!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

BRK #304

All day every day PTJ PTJ.

I never thought I would be so grateful for a dump trailer full of gravel until today. Local guy, affordable price, big bulldozer bucket dropped in there without any hassles. That guy is my Santa Claus.



Big thanks to Eliot for scooping diligently with the excavator so we can have it ready to move out ASAP, and of course to Samantha for letting us use her rig and for driving there and back again.



Also, big thanks to Julia today for tracking down and setting-up the canopy for the Moon Gate construction crew. Sadly, I've not nabbed a picture of that yet.

Shai and I busied ourselves with gardening at Basecamp this afternoon. Here's the Cyclone in action, thoroughly hydrating a rhubarb.



Finally: Michael O is here, and he is erecting the Ger (the yurt) along with Moto Jeff, Elizabeth, and company. Here's what it looked like earlier this evening.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #305

It's the close of week 1 of this year's PTJ, and we signed-off for a couple days with another outdoor pizza party, courtesy of the rocket oven outside the Classroom. Third time I've baked with it this year, and I think I'm building skills and memory for the task. It also helps to have the even cook prepare all the pizzas - though I must admit there's a special charm in seeing the event attendees' pizza creations. Meanwhile, our event chef Rebecca assembled some fantastic pizza pies for everyone to savor. Here are a few.



Big thanks to Julia for overseeing the pizza timer, and to both Dez and Trenton for their diligence in chopping up "toothpicks" of firewood for me to use.

We don't have much darkness during this time of the year, although I have noticed that at least the sun is down by 10pm these days. Here's the moon flexing at just before 6am.



Although I think our neighbour had a late start this year, the nearby field is now dotted with these lovely green hay bundles.



Finally: here's a goofy candid shot of me while prepping to take a photo I actually wanted.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #306

Spent a little extra time in town this weekend, and while passing by a bakery I saw a creative way to use old mixing basins.



Made it back to Basecamp on Sunday, and was greeted by this lavender friend.



Here's what $106 worth of fuel filters for a 1971 Kenworth Dump Truck looks like.
(we now have a couple spares...)



Here's what spending about 25 seconds fiddling with the air intake manifold for a 1971 Kenworth Dump Truck looks like.
(a little dish soap before water makes you look brand new...)



Here's what it looks like after you finally have the 1971 Kenworth Dump Truck running after days of wondering if it's the batteries or the fuel system, and then it turns out to be both.



Big shout-outs to JR, SEPPer Jeff, Dez, and Eliot for their various contributions to the team effort required to have the Millenium Falcon running again, and for the excavator to be ready to move up to the Lab.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #307

Decided to have a look round the Moon Gate build site before I headed into the Shower Shack for the day's hose-down. Since I have so much to learn about dry-stacking, I'm curious as to how the project is moving along. Tim is the facilitator for this project, and I'm pleased to have met him. I'm excited to see how his work turns out.

Here's the build site:



The barrel-like object in the background is the form for the opening in the Moon Gate itself, and will be built into the rock wall as it grows. Tim and participant Lisa assembled this on day 1 of the PTJ.





Where did this piece of curled-up rebar come from? I'm not so sure. I think the build will be made completely of rock, and maybe this was uncovered as they worked.



The stonework is coming along. I'm fascinated. There will be no mortar cement, or glues of any kind to hold all these rocks together.







Instead, gravel and chipped rock of various sizes fills the spaces between the rocks, with jagged edges that somehow hold things together.





Finally: I had busied myself with driving the Millennium Falcon (the big, old dump truck) to the Lab, with Rex (the excavator) loaded on the trailer. Just like this past Spring, nothing tipped over, I didn't smash into any cars or mailboxes, and nobody died. Here's Eliot reviewing the excavator's exit plan from the trailer. It's an interesting heavy-metal puzzle.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #308

Beau's mycelium insulation blocks are blooming in our Workshop.



Here's PTJ guest (and superhero) Brent in the rental excavatorat the Sepp Holzer Root Cellar site.



I took several photographs of the current state of the yurt/ger build, while visiting Moto Jeff, Michael O, and Liz: the chief builders on the project. They were leveling the gravel foundation today using the laser level. Eventually a floor will be installed.





Michael O uses the laser level at various spots around the ger to ensure the foundation gravel is as level as possible.







Horse- and yak-hair ropes hold the framework together.







Here are the two footings that support the central skylight.





That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!