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

BRK #436

Well hey Mike Haasl, whaddya know - it worked!



Thanks for the suggestions on a modified design. It does exactly what we need it to do. I'll decorate it on Art Day (one of our upcoming Half Assed Holidays).

Meanwhile, the rest of the day was plagued with setbacks. The sawmill is acting up whenever we have longer logs in there to be processed. However something is twisted as the saw closes in on the end of the log, scorching and burning the wood - and likely damaging the blade.

Paul suggested we find a way to secure the log ramps/dogs to the ground as a way to prevent imperceptible shifts in the support of the log as the saw travels down the sawmill frame. Cat and I were unable to make these soil screws stay in the ground adequately. Maybe this will work once the ground isn't so wet, and/or when the ground is frozen?



As if that weren't bad enough, guess who fell on the sawmill frame and bent it? Gonna have to whack this back into shape before it's usable again.



To sum things up, I was sour most of the evening. Luckily I had the presence of mind yesterday evening to prepare some poly dough. I used it all to make pumpkin flap-jacks, with raisins and maple syrup as sweetener. They seem to have turned out all right (if my adequate "taste testing" has anything to say about it). The evening ended on an up-note, for certain.





"Strikes and gutters, ups and downs." Today was one of those days.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #437

I was derelict in my duties on Thanksgiving Day, and made no post. However, I did snap photographs of the pumpkin and pecan pies that Cat made from scratch (including the crust!) for the holiday:





I also snagged this photo of a potato that went bad in the root cellar. So far as I've seen, it's been the only one that's not kept well in the pump house. No moisture intrusion there, all the rest of the potatoes seem healthy (and tasted delicious), so things are looking up for this storage method.



Meanwhile, today I took care of the mess I'd made of the sawmill. At the start of things, the bar I had fallen on way back on Wednesday was in sad shape.





I fiddled around with the time-lapse settings of my camera and caught a few action shots of what I did today. Thanks to YouTube for the various "redneck"/"hillbilly" tutorials on how to repair bent angle iron. I started there today, and decided to bring out the oxy-acetelyne torch to heat up the metal. My previous forays into gas welding fortified me with confidence here.









I'd used one of our steel sawhorse frames to provide stability, then clamped the bar down while I heated it. At various points, I hammered and twisted the angle iron to straighten things as best I could.







When I straightened things to my satisfaction, I dropped it off up at the Lab. We'll install it on Monday.





Meanwhile, although I hadn't finished a box for Wooden Box Day like originally planned, Cat made one. She also suggested a fun movie to watch as part of the Half Assed Holiday: Raiders of the Lost Ark: a film where wooden crates and boxes play pivotal roles in the plot.

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

BRK #438

Continuing my pursuit of staying in the tent year-round, and last night was one of the coldest yet. I checked-in at the house this morning and it was 14 degrees F. Aggressive ice crystal growth emerged on the roof of my car.



Today I also invested in a 0 degree sleeping bag, with the hopes that it will better-prepare the cats and me for some cold winter nights.



Next: no, that's not a view of the sun through a hazy bank of clouds. The moon is nearly-full right now and lights up the night with a dim blue glow.



Finally: thank you to Cat and Jim for spending so much time with us, and helping out on so many projects, massive and small. Come back again soon.

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

BRK #439

Easing back into Boot-dom with a pleasant and sunny Sunday.

My Nest Labor tasks lately have been to replace all the signage in the House with wood-burned signs, I'd prefer to see those instead of laminated printouts. So I continued in the bathroom, replacing the signs for the pee chutes and the pee pitchers. Here's what I roughed-out with pencil:



I'm pleased with the end results. My hand-lettering continues to improve (well hey, when you start at the bottom, the only way to go is up..!).





Just for the heckuvit, I made another batch of sauerkraut today. Paul's request was for cabbage, carrots, and onions, spiced with rosemary and dill. Since I've been adding so many vegetables, the last two batches I made have required a second jar so that everything could fit and start fermenting. I love making this stuff. Thanks once again to Austin Durant, fermentation expert, for showing me the way.





Two weeks from now, that stuff will be scrumptious. I mean, it's tasty already, and it's only going to become tastier, so...

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

BRK #440

Happy Monday! I ate a bunch of pumpkin pie today (thanks, Cat!) so things are trending upward.

It's been cold around here. The pond looks completely frozen.



Spent most of the day up at the Lab. I keep looking at this abandoned structure, and debating on whether or not it ought to come down. That wood can be used for something else, certainly, beyond being an eyesore.



The pump house up at the Lab is experiencing below-freezing temperatures, and I've posted an inquiry about it here at Permies. Please look there if you have natural building experience and/or are curious about ongoing projects here. Meanwhile, here's a photo of the inside of the pump house with a light bulb used for heating and temperature regulation.



Quick kitty roll call! From bottom to top, left to right: Peaches, Carl, Stewie, Donkey (my favourite), Bean, Razz (in back), Roez the Nose, Brian, Top G AKA Doorstop, G Dawg AKA Gandalf, Black Spark at the top. Not pictured: Goat, Fern, Batman AKA Puff.



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