Dave Burton's Boot Adventures at Wheaton Labs and Basecamp

Good morning! This is a soundscape video I took this morning outside the Fisher Price House.

Day 5



We organized some wood in The Shop as part of the cleanup work we were doing.



We did a lot of sweeping in The Shop as part of the cleanup we were doing.



We planted some buckwheat and rhubarb seeds anywhere and everywhere we could!



And here is a view of an area above the Fisher Price House.



Here are some pictures from the day today. We worked on Allterton Abbey, some Shop cleanup, and some seed planting. I was unable to really take pictures while working at Allerton Abbey, because my phone would have gotten covered with cobb and clay, which generally makes electronics sad. I stuffed a window with wool for insulation, and then, I applied clay slip and cobb to the window.



Wharfie was napping ontop of the haybox cooker to shelter from the rain we were getting today!



Some shop cleanup pictures! Coco, Zach, and I were cleaning up the shop this afternoon!





And a cool flowchart I saw in The Shop that describes how to identify Earth materials in a bucket:

Good morning! I got distracted by Wharfie before I could go any further to take a soundscape video this morning!

Day 6



And I fed Gert and Wharfie this morning!



I took a soundscape video of an area above the Fisher Price House.



And it started raining today!



I went on a little hike above the Fisher Price House.









And these were some pretty flowers I saw on my little hike.

Good morning! I hanged out some more with Wharfie this morning! I think it's starting to be a habit that Wharfie chases me down each morning!

Day 7



I went on another hike above the Fisher Price House today!



These are some flowers, berries, and grains I saw on my hike!









Jeremy, Austin, Jen, English Fred, and I went out shooting a little bit. I learned how to shoot a gun, and I thought that was pretty cool!









I started a fermented pancake batter a couple days ago, and I'll be using it to make pancakes tomorrow morning. I stirred the pancake batter some more today. The recipe I made is a spin-off of the recipe for pancakes in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to cook for people with different dietary preferences! It's a fun challenge! I made it vegan by replacing the eggs with tapioca starch, the butter with coconut oil, and replacing the buttermilk with water and apple cider vinegar. Then, to account for people avoiding wheat, I used oat flour instead of white flour. Also, I just couldn't help deviating a bit more from the recipe, I am fermenting the dough for about 48 hours, instead of the 24 hours.

Day 8

I fried up fermented pancakes this morning!



This is a video of some of my work on cobbing around a window in Allerton Abbey.



And this is the same window after I spent some hours making it smoother and more even.

Today, we are having a very foggy morning!

Day 9



Here are some photos from this foggy morning!





I oiled the rocket stovetop today. The oil that I used on the stovetop is raw linseed oil.



These are some progress pictures during the oiling of the rocket stovetop.









Here’s a look at the whitewashed walls inside Allerton Abbey. I dusted them off before starting touch up work.



And this is the current inside state of Allerton Abbey.

Good morning! This is our system for dishes at Basecamp! We have two bins to wash by hand - one for scrubbing and one for rinsing. Then, we use the dishwasher as a drying rack. The greywater goes into a bucket, which we use for flushing the toilet or watering plants.

Day 10



Here are pictures of the system for doing dishes.






We worked on the rock patio today beside the Fisher Price House.



These are some photos from working on the rock patio.