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

BRK #325

The final day of SKIP, and the final day of the summer events for 2023. I describe my feelings for today as:

Oh! it's over!!!

-and-

Oh. It's... over.

It's been a lovely summer. To wrap-up the event season, I wanted to include a few photos from the Swede-ified Sauna. Katie assembled a cracking team and completed half a dozen smaller projects to transform the humble sauna shell into a sauna compound, a (as she describes it) "third place" for the Boots so they have a place to relax and recuperate after weeks of labor.

I'm grateful for Katie's work, and that of her team. I'm grateful for the chance to cross paths with so many other folks keen on permaculture, gardening, and natural building. I doubt I would have had the chance had I not been here at Wheaton Labs, and had Paul not opened his door and welcomed them here so generously.







(this one's great for cooking up some s'mores!)

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your weekend...!

BRK #326

Here we are in Big Sky Country.



In Missoula, the north side of town along Higgins is dominated by a railroad exhibit and historical landmark train station. A pair of the original traffic markers still remains in town as part of the artifacts from the 1800s.



The morning was occupied with several farewells and well-wishings to the guests who took their leave today. As it turns out, over the course of the summer events I somehow acquired the nickname of Dad. I initially scowled at this (from a very early age I had vowed to never sire any children), but when I was given this thank-you gift my frown most definitely turned upside-down.



Finally: and now for something completely different... I've been eating Kale Sandwiches. As in: kale on top, kale on the bottom, and kale in the middle. It's like a bitter and savory energy bar and I regret nothing. Lacinato Kale: it's got what Dad craves.



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

BRK #327

If I recall correctly, it's unusual to see so many clouds this time of year. Of course, as soon as the sun makes it over the mountains, the clouds begin to disappear. I think humidity in the air was hovering around 22% for most of the day. We set up sprinklers for the plants at Basecamp, and provided some relief to them from the arid heat.



We're continuing to observe the sun shades atop the Classroom here at Basecamp. They seem to have stretched and are now frequently touching the Classroom's roof, and thus eliminating much of its cooling effect. In the last days of the SKIP event, Paul, Mike Haasl, and I had a discussion about improvement options.

One of them requires that the cable be mounted roughly 12 additional feet above its current position on the Bob Tree. This would make it a conspicuous addition, but would also prevent the loss of cooling. We're still on the fence about it, but seeing as though the other options we've devised really don't match up, we're likely going to try this method.



Here's the current view of the Classroom interior. We've begun the event clean-up process, and it already looks transformed into more of a workshop than a classroom, dining hall, or hangout. I think the area rugs we implemented this year are a major improvement to the space. This winter, I'd like to do more with the ceiling: both insulation and paneling.



Here's a shot of Jae's improved "signal pennant" over at the WilloWonka. It's a fine starting point for further improvements. Personally, I'd like to take this on, devising a way to have the pennant "hinge out" as the door's lock is engaged. We'll see what comes of this in the weeks ahead.



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

There's a BB for improving an occupancy indicator ;)

Thanks for all your help the last three weeks Stephen!  I'm already looking forward to next year...

BRK #328

It's a mixed bag of photos this Monday: the week after event season has concluded. There's a fair amount of clean-up happening right now. Once we peel off the first layer of dust and tree sap, we'll be chipping away at the remaining PTJ and SKIP projects and tasks.

You can almost see the grasses jumping, until you're close enough to realize it's literally grasshoppers, hopping from one blade of grass to the next. You hear the click-click-click of their legs as they try escaping you via their imitation of flight.



Another gorgeous flower I don't know the name of. There are a handful of ornamentals that appeared this year that I don't recall from last year. Really don't mind it, though.



Here's the view from the sawmill, at the peak of the summer. I don't want to be anywhere else.



Finally: also strolled past the Swede-ified Sauna, this time during daylight hours. They really did a nice job with their improvements. Maybe I'll brave the sauna again this year...



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