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

BRK #348

While it started off a bit cloudy and hazy, and there was rain, it turned out to be quite a fun day in Missoula today.

We had anticipated some haze, and it was one of those days where you walked out of the tent and it smelled like someone had a campfire going just out the door.



While waiting for things to improve on the weather front, I relocated the cats' litter box to a spot just a bit further away from their food. I also pre-loaded it with some cat turds I shoveled out of the footpath in front of the Library. Maybe they'll use it for its intended purpose now.

Someone else asked about naming it, other than just calling it The Litter Box. Originally I dismissed this, but am reconsidering. I'm thinking: The Kitty Cat Bank: safe deposits are our specialty.



Meanwhile: today was Sunday Streets in Missoula, a day where they close off Higgins Street for a few hours, and let people ride bikes, rollerskate, and stroll all over the pavement. Even though there was rain in the early part of the day, they still carried through with it. Fellow Boot Liam and I headed to Higgins, strolled around a bit, and then we separated to do our own thing.

I grabbed my bicycle and pedaled several miles east, west, and south. At an otherwise nondescript corner in one of the neighbourhoods I spied a divorce settlement.



I also rode along the riverfront on the Milwaukee Road Trail. To the east, it evolved into a more and more wild thing. After about two miles on nothing but gravel, I turned about and headed back into town. The view was lovely.





To the west, the scenery evolved into a more and more suburban thing. A short distance past Higgins, there was the Missoula Natural History Center, with a fantastic mural on its front facade.



Finally: heading back into town, I realized I'd neglected to bring water with me, thinking I'd be closer to some of my usual stops in town. Before the whole Sunday Streets event wrapped up, I stopped by a trailer for a "snow cone." Turned out to be Helios: Shave Ice powered by the sun. Holy smokes, this was splendid... Blueberry, Tangerine, and NERDS.



That one took me back to my Baltimore days...

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

BRK #349

A rainy Monday, and an unusual start to the week. Didn't really find the rhythm. But that's what chocolate bars will compensate for, amirite?

Shai and I fixed the Bad Boy Buggie this morning. It had been feeling some pain due to poorly-maintained batteries, and we had resolved to have it running again. It's been out of commission since before Event Season, so it was long overdue.



Here's Shai, scrubbing away at corroded terminals.



In the process of cleaning, we found two terminals that had been eaten through - and one attached with electrical tape (...!). So I snatched up these two replacement terminals, installed them with a little elbow grease and ingenuity, and the battery was back in business.



Here's the cleaned battery assembly, with some additional protectant added to the terminals for each. It started right up, and we even took it for a victory lap round the front of the Classroom (in the rain).



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

BRK #350

Happy Taco Tuesday to you...!

The first half of the day, we were up at Allerton Abbey, continuing renovations on the retention wall. Here's the work space, with a tarp added as a sunshade. As small as the tarp is, it makes a considerable difference...!



Fellow Boots Dez and Shai focused their attention on adjusting the roof supports. Here's the "before" picture. Fellow Boot Liam is to the left.



The after picture. Note the 2"x12" plank supporting the roof timbers, then supported underneath by literally half as many roof jacks (the fourth one there, not attached to the plank, was also eventually removed). This will provide more room to move around, and room enough for us to fit the tallest roundwood timbers into place without hitting the roof, or the roof jacks.



Meanwhile, back at Basecamp in the afternoon...

Anyone know what kind of spider this is? It's fascinating, maybe 3/4" long. It was perched in the doorway to the Library.



One last question, about tomatoes. So this is a roma tomato plant. It seems to be growing healthy at this point, and even has some green tomatoes growing and ripening. However, they seem to have stalled-out, and haven't grown much in about a week. What's more , there are additional tomato flowers growing on the plant. Paul suggested that this is likely a determinant plant (with all fruits ripening and ready all at about the same time), but it's behaving rather indeterminately (fruiting and additional blooms growing whenever it feels like it). Any suggestions on what can be done to have the first wave of tomatoes ripen?



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

Observe what happens.  Tomatoes often stall with100 degree temperatures.  Cooler temperatures  cause them to boom again and also ripen.

Hans Quistorff wrote:Observe what happens.  Tomatoes often stall with100 degree temperatures.

Well, we had at least three days last week that were over 100, so that seems consistent. Hopefully the recent milder temperatures will encourage some ripening.

Thanks for the info, Hans!