evan's ant village log

Day 1

I've arrived at the labs and selected my spot in ant village. I've already seen lots of deer and turkeys. I'm definitely going to need a good fence asap.

So much of the flora is different than what I'm used to. I have so much to learn. Mullein is one of the few familiar faces.

The pooper is functional.

Hi Evan -

Yay!
Thanks for posting this, and letting us know about your dibs in ant village and including pics!

Best of luck!
Mariamne

Wooly Lambs Ear... Thats a familiar plant down here too!

Fancy loo That roof looks a bit big for the cubicle are you planning for future expansion? Slave-gapper latrine space?

I look forward to your postings, thanks for trying the ant village out.

Day 2

There's still snow on the distant hills, but it's nice and warm here in the afternoon.

Tiny little yellow flowers are popping up amongst the lichen-coated rocks. I haven't identified this species yet, but I admire it's tenacity in the face of adversity.

I put together a swingy covered bench thingy on top of the volcano in exchange for a couple meals. There's no shortage of work to do around here that Paul is willing to pay to have done. I won't starve while my gardens are getting established.

Good going, Evan!

I'm so glad you are there and helping out. I've got a good feeling about this.

I can't wait to see what you've built by late July when I'm planning to drive out there!

Nice photos Evan! The one with the swing could be for their catalog.

Glacier Lily - a good spring edible, with tasty little bulbs.

I have a couple of questions and a comment about the " outhouse ". First of all is it an outhouse, secondly who built it and thirdly are any of the buildings other than the wofati's built with poles? I was just telling my daughter that there used to be lots of pole sheds, stables and utility buildings in our area. You still needed lumber of some sort for the outside of the walls and the floors and roof but the studs, joist and rafters were frequently made with poles. If I had to cut lumber with a pit saw I would build with as many poles as possible, with a solar electric saw maybe not so much.

Day 3

The mornings have been a bit frosty, but I've got a good sleeping bag. I took a picture of a plant I'm told is maybe Kinickkinick? Still need to brush up on my local wildlife.

Got a ride into Missoula today to pick up supplies. Did a little spot of dumpster-diving at the recycling center to gather materials for building my rocket cook stove, but I didn't find everything I needed so I bought a couple cans of beans, mainly for the cans, but they'll also help round out a few humble meals first. Stack those functions.

Besides a few small tools and some food, I also picked up three plastic bins. These should help keep the critters out of my food.

Wyatt, the pooper went up in 2013.

You can read about it here.