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

Another data point: Sometimes, if I go back to an earlier page in a long and image-heavy thread like this one, not all the images load. If I do a hard refresh (Ctrl + F5) in the browser, they usually come back. I haven't run across the issue often enough to do a more detailed analysis, but I'm assuming that it is related to the browser's local cache.

B.E.L. Post # 273

We started our morning at the Abbey, continuing to process the woody logs outside the Abbey’s main entrance. We’re nearly finished clearing that area out, which will be nice to finally see completed.

While that was going on, Stephen was irrigating and laying down mulch donut rings around the baby trees.

After lunch, I laid more woody bits on top of the east berm, then laid another layer of soil over the top of them.

I also processed more woody bits to be put into a crate to be brought inside the Fisher-Price House for the RMH.

After that, Sam and I spent some time processing the tree I felled on Sunday even further.

Another productive day

B.E.L. Post # 274

We started our day at the Abbey again, continuing to buck, split, and stack the logs that we’ve been processing.

Then Stephen arrived with T-Rob, so we loaded up the firewood in the back of T-Rob and hauled it over to Cooper Cabin. We packed out the exterior firewood rack and then proceeded to fill up the interior firewood rack.

After lunch, I processed a crate of woody bits and brought it inside the Fisher-Price House. Then I worked on my little garden boots sitting spot.

After that, I helped Sam spread mulch on top of the berm shed. Once that was done, I placed more woody bits on top of the east berm and then used the tractor to put another layer of soil over them.

And that wrapped up my day. Another productive day at Wheaton Labs.

B.E.L. Post # 275

We started the morning out at Base Camp. Leo, Dan, and Stevie were busy getting the classroom and shop organized and tour ready, while Jesse and I headed over to work on the Red Cabin.

After spending some time there, we switched gears and went back to the berm shed to keep working on the mulch. We got a good bit of it laid and spread across the top before moving on to the tree that had been felled by the Love Shack. By the time we were done, we had the whole thing processed.

After lunch at Base Camp, I took a couple of the boots with me to work on an 18-inch-diameter dead standing tree. It had a pretty hard lean and was right along the property line. The ground was sloped and covered in ninebark, which made getting around it a little tricky.

We worked on it for a while, but eventually messaged Stephen to come give us a hand. He showed up and made pretty quick work of it, dropping that dead standing in just a few minutes.

It was another one of those full days where you start out doing one thing and somehow end up doing a little bit of everything—working on the cabin, moving mulch, processing a tree, and getting another one safely on the ground.

B.E.L. Post # 276

I started my morning waking up to a very crisp, cool morning here at basecamp. There’s something I really enjoy about those quiet, chilly mornings—it makes it easy to slow down for a moment and appreciate where I am and what I’m doing out here. I took my little dog on a long walk and enjoyed some time together before getting started with the day.

Afterwards, I got up on top of the berm shed and continued spreading out the mulch piles that were left behind from yesterday. It was nice to finally get that finished and see everything coming together a little more.

Once that was done, I took some time for myself to do a little reading and journaling. I’ve really come to appreciate having those quiet moments during my days here. There’s always something to work on, but taking a little time to reflect helps me appreciate just how much I’ve learned and experienced since coming to Wheaton Labs.

Then I headed over to the shop, sharpened a chainsaw, and brought it up to the Love Shack area. I continued processing the dead-standing tree that was felled yesterday by delimbing it and getting it ready for the next stage.

Afterwards, I processed another wooden crate of woody bits and brought it inside the Fisher Price House, leaving it on top of the RMH. That brings the total to 11 crates of woody bits processed so far.  It’s kind of satisfying seeing those little piles of material slowly turn into something useful instead of just being waste.

Once I finished up, I hung out with my little dog for a while and walked around basecamp looking for other things that needed to be done. I also started making some mental notes for the upcoming boot week and thinking about what I can help with and what I can teach the new boots.

It was another simple but productive day. Lately, I’ve been finding myself appreciating these ordinary days more—the walks, the quiet mornings, the physical work, learning new things, and even just wandering around basecamp looking for the next thing to do. Looking back, it’s pretty amazing how much can change through a collection of ordinary days like these.