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

BRK #403

Monday, and back to it. Things still seem warmer around here than I recall from last year. Low temps are hovering round the mid- to low-40s F. Lovely morning colours, for sure.



Dez and I started our day working up at the Lab's pump house site. More progress has been made with the earthworks up there.



Here's Dez on the excavator. Excellent work today, my friend!



Speaking of the excavator, our ugly weld is still holding strong.



In the afternoon, SEPPer Tolin and I planted the grape vines he brought from Washington. A major thanks goes out to Hans Quistorff for the generous gift of two grape vines for the new Grape Arbor...!!! We planted them as soon as we could this afternoon.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic start to your week...!

BRK #404

Happy Taco Tuesday to you...!

Back to the pump house project first thing this morning. Our main puzzle was how we would manage to add soil to a slope covered with drop-cloth plastic. SEPPer Tolin suggested a T-shaped support, and it seemed to work great! We also added horizontal "pleats" to the drop cloth to reduce the stress on the top seam. The hope is that, even if the drop-cloth does decide to slide down a little, it won't detach from the top edge, where the seam is most crucial.



Found this rather large mushroom knocked-over and reclining next to the Willow Candy Warehouse.



Here's most of the corn harvest from Basecamp. Inconsistent, but I think it was a clear improvement over last year. Our intention is to dry out these kernels and plant all of them next year: anticipating improvement now that we can consistently irrigate through the entire season.



Finally: late afternoon sun over the mountains. It was a nice day.



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

BRK #405

Corn and a sunflower are now boxed in a well-ventilated crate for drying. We'll store them in a month, and then plant the seeds next year.



Also received seeds from Richard today for the upcoming half-assed holiday: Appleseed Day! We're hoping to plant lots of apple, plum, apricot, and cherry trees and see what we end up with early next year.



Set what's likely one of the last couple "drying fires" at the Love Shack for the new cob hat. We've been using paper, card stock, and cardboard to warm up the barrel just enough so that the cob starts drying, but the sand encased on top of the barrel (which serves as a form for a planned hollow space) doesn't cause the barrel to overheat. Once the bulk of the cob hat is dried, we'll patch up any cracks we see, remove the sand from the top of the barrel, shape up the inside of the cavity just a bit... Then it's ready to go!



Finally: Dez and I were once again up at the Lab's pump house, shaping the earth round the walls. It's coming together...!



That's all for now. I'll be off-site for a few days, and back in time for the Fall Fest. Until then, make the most of your day...!

For those who want to meet Stephen in person (I'd highly recommend it), here's more info on Fall Fest:
Fall Fest at Wheaton Labs

BRK #406

Back home at Basecamp after a few days away, staying in town. I'm now an official resident of Montana, and the car I drive (affectionately nick-named "Car") is permanently registered here.

Upon my return, I noticed a couple changes. Not only had Donkey the cat left me a (...headless) present in my tent... In addition, the corn and sunflowers in the Library were drying at a much more accelerated rate. Maybe the fan had something to do with it, eh?



I also did a quick survey of the plants ready to be harvested. The weather is predicted to make a precipitous drop in the next couple days, so harvesting what we can before the drop happens is a priority. I snapped photos of this interesting gourd, as well as these pumpkins, before harvesting them.







The Fall Fest is happening.  We all had dinner together (thanks for the soup, Samantha!!! ) to chit-chat about the projects for the week and to work out particulars.

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