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

B.E.L. Post # 236

Jesse, Leo, and I started our day at Basecamp, where we set up the irrigation sprinklers, did some soil probing, and watered Lightning Hill with watering cans. From there we moved over to the Horseradish Berm for some trail maintenance.

Leo and I also continued working on the junkpole panel at the house paddock, and we were able to completely finish the framing on it. We also made sure there was gas in the work rig before getting into some chop and drop.

In the afternoon, Leo and Jesse joined Stephen out at the Lemon Tree site to get some more time operating the excavator. The terrain out there is fairly flat, and they were working on digging soil from a designated area and loading it into the dump trailer, with Stephen supervising and giving them guidance as needed. The soil is going to be hauled back and staged at Basecamp for an upcoming project.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was with me at the Abbey. I went over the proper procedures for operating a chainsaw and had them work on clearing an area with some tree stumps. After that, we set up drip jugs around some caged baby trees, then they helped me with framing another junkpole panel before we finished up with some chop and drop.

Later on, we switched things around. Jesse and Leo came back to the Abbey while Andrew and I joined Stephen out at the Lemon Tree site.

I was really excited to get another turn on the excavator. Today I got 17 minutes of supervised seat time, bringing my total between yesterday and today to 32 minutes.

One of the things I noticed today was how much smoother the controls were starting to feel compared to yesterday. I'm beginning to develop some muscle memory with the controls, and the movements are starting to feel a little more natural instead of having to think about every movement individually. Stephen was there supervising and helping guide me as needed while I worked on digging the soil and loading the dump trailer.

I'm still very much a beginner on the excavator, but it's pretty cool to already feel a difference after only two days. I'm definitely looking forward to getting more time in the seat and continuing to build that skill.

Esteban Ademovski wrote:I was really excited to get another turn on the excavator. Today I got 17 minutes of supervised seat time, bringing my total between yesterday and today to 32 minutes.

I think you're doing a superb job so far with Rex, Esteban...! You ought to have plenty of hours racked-up this coming week and then more time going into the winter.

Esteban Ademovski wrote:The soil is going to be hauled back and staged at Basecamp for an upcoming project.

Any idea how long soil like this can be staged and retain biological activity before it reverts to dirt?