure they were cleaned up and ready for future work.

After lunch, the whole crew made our way to the Abbey. Leo and Melissa took care of irrigation while continuing with more chop-and-drop. Jesse and I each continued building our fencing panels, while Matt and Kathy cleared away organic debris to create a small path along the fence line before joining Leo and Melissa.

B.E.L. Post # 217

After the morning meeting, Melissa and Kathy headed out with Stephen to fill up the large water containers for the Abbey and take care of some other tasks Stephen wanted to accomplish.

Meanwhile, back at basecamp, I got my crew started on a few different projects. I tasked Leo and Matt with beginning the process of disassembling some of the broken or gimpy rock jacks up at lightening hill. These structures have served their purpose, and now we’re reclaiming the materials and making better use of the space. I’ll also be having Leo take point on the junkpole fencing at basecamp while I continue my work on the junkpole fencing at the Abbey.

While they were working on that, Jesse was over at the horseradish berm continuing improvements there. She worked on chop and drop as well as further trail maintenance to improve the area and keep things moving forward.

My focus for the morning was irrigation and maintenance. I started watering the berms inside the garden gate and also made my way over to Apricot Alley to get irrigation where it was needed. Along the way, I also got some chop and drop done, performed some chainsaw maintenance, and processed aluminum cans.

After lunch, we headed over to the Abbey to continue the bigger projects there. Leo and Melissa worked on irrigation and mulching, making sure the plants and growing areas were taken care of. Meanwhile, Jesse and I continued working on the junkpole fencing project. We kept making progress on the fence while Matt and Kathy worked on processing the junkpoles that I couldn’t use for the actual build, helping filling in older built junkpole panels.

B.E.L. Post # 218

This morning we started our day working at the Abbey. I had Leo and Melissa focus on irrigation and chop-and-drop while Jesse and I continued working on our junkpole fence panels. Meanwhile, Matt worked on filling in additional sections of the fence with junkpoles, helping keep the progress moving forward.

For the afternoon shift, I had Leo and Matt continue working on the basecamp junkpole fence repair and rebuild before joining Melissa, Kathy, and me on another maintenance project. This time, we were restoring the outdoor picnic table on the patio.

The picnic table had become weathered and grey over time, so we worked on bringing the surface back to life using only card scrapers and hand planers. The goal was to remove the rough, weathered areas and reduce the chance of splinters while preserving the character of the roundwood timber. Once finished, the plan is to protect the wood with two coats of linseed oil to help extend its life and keep it protected from the elements.

While we were working on the table restoration, irrigation continued at the berm across from the library and the horseradish berm. Jesse continued working on the horseradish berm as well, keeping that project moving forward.

Another good day of working together, maintaining what we have, and learning new skills along the way.