Dave Burton's Boot Adventures at Wheaton Labs and Basecamp

Good morning! I fried up greens and eggs to put in the fridge for lunch!

Day 45







We peeled and cut more logs to use as counterweights on the log gate's crossbar!







These are a couple of the bigger sections of bark I was able to peel off! I think I have started to get a hang of getting the bark peeler into the cambium layer between the wood and the bark!



And I think it looks quite pretty when the bark gets peeled like this!



We tested the counterweight to guess how many more logs we ought to add, so that the crossbar can be lifted easily by most people.



We checked how easy (or difficult) it was for each of us to open and close the gate.







We peeled more logs, and I am quite excited by how good I am starting to get at log peeling! This is a log that I peeled by getting into the cambium layer!



I think it's wonderful how smooth and clean looking the log is!



And I got a nice big section of bark off of that log!



We strapped more logs onto the crossbar for the counterweight and tested it again!





After we decided that we had enough logs strapped on for the counterweight, we drilled holes and put the logs into place permanently with all-thread. Then, we added barbed wire around the crossbar and posts. I forgot to take pictures of this stuff, but I can take some pictures tomorrow of the gate to show its most up-to-date status.

Good morning! It's starting to get darker in the morning. I'm enjoying being able to see the stars and the moon when I wake up! My phone's camera however doesn't seem to be able to capture the beauty that the human eye can see in such low. So, it's pretty dark and/or grainy.

Day 46







We have a beautifully misty morning, now that the sun's out!



I fired up the rocket cooktop at Allerton Abbey!







And here's a close-up at the ram's horn of fire inside the rocket cooktop!





This is a close-up picture of the rocket cooktop roaring!



We fixed the excavator today!



The excavator is alive now!!!





We replaced a rotten out crossbar of another log gate with a newer log!



I think the afternoon was quite pretty!



We took off the barbed wire on the rotten log and put it back on the new log.



And we even balanced the log well enough that it floats!





This is the log gate after we finished replacing the rotten log and putting the barbed wire and stuff back on!



We put finished putting barbed wire onto the new gate that we made! And Jen made a pretty heart for it!



This is what the new log gate that we built looks like right now!

Good morning! I got a view of the moon this morning! I like the early morning shades of blue!

Day 47







I thought it was a nice misty morning!



I got the rocket cooktop roaring in Allerton Abbey today!









We cleaned up a lot around Allerton Abbey to make it look nicer and less like a construction zone! This is the front of Allerton Abbey.



This is the back of Allerton Abbey!



A little more outside of Allerton Abbey and a couple looks inside Allerton Abbey.





Unfortunately, I cannot submit my first time using the batch box rocket mass heater in the shop for the start and operate a batch box BB, because there was a little bit of smoke that got into the room. So, I'll have to try again another time!

This is the batch box rocket mass heater before I loaded it up.



This is the kindling before I lit the fire.



This is the kindling after I lit the fire.



This is the first load of wood.



This is the second load of wood.



We cleaned up around the auditorium, and we got it setup for the book signing event!





And I think this is a nice view of the day outside!

Good afternoon! Today's the book signing and packing party for the Building a Better World in Your Backyard book! I spent the morning doing laundry, trying to to learn how to use a drop spindle, and doing repairs to one of my shorts. I also went hiking in the morning, too!

Day 48



Jocelyn has been doing amazing cooking for the event! This was the breakfast spread!



It was beautifully misty this morning!





This is my playing around with the drop spindle!





This is the pair of shorts I was working on repairing.



These are some pictures from my hiking outside today!





These are a couple of macro photos I took at Mike Jay's hugelkultur bed!



Jocelyn made an amazing lunch spread!



Paul recorded a short podcast with Bill Erickson!



During the afternoon, I helped some with the book packing! Paul and Shawn signed a lot of books!!!











I started a knitting project and a crochet project! I'll be crocheting a beanie hat, and I'll be knitting for as long as the yarn lasts (e.g. cloth, towel, scarf?).



And we had spaghetti-flavored cake (lasagna) for dinner!

Good afternoon! Jocelyn cooked fantastic frittatas this morning for the end of the book signing and packing party this morning! I spent this morning doing a little bit of computer work. Then, I had lunch, went on a hike, did some work around the house, and did some nest labor!

Day 49

This is a naturescape video I took this afternoon at the top of the "Volcano" at Basecamp.



These are the scrumptious frittatas that Jocelyn made for breakfast today!



I also ate some of the shortbread biscuits and berry sauce that Josiah had made last night, too! And those were tasty, as well!



These are some pictures from my hike today of Big Sky Country!





I also took some macro photos of flowers, too!

Good morning! I'm doing some knitting and crochet this morning! Yesterday, Jen brought some chocolate to share with us, and it's awesome!

Day 50







Ashley showed up for the PEp event at Wheaton labs for this week! She built a hugelkultur bed today! She lifted a bunch of logs, chopped mulch, drove an excavator, and used a chainsaw! I tried using a free video editor on my phone to merge several video clips, and it made the quality of this video come out looking kinda low.













As boots, we all did a bunch of different work! We started off with installing a post for a different log gate to rest on!



We sifted some sand that will be used later for making the finish layers of cobb for the cobb floors of Allerton Abbey!



Jen did some wood chopping and mixing clay slip! Josiah was working on building stairs for use in Allerton Abbey! Jen also worked on the stairs in Allerton Abbey.



Jocelyn made a wonderful greens and eggs breakfast for us, and she cooked delicious chicken at lunch!



We picked Sepp Holzer Grain around Basecamp!



I didn't get too many other pictures of what other people were doing today. I was kind of absorbed by the whitewashing I was doing. I finished one of the walls and got the tape off of that wall!







I think we had a pretty beautiful day today!



Jocelyn cooked an awesome dinner tonight for the PEP event! She made a tasty Thai curry, beans, rice, and chicken sausage!