Grey's Bootcamp Journal

BRK #46, Day 82

Friday, October 22: Lumbar Feeling Better, Lumber Felling Weather

This morning meeting Paul mentioned the possibility of transitioning one of our weekly garden shifts to be dedicated to firewood prep. It makes sense, and I'm enthusiastic about the prospect of putting up a good few cords harvested straight from the land. We followed suit with cutting down and chopping up a few dead standing trees at the lab. It got us a full truck bed of log pieces, which we deposited at Cooper Cabin. I also led Will and Caleb on game cam upkeep.

After enjoying a hearty lunch which Ajeet had prepared, me and the lads went up to join Fred in the trenches once again. There's not much to say here other than I'm a lot more at ease driving the tractor now. Will seems to have a good thing going with Rex too. Rain began to fall at the end of the day, and continued throughout the evening. Too late and too wet to try and make it happen at Bart's tonight. Sofa-king be it

BRK #47, Day 83

Caturday, October 23: Finishing Up Bart's Bunk Bench

Hung out in the FPH in the morning, then went to my plot in the afternoon. Caleb came along and I gave him a tour. I got the RMH going and the bench began to get noticeably warm. The finishing touches of cob I applied after smoothing out my bed deck with a chisel. Went back to Basecamp in the dark to shower, dine and sleep.

BRK #48, Day 84 - my BRKs over total days equates to 4/7.

Sunday, October 24: Funday in 'Zoula

Got up, ate breakfast and cleaned the kitchen. Paul, Mags, Dez and I sat down and recorded the highly anticipated podcast which dives into all things Bootcamp. Although it felt like we exhausted every angle, I'm sure there's to be a follow-up podcast some time in the semi-distant future.

In the afternoon, Paul drove Ajeet, Caleb and myself into town, where we sat down at the Mustard Seed for a nice Asian Cuisine. Then, over at FreeCycles, we checked out their house plant adoption event, which I patronized a fair bit. Finally, a quick stop at the Good Food Store, and it was home again, home again. Mags had cooked what smelled like a scrumptious stroganoff, but alas, as I was still sufficiently stuffed with my late lunch, I only ate a few of the brownies she whipped up for dessert.

House plant adoption event? That's a good idea. I think I need to organise such an event ... Have others adopt some of my houseplants, so in my windowsill there will be space for the new seedlings next year February  

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Have others adopt some of my houseplants, so in my windowsill there will be space for the new seedlings next year February  

This particular one had tables of plants with suggested donations ranging from $1-$20. It is a great idea for a community event in winter!

BRK #49, Day 85

Monday, October 25: Knowledge from College

The projection of Rain throughout the week had us brainstorming projects to do indoors. The big one we landed on while cleaning up the library shelves was to install the work lights above the dock. Wiring for each light having its own switch and concealing all the wires were subjects of our speculation. So far, we've only gathered the materials and planned, for which my memory of electrical engineering classes came in handy. I'll post pictures of the work in progress this week.

After lunch I helped Dez and Mags get on with the Solarium. Using the power of high school algebra, I calculated what lengths of board would meet the requirements for the ceiling decking. We ended with gathering materials for cob, seeing as we'll need to make a batch to seal underneath the low end of the roof.

I'm taking the break in raindrops as my chance to move back into Bartell's. Hoping my improved bed setup works out.

Hi Grey! Thanks for posting so much great stuff. Just listend to you on the boot camp podcast :) !
Best Quote - " A boot is a piece of art - that the rest of the bootcamp made! "

BRK #50, Days 86-87

Tuesday, October 26

In the morning we worked on cleaning up the end cell of the berm shed by the bun warmer. All the dry wood was brought and most of it stacked by the classroom'S batch box RMH Nad by the Liberator RMH in the shop. For the afternoon, we made some progress on the water pipes. I cooked bell peppers and beef for the tacos. Some of us watched Alone in the Wilderness.

Wednesday, October 27

We tackled tools sharpening in the AM. Chainsaws, hatchets, chisels, and log peepers all got taken care of. Back to the trenches in the afternoon to connect more pipes. In the evening I patched up one of my pairs of pants.

Wez Prestage wrote:Hi Grey! Thanks for posting so much great stuff. Just listend to you on the boot camp podcast :) !
Best Quote - " A boot is a piece of art - that the rest of the bootcamp made! "

Thank you, Wez. I'm glad you're enjoying the blog! The profundity of that statement you quoted didn't hit me immediately, though it's starting to do so now.

BRK #51, Day 88

Thursday, October 28

Gardening day. I led the lads, who helped me complete the large compost catcher. To fill the trough, we pulled up dead plants and gathered soil from arrakis. Paul seemed very hopeful that the hügelkultur outside his front door shall one day live up to all the glory of his jungly garden dreams.

We shifted to battery maintenance in the afternoon. Hit a few at the lab, then a few more at base camp. In the last hour, we made progress on the Solarium roof.

Getting anxious to start work on the floor in Bart's Bunk. I really want to get that usable space back.

Wez Prestage wrote:Hi Grey! Thanks for posting so much great stuff. Just listend to you on the boot camp podcast :) !
Best Quote - " A boot is a piece of art - that the rest of the bootcamp made! "

Please tell me where can I find that podcast???