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

BRK #475

The sweet potato slip project is going quite well. Looks like it occupies 50% of the 20% occupied by plants on the kitchen table (yes, I checked the math on that one).



Meanwhile, I was inspired this afternoon and finished a few small-scale wood-burned signs for the Solarium today. I think they turned out nice, and do the job.





This one makes me want to draw comics again.



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

BRK #476

Happy Proenneke Day to you...!

Hiked around the perimeter of Allerton Abbey early in the day, and had a chance to admire this woodwork on the Junkpole Fence. Looks good in the snow, even.



A dry-rotted piece of the Fence came off in my hand, and underneath, these folks were just as surprised as I was.



Upon inspecting the RAV, I realized that no, we don't store tan tires... This one was just fond of dusty, dry summers.



Finally: for this year's Proenneke Day project, I had wanted to build an all-wood sawbuck, with no metal or glue, and using only hand tools. I'd say my attempt on the design has a lot of promise. The only weak point I imagine would be with the connection point of the "kickstand" or the narrow wooden dowel-like stick where it emerges from the thicker log. The kickstand has me more worried. We'll have to test it out to be sure. I have enough materials on hand to make a second sawbuck, and I think it would be nice to call the project complete once I have a matching pair.

What a day! I will sleep soundly tonight.





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

BRK #477

Day 2 for my Proenneke-style (no power tools) sawbuck project. I was insecure about the one I finished yesterday, primarily with that "kickstand" that sticks out on the bottom of the thick post. So I made another one today with a modified angle.



As almost always is the case, the second try worked out better. It's more upright, and there doesn't seem to be as much stress on the kickstand as with version 1.



Still not 100% pleased with the design, and it has to do with the "yaw" angle of the kickstand, but that will be for version 3. Some day soon, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, I captured a lot of video footage of this project, and hopefully it will be cut together into something interesting sometime soon. Here are a couple stills from the footage. This is the tenon maker. You spin it around a stick like a pencil sharpener and it whittles your stock down to, in this case, a 1" diameter dowel.



Here's a still of me adding the kickstand to sawbuck version 2.



That's all for now. Definitely had a workout for the past couple days, and I'm hoping there's still enough energy in me to go bicycling tomorrow. Thank you for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #478

Wandered around town for a bit today. Turned out to be too cold for me to do any bicycling, but I did plenty of walking. There was a snowstorm on the horizon most of the day.



Made it to several Little Free Libraries and dropped off copies of Paul's books, along with these nifty full-color flyers inside, advertising all his websites, free stuff, and various downloads.



Also picked up the RAV's snow tire, which I had dropped off at the tire shop yesterday for a repair. Seems like it wasn't a moment too soon. Here's the snow tire next to my Corolla's tire:



I'll be installing this tomorrow, provided it's not buried under a couple feet.



They're showing the original Black Christmas (1974, with Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey as the "final girl") tonight at the Roxy, and I would love to see it in the cinema but I'd be coming home way past my bedtime. I think I can start watching it online now though, and be back at the tent before too late.

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

BRK #479

Snow last night covered us with just about an inch of the white stuff. I'm absolutely certain I am cursing us by articulating this: it's been a mild winter.





I decided to warm up the Solarium. Both my wet laundry and the cats would appreciate the extra warmth. Here's the Solarium's rocket mass heater after about two hours of a burn. That thing works wonderfully.



Helped Paul and Dez with their latest experiment: a new sprouting tray assembly. There were some stainless steel trays that needed drainage holes, so I made a couple in each one matching Paul's specs.



Stacking the trays on top of one another - separated by supportive sticks of some kind - the trays provide a meandering path for water to be poured. Any excess water ends up collecting in the glass pan at the bottom.



Here's the tray assembly with both sprouts and water added. We'll see if these create the intertwined "sprout bars" on each level, and if rotating the trays from the bottom to the top is a worthwhile system.



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