Nine's Bootcamp Experience (BRK)

Currently very tuckered. Found all the game cams today. Added it to the list of things I want to take on around here. ☺️🦌

Lying on the couch listening to Dez serenade our newest boot, Logan. It's soothing, so I'm gonna go focus on that now. Have a wonderful night, friends!

#22

Tried out the four different draw knives today!

The 10" is a little unwieldy for me. The curve on it is so deep that it only works on small trees, but the handle width feels awkward for me when I'm trying to use it.

The 8" has a flatter curve and worked well! It's a comfortable width to hold while peeling and carves out under/around knots pretty well. I like it!

The flat one, after using all the others, feels out of place now. Unless you're using it on a big log, it seems like it takes too much wood off of the littler ones. Might be better for making things flat/dimensional or smaller projects. Not something I'm gonna reach for when I go out to peel logs.

The old ox head that showed up in the shop this year is the favorite. Chris and I both, after unknowingly doing a blind test, liked the ox head knife the best. It's the most versatile, can weave around knots easily, works well on both sides (bevel/flat), and feels comfortable to grip.

Thanks go out to Greg for sending over a couple of these for us to try! Thank you sooo much! We really appreciate your continued support. <3

As soon as my phone finishes uploading the video of me testing them out, I'll add it here.

A couple photos from my log peeling extravaganza yesterday. Definitely feeling it this morning.. 💪🏻

Spent a little extra time at the end of the day to clean up the knives, sharpen them so they're ready for next time, and grease them to avoid corrosion. Gotta take care of our tools. 🛠️❤️

#24

This morning I worked on a light fixture for the Library. I forgot to take pictures of it before I went up for lunch though. I'll get some tomorrow for you. 😊 I wasn't able to finish it, but I'm ready to drill the holes for the electrical portion and begin wiring it up.

After lunch, we all headed up toward the GreenHaus and set to work cobbing in between the rafters to give the roof plastic a relatively smooth surface to rest. It seemed to go well, and we finished off with a little dance party afterward.

Josiah made stir fry with peanut sauce for dinner, and it was delicious as always. I just wanna bathe in peanut sauce. 🛀🥜 😋 I made a bowl of seconds, but only got through a couple bites before my body asked me what I thought I was doing taking so much food. It was just so good.. 😭 But I stopped and saved it for my breakfast instead. 😊

My upper back is screaming at me that it wasn't ready for the last two days. Yesterday I wrastled big, icy chunks of clay dirt. There was a moment when I thought it had won. Both my feet were stuck, I fell onto my butt unexpectedly, and then tried to free myself with the pickaxe only to find that it was stuck as well. The world looked dark, friends, but that might have just been some mud in my eyes. Luckily, I was able to free myself from the muddy suction on my feet and climb from the soggy abyss.

Long story short (is it though?), all that wrastling around with a pickaxe and shovels yesterday tuckered me out, then to do more shoveling and low key wrastling today - whew. I'm so ready for bed. Finally got the fire going strong out here in the tipi. It's just above 35F in here, and I'd like to have it a bit warmer before I turn in for the night so the mass will consider holding on to some of it. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 For whatever reason (probably moist wood) it was fighting me tonight. Here's a video of me starting it last weekend when it wasn't being nearly as fussy.



Have a good night, y'all!

#25

Nest labor this morning. Missoula this afternoon for lunch and groceries. Split wood. Hiked a bit. Then a couple games of dominoes in the tipi for the last night before the new boot gets here tomorrow. I wanted to get it all warmed up for him. The mass is now toasty and I'm looking forward to sleep. Migraine and nausea for now. 😔