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

BRK #523

Happy Taco Tuesday to you...!

So, the experiment with the Season Extender turned out to be inconclusive. Maybe it's still too cold? There's definitely frost happening every morning. However, I still want that kale to grow. So I see to it every day.



Today was a day I stuck my hands in the dirt quite a bit, and I'm happy with that. More pecans were planted, trees and tree seeds were watered, and I did some earthworks tasks around Basecamp today. Here's me close to the end of the day.



Last night, I made more sauerkraut fermented cabbage. This batch has turnips and a bit more brine than I typically use. We'll see how it turns out.





Yesterday, I finished work on the first version of the renovated pull cart. I hope to have this in excellent shape for the upcoming summer events. I'd prefer to use something like this compared to the Buggie.



To keep it lightweight, I did some creative finagling with some angle brackets. The result is two flexible back braces/supports for stuff leaning against the rear of the cart while it's pulled. They may need a bit more support, but that remains to be seen.



I also found these mini-platforms that fit almost-perfectly between the sides of the cart. Maybe they'll make decent rain covers? A little trimming of the underside supports and they'll snugly fit across.



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

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:So, the experiment with the Season Extender turned out to be inconclusive. Maybe it's still too cold? There's definitely frost happening every morning. However, I still want that kale to grow. So I see to it every day.

Today was a day I stuck my hands in the dirt quite a bit, and I'm happy with that. More pecans were planted, trees and tree seeds were watered, and I did some earthworks tasks around Basecamp today. Here's me close to the end of the day.

I've heard Paul describe how to get into woodworker's valhalla, but can you tell us what it takes to get a hugel halo like that...?

Coydon Wallham wrote:I've heard Paul describe how to get into woodworker's valhalla, but can you tell us what it takes to get a hugel halo like that...?

Hahaha! I guess not everyone has the nerve to wear an ugly orange hat like I do. I mean, it makes my face look nice in comparison.

BRK #524

No tree planting today, and instead there was maintenance work today on vehicles, plus a little tree-felling in the gently-sprinking morning hours.

Old Taoist sages have said, "A thousand mile journey begins with a single step." So I started felling trees to fill the Gregorian Woodshed today with that in mind. I'm bringing a Kindling Cracker up there tomorrow so I can split these logs proper, plus maybe my old friend the X-27 will join me as well.



Changed-out the snow tires on the RAV today.



Brought them out of storage and brushed-off most of the caked on dirt we neglected at the start of the winter. Most of the work was done down by the Classroom, in front of the Berm Shed.



The fancy rims are back.



Next up was the tractor. I have a love-hate relationship with these, personally speaking. Each tire's chain set weighs over 100 pounds, and I think it's a hassle to install them for a variety of reasons. At the same time, the tractor is a crucial piece of equipment, particularly when it comes to snow removal. Plus, based on my experience this past winter of sliding the tractor and its naked tires into a ditch, it's clear the chains are useful pieces of equipment (that would have likely helped me greatly in preventing my mistake).



I changed them out in the parking lot, Arrakis. Things look good. The chains are shown here in their storage bags, in front of the tractor.



I didn't have time to finish removing chains from Judy, our big red truck, today. It's a more involved process, as it's a "duallie" and I just couldn't finish it today.



On the front tires, there are these cool half-disc chain fasteners. Flipped one way, the chain slack is available to help you fit the chains round the tires.



Rotating the half-disc tightens the chains over the outer edge of the front tires, and cannot be easily rotated back. The tension holds the half-disc in place, which I think is clever engineering.



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

BRK #525

This isn't the Breakfast Club I remember. But I think I can grow accustomed to this version.



I started the day's tasks with splitting and stacking what I had bucked yesterday. It didn't seem like much at all once I was done.



So I visited the Boneyard, and found my next dead-standing candidate.



After it was felled, I lopped it into logs and loaded them into the back of the RAV.



Once back at the Woodshed, I bucked them to size. At this point, things were looking better.



I split and stacked the lot of 'em. Not quite a face cord done today, but then again I didn't spend all day on this stuff. Still, I felt like I accomplished something.



Judy also had her chains removed.



Finally: Paul's probably gonna hate seeing this, but personally I really can't stand using bark for firewood. This way, it will prevent the track in front of Allerton Abbey from turning into a mudslide when it rains in the next month or so.



All vehicles have their snow tires or chains removed, and are running just fine. Tomorrow will have a paperworkey-emailey kind of first half. That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!