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

Esteban Ademovski wrote:Honestly, I’d say I’m probably over 70 of the 9' sections  by now. I haven’t really been keeping track of an exact number, but thinking back on everything we’ve worked on, I’m pretty sure it’s at least 70+.

The windstorm gave us about 30 panels that were completely down and another 10 or so that were leaning. Then there were the 6–8 sections around the Abbey entrance that were originally metal animal fencing, plus all the sections we’ve been working through from the entrance toward the Cooper Cabin gate.

A bunch of those needed to be rebuilt because the posts were rotted out at ground level— specifically the ones that didn’t have gravel socks.

So yeah, 70+ is probably a pretty good ballpark ...

That must be a few thousand junkpoles. Are they getting harder to find for harvest? Is anything being done as far as coppicing there?

Coydon Wallham wrote:

Esteban Ademovski wrote:Honestly, I’d say I’m probably over 70 of the 9' sections  by now. I haven’t really been keeping track of an exact number, but thinking back on everything we’ve worked on, I’m pretty sure it’s at least 70+.

The windstorm gave us about 30 panels that were completely down and another 10 or so that were leaning. Then there were the 6–8 sections around the Abbey entrance that were originally metal animal fencing, plus all the sections we’ve been working through from the entrance toward the Cooper Cabin gate.

A bunch of those needed to be rebuilt because the posts were rotted out at ground level— specifically the ones that didn’t have gravel socks.

So yeah, 70+ is probably a pretty good ballpark ...

That must be a few thousand junkpoles. Are they getting harder to find for harvest? Is anything being done as far as coppicing there?

Yeah, I’ve been harvesting fresh material for the posts and support pieces with coppicing in mind, and reusing the older junkpoles as pickets to fill in the panels wherever I can.

And yeah, you’re right — I must’ve harvested hundreds of trees by now. 😂 It’s definitely made me look at the woodland a little differently. I’ve gotten more mindful of what I’m cutting and what I’m leaving behind, trying to work with the regrowth and keep things healthy for the next round instead of just taking whatever I can get.

Yesterday 2026/09/21

We started out at the Abbey, focusing on filling in the four remaining panels by the Cooper Cabin gate. Once we get those finished, we’ll turn our attention to getting the gate back on the entrance where that deer decided to make its grand entrance and knocked the whole thing down.

After lunch, we shifted over to irrigation. Dan and Sam spent some time clearing logs and other material along or near the path Paul has been working on, while I hopped on the tractor and continued building up the berm by the Love Shack. I added another layer of soil over the woody bits that were already there, slowly building the berm up a little more.

Once I was done with the tractor work, I got some chop-and-drop done and filled up the turtle water tanks before heading back to my little garden bed project. I covered the remaining exposed soil with mulch, which is starting to make the whole area look a lot more intentional and a little less like a boot randomly decided to rearrange the landscape.

Toward the end of the shift, I grabbed Sam to help me move a nice little slab of stone that I think will make a perfect base for the bird bath I’ve been envisioning for the site. It took two boots to get it where I wanted it, but we got it done.

Esteban Ademovski wrote:Yeah, I’ve been harvesting fresh material for the posts and support pieces with coppicing in mind, and reusing the older junkpoles as pickets to fill in the panels wherever I can.

And yeah, you’re right — I must’ve harvested hundreds of trees by now. 😂 It’s definitely made me look at the woodland a little differently. I’ve gotten more mindful of what I’m cutting and what I’m leaving behind, trying to work with the regrowth and keep things healthy for the next round instead of just taking whatever I can get.

It looks like what's being harvested are the local conifers: Doug fir and Ponderosa pine, correct? Neither of these species are coppice friendly, because when you cut them down that's pretty much the end of the tree. So if you want to plan for a supply of pole wood, then I would suggest planting fast-growing coppice-ready varieties like willow, poplar, hazelnut, and similar trees. This could become an output of the willows that are fed by the willow feeders, for starters.

B.E.L. Post # 265

Today we started at the Abbey working on the fencing while Stephen was irrigating. I nearly knocked out a full panel, but just barely.

After lunch at Base Camp, I headed up to the Love Shack with Dan and Sam and added some woody bits to the berm. Then I laid out another layer of soil over it after they finished laying theirs.

After that, I cleared out and leveled some soil by the chicken road. I also did some irrigating, started filling the water turtle tanks for tomorrow, and added another layer of soil to the berm. To finish out the day, I did some chop-and-drop.