Dez's Bootcamp Experience (BRK)

POST 459 (DAY 469, Sunday, 2021.11.21)
[Morning Entry]

…..grateful for ginger tea in the morning.. warm, firey, delicious!.. grateful for a walk in the town yesterday.. grateful for no microwave in the house.. this past week was Wwoof week..
“Is there a microwave in this kitchen?”
“No..”
I’m in the room hearing this exchange between a wwoofer and a boot.. suddenly I realize I have a silly grin on my face, as I remember the monumental relief.. it was in 2010, that I had decided to no longer use microwaves to heat my foods.. all my friends thought I was crazy.. I did too, early on in the beginning.. then I got used to it.. heating things on the stove just tasted way better.. the monumental relief was felt when I first had discovered that here we don’t microwave.. Looking forward to the day i go way more off grid and/or “crazy” with radical ideas about living more naturally.. :)

Hans—brilliant! I knew about the wedge and yet the way you explained it clicked it for me.. will definitely be bringing the wedge on harvest days now..

Dez - I share you hate of microwave- In NZ we call it "Nuking the FOOD" And it never took off.
I still dont trust them and have never had one.

Love those strange buhha hands citron things!

POST 460 (DAY 470, Monday, 2021.11.22)
[Morning Entry]

…..grateful for quiet mornings.. grateful for the warm, indirect glow of incandescent lighting.. grateful for rmh's.. this morning i'm scheduled to meet with M for a video Boot-question, "why did you choose permaculture bootcamp at wheaton labs?".. my notes:

*****work trade live in.
    commuting to/from work made no sense anymore.. i knew i could work.. i had learned how to increase my value at work to the point where my last two bosses were sad to see me go.. yes, make them sad.. the method i developed was giving just a little extra every single day.. simply put--show up--and show up early.. work ethic--check.. physical capability?--hmm.. my fear was not being "strong" enough physically.. still, wanted to put myself into the arena and see what i was made of.. could i get stronger? how could i lift logs to build my own structure? i've never worked a physical-labor job for 40 hours/week.. but i thought, if someone else could do it, couldn't i find a way? these questions gave me hope, in the midst of doubt.. the worst that could happen is i find somewhere else to work..
*****a purpose--permaculture was default best by far.
    I didn't want to just work to work.. i wanted to invest in something more than money.. i wanted to serve..
*****some-many values aligned.
    Listening to almost 100 podcasts gave me a pretty good idea of what kind of culture I'd be stepping into..
*****natural building, homesteading, tiny homes, rmh.
    The search for alternative living led me through the youtube rabbit hole of all of the different kinds of living off-grid.. randomly, i came across one of paul's rmh videos, which led me to "come on out to permies".. which led me to wondering "how can i invest/serve my energies here?".. after what seemed like a few hours, my pitiful website scouring skills led me to "deep roots".. i said "that's it!".. i signed up, and started selling all my stuff, to be ready for the call.. that was april of 2020..

Wez--considering all the effort that went into creating such a "nuke" device, i'd say we learned a lot as a species, on harnessing the power of microwaves.. i wonder if any research has been done about the benefits of this spectrum emitted by the Sun?

Wow - What I really loved was this -


.. my fear was not being "strong" enough physically.. still, wanted to put myself into the arena and see what i was made of.. could i get stronger? how could i lift logs to build my own structure? i've never worked a physical-labor job for 40 hours/week.. but I thought, if someone else could do it, couldn't i find a way? these questions gave me hope, in the midst of doubt.. the worst that could happen is I find somewhere else to work..

Its so rare that someone goes from the Cube life to the farm life. And its great to see ! I went the other way... I grew up on a farm / commune - then I went into logging, from there demoliton and roofing ... then at 26
I went Full reverse Mercia urban, Trader Joes Red Blobster , corporate , Seminars planes hotels ,  You wake up at O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, BWI. Pacific, mountain, central. Lose an hour, gain an hour.... Im coming out so you can help me back to my logging gardening ways :) !!

Trailblazer :)

POST 461 (DAY 471, Tuesday, 2021.11.23)
[Morning Entry]

…..grateful for taco Tuesdays.. grateful for movies.. grateful for cute greazy cats..

Wez—trader Joe’s red blobster!.. that had somehow become my goal at one point.. I thought I’d finally be complete.. and yet the closer I got, the larger the void seemed to get..

Hi Dez, it's great reading your posts and seeing all the progress being made! I heard you harvested a little cabbage recently, was that off a hugel? I was thinking about sauerkraut and kimchee as ways to preserve the vegetable harvest once I get my own things growing. I'm looking forward to seeing what grows better next year as those hugels all get traction!

POST 462 (DAY 472, Wednesday, 2021.11.24)
[Morning Entry]

…..grateful for homemade pastries.. made a chocolate cake yesterday, based on memory.. the batter tasted great but after baking, the flavor really reduced.. maybe on the next one I’ll double the flavorings.. still feels good to just have chocolate cake with simple,  fresh ingredients.. grateful for warm clothes.. it’s getting colder.. I might need a puffer jacket and pants.. grateful for a simple life.. with cats