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

BRK #37

Yesterday I visited a Tractor Supply Co. location, and found myself another pair of gloves to try. They fit, and they seem tough. Looking forward to testing them.



Meanwhile, today is Sunday, and most of it is a day off. I took a bit of a sojourn today out to the Lab to assist an out-of-luck SKIP event attendee who lost photos of his exploits while here. However, every Sunday morning starts with Nest labor and today was no exception. So prior to heading out I assisted with laundry today. Here are some of the rugs in the house now drying on the line:



Finally: Apart from visiting Allerton Abbey for some documentation, I also went out further afield. Although it has a rather silly name, Dances With Pigs Meadow is very beautiful. Today in particular, it was hot and quiet out there. I had a feeling the Meadow would be quite content with this.



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

BRK #38

I'd like to say the heat wave has broken, but I don't want to speak too soon.  I couldn't help but notice though... Almost immediately after quittin' time today clouds rolled in with the breeze and for a minute there I thought there would be a thunderstorm or something to that effect.

Meanwhile, today I have a few more shots from this past Sunday's visit to Dances With Pigs Meadow.

Over this past week, the mullein everywhere has growth-spurted. Here's the location where SKIP attendees were felling trees and peeling logs. These mullein specimens shot up like flaming arrows in the past week.



Once King Mullein is full-grown (he's adding a few spindles to his "crown" at the moment), I'll be sure to add another photo of him.

This old pine tree out at the Meadow had seen better days. Then again, the heat hasn't treated anyone too kindly as of late.



Finally: here's a cute photo of brother Panda and sister Frances napping together back at Basecamp. I captured this Sunday afternoon.



Thank you for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #39

Critter edition...!

I've been trying out some new work gloves this week. The first pair are thick leather gloves and I think they're doing great whenever I need to do heavier labor (plus they fit well - which has been a challenge lately - and were affordable). The other pair are those flexible, neoprene-dipped gloves that, again, fit my hands well. Today in particular, while watering plants at Allerton Abbey, there was a bumblebee totally enthralled by my work gloves, standing there and snooping around for at least two minutes. Maybe the fluorescent yellow hue has something to do with it?

This bee and a few others I'd seen today had a bit of an orange colour to them, some even with thick patches of orange pollen attached to their legs. A very interesting visitor...!



Yesterday afternoon while watering the Basecamp Too hugel, Dez and I discovered what might have been chewing away at a struggling rhubarb: a fat caterpillar.



Again today, we were at Allerton Abbey. While investigating Swamp Castle on a search for peas to harvest, I found evidence of some ground-crawlers nibbling for their own meals. I just wish they'd clean up after themselves.



Another bee hunt... Can you find the friendly pollinator in this photo?



Finally: although not technically a critter, it's not technically a plant either. Here's our pet yellow mold! ...It lived for at least a day.



Thank you for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #40

Preoccupied with harvesting and garden production this week, and today it's come to a head. We did some watering at Basecamp earlier today, and I was admiring this healthy corn. Even with the sweltering heat (which does seem to be settling down somewhat), the gardens here are healthy and more plants are growing.



We also took our first attempts in harvesting Sepp Holzer grain, which is both at Basecamp and up at the Lab, particularly on the earthen roof of the Truly Passive Garden. Here's the grain still on the stalk at Basecamp. This photo was taken near the rear parking lot behind the Classroom/Workshop building, near a sandy locale named Arrakis:



Finally: Speaking of the classroom, we're also wrapping-up the take-down of the various structures we'd used for this past event season's events. Here's Grey and Hao hard at work not far from the Classroom (you can see some of the Sepp Holzer grain in the background) as we bring down the massive pavilion tent that was up for over six weeks.



We'll be re-mounting much of the event accoutrements in the Autumn for the Rocket Heater Jamboree, but until then we need to keep what we can out of the elements.

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

BRK #41

Thursday, which includes work at Basecamp, community meal made by Cory, and our inaugural game night! Tonight's titles included a giant-robot-battle card game called Wreck-a-Mecha, a first-time game of the original Mah Jongg card game, Liar's Dice, and a wrap-up with one of my favourite dice games: Throwing Sevens. Definitely going to keep game night going as long as people can put up with it.

Here are a few photos from yesterday and today. First off, we had been working at Allerton Abbey yesterday afternoon, and that's when I snapped this photo of the quarters of an uninvited guest in Swamp Castle... Not thrilled to see a freeloader, but we'll see if they'll eventually leave - and peaceably.



Later that evening, I returned to my tent to see another curious visitor... Seems like Wheaton Labs is the place to be these days.



We were back at Basecamp today, and trying to finish up all the event break-down tasks. Here's Hao zipping through the Classroom in an effort to make a clean sweep.



Finally: here's another shot of King Mullein, healthy and strong. He'll have like six massive stalks on his crown before he's through, I reckon.



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