Dave Burton's Boot Adventures at Wheaton Labs and Basecamp

Good morning! Here's a quick look at the rocket mass heater in the Fisher Price House!

Day 61







Worfie, Ferd, and Gert greeted us this morning before we got to work!



I liked the clouds that we got this morning!



We worked on the Bermshed at the Basecamp of Wheaton Labs.



I applied post treatment made of 10 parts wood ash, 1 part diatomaceous earth, and 1 part borax to some of the beams! Josiah was the one who gave me the recipe to use fpr this. Here is me preparing the wood post treatment.





This is my application of the wood post treatment!



Worfie decided to visit us while we were working on the Bermshed!





I liked looking at the clouds in the morning!



We eliminated sharp spots off of the wood, so that the plastic layer in the bermshed would not get damaged.





We started placing the plastic back onto the bermshed.



We placed beams back onto the roof, and then, we nailed in every third beam.







We tried one of the spherical (doma) peaso balls that I made, and it tasted great! I also tried my fermented hummus and sweet potato pickles, and both of those tasted fantastic! I started soaking a bean mix to make more fermented bean paste! I like eating the fermented paste as a good way to get protein. I am soaking the bean mix for 48 hours in sea salt and APC vinegar, and then, I will cook them for 24 hours on a slow cooker, let cool to room temperature, then, process into paste. I plan to add garlic, onions, peppers, and some spices to the next batch of bean paste. For starter, I plan to use juice from the garlic ferments or some other ferment.

Good afternoon! Lee came over to do PEP at Wheaton Labs! I made kraut/kimchi this morning, and Jocelyn made a bigger version of her breakfast to share with us!

Day 62

This is the kraut/kimchi that I made with daikon radishes(?), half a cabbage, radishes, onions, garlic, dried ginger, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, sea salt, and kraut sauce and sweet salsa as starter. I also used some other vegetables I don't remember the name of of.









This is a look at the yummy veggies and greens that Jocelyn made at breakfast and shared with us! Jocelyn also made some delicious potatoes, too!





This is Lee working on junkpole to get a BB!





I finished the rose trellis that I was working on! Here's a look at the completed trellis!





I like the gentle rainy weather outside!



We had a wonderful salad that Jocelyn made for us at lunch, and she warmed the harira that was made last night!



I went on a hike to the top of the "Volcano" at Basecamp!







At dinner, Jocelyn made wonderful noodles, spaghetti sauces, and asparagus!

Lookin' good!

Looks like the berm shed is chugging along. That would have involved so much shovelling of sand!

Good afternoon! I spent most of my morning reading, which was nice! I also helped lift some logs with Fred, Josiah, and Austin to facilitate one of Lee's PEP BB's! Thank you, Ashley! I'm glad to see your posts about your composting work! Lee built that ramp for the tractor on Friday. The ramp still needs to be a few feet taller before it can be used to scoop sand from Arrakis onto the Bermshed by the Shop at Basecamp.

Day 63

Jocelyn made delicious Overnight Oats for us for this morning!



I think it is a lovely day today! I didn't see many clouds or smoke!



I watched Ferd and Gert bask in the sun a little bit before we helped Lee move some logs so that he could work on a BB.







We moved three big logs into place, and Lee helped out with a couple of them!









And I went on a hike this afternoon!







I picked some arugula for dinner tonight!





I picked some arugula blossoms, too!



I picked some mint for tea, drying, and more!





I rinsed my bean mix that I am using to make bean paste and put it on low in a slow cooker to cook for twenty-four hours. I added a bit of sea salt, APC vinegar, and fennel seeds to the water to flavor the beans while the cook. When I process them tomorrow, I will be adding onions, garlic, and more seasonings!



For dinner, Jocelyn, Jen, and Bella worked together to help make this wonderful meal! The arugula that I picked become part of the salad! I helped in the kitchen by cleaning a bunch of dishes! This is the salad and some tomatoes with cucumbers!



Jocelyn made a delicious vegetable stir fry and roasted squash!



Jocelyn also made some delicious roasted cauliflower and vegan cheese sauce!



I think that Bella made Tahini sauce, which I forgot to take a picture of. And I think Jocelyn made the yummy hollandaise sauce!



For extra, I sanded the railings around the Fisher Price House to make it safer for people to hold onto.

Good morning! Here is an update on how my crochet beanie hat is looking!

Day 64







This morning Jocelyn made wonderful basted eggs and greens, and she made some yummy sweet potato on the side!



We mostly worked on the Bermshed today! We first put plastic onto the Bermshed, and then, we put lots of sand on top.







Josiah used the tractor to bring sand up to the top of the Bermshed, and then, we shoveled the sand into place.





Occasionally, we scooped sand out of the tractor to get all of the sand out.







We collected clay while we were shoveling sand on the Bermshed. We ended up collecting a little over 15 gallons of clay today.



Here's a look at our progress on the Bermshed by the end of the day.





We harvested some potatoes for the last half hour of the day and did some chop and drop.



We saw some cool mushrooms while we were out at the hugelkultur berms.



And we noticed the awesome stair-step notches in the logs on the hugelkultur berm.



This is one fo the apple trees that we mulched.



At dinner, Jocelyn made some wonderful lentil soups, and I made some vegan cornbread! We had salmon salad at lunch, which I forgot to take a picture of, and that was awesome, too!



After chopping the onions for the bean paste that I was working on making, I didn't quite feel like chopping any spicy peppers. So, the bean paste I made is just the bean mix, sea salt, onions, garlic, fennel seeds, and some sauerkraut juice for starter. Instead of finely processing the mix, I decided to roughly process it to see what happens and how that affects the ferment. The far right jar is to be a long ferment of 30-180 days; the middle jar is to be a shorter ferment of 3-30 days, and the far left jar is for immediate consumption to see what the processed ingredients taste like before fermentation.

Good morning! Here's a rainy morning soundscape from Basecamp and a look at the ferments that I currently have running.

Day 65







We started the day by taking apart the roof of another cell of the Bermshed  before it snows tomorrow. It was raining this morning while we were taking apart the Bermshed's roof.



We sifted some sand inside for a little bit.



Josiah and Fred did some repair and maintenance on the tractor.





We did a lot of posthole digging, too, so that old rotten posts can be replaced.





We did some chainsaw sharpening, and Jaqi taught me how to sharpen a chainsaw. Here's Jen doing some awesome chainsaw work, and then, a picture of me doing some chainsaw work.





Lee started the Batch Box Heater inside of the Auditorium, and it threw off some lovely warmth!



We did various tool sharpenings at the end of the day. I sharpened a lot of hatchets, and Jen and Bella sharpened some chisels.



Today was Jaqi's birthday, so, I think it was an extra special Taco Tuesday that we had today! We had loads of a le carte items, salad, some yummy stir-fried greens! We had fried potatoes and delicious taco meat!



There was rice and black beans! Jeremy made some awesome salsa verde!



For Jaqi's birthday, there were three scrumptious cakes! Jocelyn made two beautiful vegan and gluten-free chocolate cakes! And Fred made a tasty ginger carrot cake! This is the gorgeous, moist, and fluffy chocolate cake that Jocelyn made and topped with a fruity topping and pretty edible flowers!



This is the chocolate cake that Jocelyn made and topped with chocolate icing!



This is the ginger carrot cake that Fred made!



And this is our birthday girl, Jaqi!