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

 
pollinator
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Location: Wheaton Labs, Montana, USA
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BRK #422

Happy Appleseed Day! It's another one of our Half-Assed Holidays (this is the first year for it), and it was a fun one. Caught a lot of video footage of it, so hopefully it will be shown soon.

In the first half of the day, we did the usual Boot thing. Cat and Owen finished-off the gate they started yesterday, including a nice new latch mechanism, and they ought to be proud of their work.







Our next task will be to do the same for another gate that had fallen apart somehow. It's since been shored-up so that deer can't barge in, but here's what it looked like in its original state: that's a pretty sad gate there.



I have a few photos of this afternoon's Appleseed Day action. Here's Owen using Fred's invention: a seed-dropper that allows you to plant seeds without straining your back or knees with all the bending and stooping typically required.



We planted several hundred tree seeds today...! Each grouping was labeled with the type of tree that it would grow into so that when we see sprouts all in a row, we can make a fairly accurate guess as to what kind of tree it will be.



Next year, we're anticipating several tree sprouts: apple, plum, apricot, and cherry. There may also be hazelnuts or plums mixed in there somewhere, as well. Here's to hoping.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!
 
Stephen B. Thomas
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BRK #423

We made sparks fly today.

Here are Cat and Owen with the angle grinder.





Here's yours truly:



We also finished the battery box walls today. We're still deliberating on the lid, which will be slanted so it sloughs off rain and other precipitation.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!
 
Stephen B. Thomas
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BRK #424

A Friday, and a fine way to end the Boot week. Also, happy birthday to my Mum and brother, who both turn 29 again today.

Up at the Lab, we polished-off the gate repairs today. We'd like to prevent unwelcome visitors...



Here are Cat and Owen, designing and assembling the final gate that needed repair.





I took a look in the Truly Passive Greenhouse while we were there. Closing it up for another season. I wonder just how early I can start sprouting in there next year.



Back to Basecamp in the afternoon. We're prepping for next week's Half-Assed Holiday: Bun Warmer Day. We're upgrading the heater in the bun warmer with some interesting cob-related renovations. We need more cob ready to go though, including this discrete mix of clay and perlite.



More cob-mixing, courtesy of Owen.



The team also tackled more of the puzzles present in the battery box project. More progress, but it seems a bit slow.



That's all for now. What a week...! Make the most of your weekend.
 
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I took a look in the Truly Passive Greenhouse while we were there. Closing it up for another season. I wonder just how early I can start sprouting in there next year.

It would be nice to have a resident up there to feed warm water in there and tend some winter greens
 
Stephen B. Thomas
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BRK #425

Happy Saturday! I took an excessive amount of photographs today. Hopefully I can organize them sufficiently. Some of the photos are large ones. If something doesn't load on your first try and you're curious to see them, reloading the page may help.

Prior to heading into town today, I noticed the cats piling into the heated water dish in an effort to stay warm outdoors. Part of me says, "It's time to fill the water dish, dude." Another part of me Wants to leave it alone for just a little while longer. Fortunately there's additional water for them outdoors in a couple different places, else I would have sorted this immediately.



This just might be the last weekend of the season to ride my bike round town, and I didn't want to squander it. Apart from running errands, I spent plenty of time cycling across Missoula, taking in the scenery. Today was breezy to start, transitioning to straight-out blustery by the time the sun was going down. It made for some excellent cloud-watching opportunities.









Rode along the Bitterroot Trail in SW Missoula today. Here's the pedestrian bridge that crosses Reserve Street:



Also saw this interesting sit spot/sculpture along the trail.



The Milwaukee Path Community Garden is pretty much shut down for the season, but their Little Free Library is going strong. I picked up this young-adult page burner today. This is the same guy who wrote a novella called Hatchet, which my relatives sent to me in a care package. I figure I can read both of them, then drop them off here once I'm done.



Throughout Missoula, many of the street lamp posts have these interesting torch-cut sculptures hanging from them. All are made by a local artist, though I can't recall her name. I think that during the Farmer's Market season, these have planters and live flowers in them.



I decided to write a friendly message on my cup-holder, then sneak it back into the dispenser at the coffee shop.
(it reads: "Keep being excellent! Yes, you!")



Here's my favourite photo from today. Overlooking the Clark Fork River in the middle of Missoula.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!
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The Humble Soapnut - A Guide to the Laundry Detergent that Grows on Trees ebook by Kathryn Ossing
will be released to subscribers in: soon!
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