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

BRK #45

What a whirlwind of a Thursday...! Things were very enjoyable today, and the weather seems as surprising as ever. Typical warm temps today (reaching over 100F), but the evening has been cool and refreshing. We were even treated to a lovely rainbow before the sun went down...



Prior to that, Magdalene and friends cooked us up an authentic Indian cuisine meal, and it dredged up fond memories of Indian meals I'd had in the past. While our bellies were still full, we had another board game night. My remake of Incan Gold (named SKIP: Space Kitties In Peril!) hit the table, along with a few games from Pyramid Arcade, as well as Can't Stop!: my personal favourite dice game. Congrats to Hao for his hard-won victory...! It's definitely the pinnacle of dice games and "push your luck," as far as I'm concerned. Here's my laser-cut game board that I brought with me during my travels:



Finally: I have to say a word regarding today's boot duties. We worked very hard and everyone seemed to be in the zone while we were building in the workshop. I hadn't heard to many power tools being used since the PTJ event, weeks ago. We did a lot of good construction and creative work today. I'm proud to be part of the team.



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

BRK #46

One thing I've learned about Montana in my short time here: you can usually call the coming of foul weather about 10 minutes ahead of time. We saw this Friday, round 4pm, and I was thinking, "We ought to batten down the hatches."
(The Classroom and Red Cabin in the foreground)



Friday marked the first day in about a month and a half where we had a decent rainfall. For about 20 minutes, it was all torrents of water from the sky. It rained so much it nearly knocked the rain fly off of my red tent. And fortunately, I'd forgotten to "roll down the windows" in the orange tent that day, else I would have come home to puddles and puddles of the storm's leftovers.

The morning after, the sun was sluggish on its way out of the clouds. I woke up to this misty morning today:



It reminds me of this past May, when I first arrived at Wheaton Labs. Honestly, it's hard to believe that I've been here over three months now. Stranger still, they all don't seem sick of me yet.

Meanwhile, Saturdays are reserved for my errands. I picked up a "self-inflating" sleeping mat (I look at it and wonder aloud, "Is it done yet?") and cold-weather sleeping bag in preparation for extending my tent days into the colder months (like, starting in September). Still on the fence about whether or not to invest in a wall tent. While I think it would be useful for data-collection purposes (I don't think anyone's had a wall tent here at WL just yet), they're on the pricey side and would require I create the poles for it - unless I want to pay out the nose for shipping metal poles...

Finally: speaking of the mail, look what was waiting in my PO Box! Ahem, these are strictly for entertainment value, and certainly not to be considered instructional manuals nor testimonials.



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

BRK #47

It was a leisurely half-day, like every Sunday. We completed our Cleaning Blitz and the house was pristine. Then everyone shifted into "Nest Labor" mode. We had picked projects last weekend, then resolved to jump into them in earnest today. My first project: turn this assortment of junkpoles into a clothes- and towel-drying rack for the Solarium:



After two hours, the frame was built and things were more-or-less roughed-out. It was also lunch time. So I took a break. It was also becoming warmer outside, so I shifted to an indoor task: rag-rug mode. Today's accompanying film was Shoot the Sun Down, a revisionist Western from 1978, featuring an exceedingly pale Christopher Walken opposite Margot Kidder, who was busy doing her best Standard British accent. I give it two outta five stars.



"Well, that film happened," I said to myself. 4pm rolled around, and I was back outside. A few refinements to the drying rack, and I'm confident in saying it's now sturdy, can fit through the doors in the event someone wants to dry clothes outside, and overall 90% done. I will pick up some twine over the weekend to dress up the joints, put a hacksaw to straggling screws, and then it's ready for swimming season.



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

BRK #48

The week roared as we began, first with typical gardening tasks (watering being the top priority round this time of year), and then firewood harvesting in the afternoon.

Lots of positive sights in the gardens at Basecamp, with healthy plants and green popping up in surprising places. Here's King Mullein with scads of bees paying homage prior to our lunch hour.



Right next door are these two immense sunflowers, still with room to grow. They're already over 7 feet tall, last I checked, with no flowerheads formed yet.



Somehow, a squash plant volunteered to grow in Basecamp Too, the road-side hugel I've been assigned to work with.  We'll see what comes out of it in maybe two weeks. But at the very least, this flower sure looks lovely.



To wrap things up: hats off to Hao!!! He was a hard-working guy today, especially considering he was doing some of his firsts with the chainsaw. Here he is de-limbing one of the trees we nabbed during firewood harvesting today.



At the close of the harvesting task, up in a section of the Lab I'd yet not visited, we loaded up Doug (our big blue pickup truck) with the logs, and ended our Monday shift with bucking, splitting, and stacking. Here's our haul on the way back to Basecamp.



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

BRK #49

Another action-packed day at the Lab. We opened with gardening at the Abbey, then in the afternoon did some handiwork at Fred's plot over at Ant Village.

This time of year, it seems like there's a constant buzz of pollinators as soon as the sun clears the mountains. Here's one hanging out at this poppy.



While at Fred's plot, we assisted with a variety of construction and labor tasks. For whatever reason, I find it soothing and feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I shovel and filter rock debris to reclaim gravel. I spent my first hour at Fred's doing this for him, and strangely enough I hope it's not the last time.



I also practiced siphoning today, with which I had very little experience. However, Fred needed some water drawn out of a barrel (the one Caleb and Hao put in the ground a few weeks ago). I have a feeling I spent a lot of extra time because I used a 100' long hose... But anyhow, it worked! It's a fascinating process. The end result - again - was satisfying.



I like hanging out at Fred's place. Every time I've been there, I've learned or have been reminded of something worthwhile. I still have a fond memory the first time I'd worked there. Here's how it went, to my recollection.

STEPHEN: "There are -so many- bones out here, Fred."

FRED: "Oh, I bring roadkill out here and use the bones to feed the plants."

STEPHEN: "...See, this is where I don't know if you're serious, or you're kidding."

So then Fred tells me how there's an abundance of Phosphorus in bones, and it reminded me of how I recently learned that bone meal is used as a fortifier for all manner of plantlife. So I had a chance to see its use in action.



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