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

BRK #484

Seems like yesterday had knocked a lot of the wind outta my sails and I hadn't recovered completely. It was a nice day, though.





Here are Batman AKA Puff and her daughter, Top G, on the prowl. As soon as I knelt down to take a photo they approached, I assume because they thought I might have snacks...



Prepped the A/V equipment in the Classroom today, in preparation for the upcoming Garden Master Course. It's been a while since I've needed to run a sound board (did a bunch of stuff for bands and stage plays back in the day), and it felt good to become reacquainted. I tested out the audio and video with some footage of newly-public-domain Steamboat Willie.



Another funny thing about the AV equipment... So there are maybe ten different tripods for cameras up at the Library, and Paul had mentioned that someone had consolidated all the camera pedestals/"feet" in a single location. The tricky thing was, the tripods and the pedestals were stored in different locations, and the location of the pedestals was forgotten. That is, until today, when I came across a box of at least five different mounts for cameras that belong to those tripods. One of these days I'll have a chance to reunite the proper bits of equipment, and capturing footage during the summer events ought to be just a bit easier.



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

BRK #485

Typically the day off, I spent the early part of today participating in Paul's webinar on "45 Low-Tech Bricks to Build a Better World," and had a good time with that. The second half was mostly tending the fire in the Solarium - I'm trying to keep things warm for the cats - and actually taking a nap.

Here's the Cattyshack. The Kitty-quarium is in the adjoining Library.



Some new goodies and supplies came in today as well, including these fine replacement saw chains:



Some lovely loaf pans also arrived this week, and I stowed them in the kitchen. I've been baking so much bread lately, and maybe it's time I have a go at something with more of a loaf-shape instead of a blob.



Bread bowls don't need loaf pans however, and I'm thinking we may have a go at more split pea soup next week for Soupy Tuesday. Hmm... Intense decisions to consider on the day off.

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

BRK #486

I visited Missoula in the afternoon, mostly walking along the river. The above-zero temperatures were a kind of luxury, and I spent the time I could outdoors after being spending most of Saturday inside.













Finally: before sundown, Paul and I moved around the rolly shelves in the Classroom, in preparation for the Garden Master Course at the end of the month. Now that the shelves are in place, the preparation process seems mostly "on rails." Looking forward to shaping things up for the attendees.



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

BRK #487

Visited the Lab in the first part of the day. Went to the Pump House to change out the battery, and I was wondering why the roof felt so heavy to lift. Then I remembered: oh, there's lots of snow on it.

After using a log (in the lower right of this photo, leaning on the pump house roof) like a wiper blade to scrape most of the snow from the roof, things were much more manageable.



Stopped by Allerton Abbey, and mama cat Early wanted to say hello.



Back at Basecamp, I'm struggling to start the tractor in such cold weather (it was -21F at its coldest this morning). There's an engine block heater in the tractor, but I can't tell if it's working. Paul suggested I use some of these tools to check for connectivity and voltage, along with a "point n' squirt" infrared thermometer to see if there are any improvements. The tractor aaaaalmost started this afternoon, but I think it was just too cold.



Here's the moon gate that was built at this past summer's Permaculture Technology Jamboree. It's lovely in the winter, too.



At sundown, you can look to the east and see plenty of colour along the mountain ridge.



Still preparing the Classroom for use during the upcoming Garden Master Course. Practicing with the Classroom's batch box heater. This is the priming fire, just before I start fueling it proper.



Oh! And I baked more bread bowls tonight. Tomorrow is Soupy Tuesday.



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

BRK #488

Happy Soupy Tuesday to you...! Tacos will be back when things warm up. It's also Quilt Day - one of our Half-Assed Holidays. Did a little bit of something for that, too.

In the first half of the day, I was preparing in the Classroom for the Garden Master Course, and devised a design for a towel rack for use at the dishwashing station. Here's my preliminary sketch:



Built it with a little time to spare, and did my best to make use of scrap wood. I cut 10-degree angles on the bottom of the legs and lined-up everything to match with those. The result is a slight lean forward, allowing towels on the upper rungs to not touch the lower rungs.



I grabbed a log section to weigh it down on the bottom, so it won't tip over no matter how many wet towels are slapped on it. I think this looks pretty good. In the spring, I'll coat this with linseed oil, and then we'll be able to use it outdoors for the summer events. The weight at the bottom isn't attached so it leaves the frame lightweight and portable.



I had a Choco sighting today...! His head is as big as my fist. Whatta tank of a cat.



In the afternoon, I repaired the damaged window quilt above the kitchen sink in the Fisher Price House. The twine was replaced with a stronger cord (made of wool, believe it or not!). I braided the three strands of the mechanism together to form the pull-cord, and things are working normally once again. I video-recorded segments of the process, so it may appear in a window-quilt video sometime in the future.



The tractor started up in the afternoon (I think temperatures reached 17 degrees F today, which felt not unlike a sauna in comparison to recent days...), and I was able to plow the snow sufficiently. I finished just in time for the 4+ inches of snow forecast for tomorrow... Well, at least the soup and bread bowls at dinner softened the blow.

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