Esteban Ademovski

B.E.L. Post # 238

Today was another pleasant, delightful day at Wheaton Labs.

We started off with the cleaning blitz with my fellow boots, which was actually a lot of fun and a good way to get moving in the morning.

After that, Daniel held a workshop on rebuilding battery packs. It was really interesting getting to see how the packs are put together and learning more about the process.

Later on, I did some journaling and reading, and spent quite a bit of time working on putting Linux on my old tablet. It's been a fun little project, and I like the idea of taking an older piece of technology and giving it a new life instead of just letting it sit around unused.

I also got to spend a lot of quality time with my little dog, which is always one of my favorite parts of the day.

All in all, it was a really nice day—some work, some learning, some tinkering, some quiet time, and plenty of good dog time. Not a bad combination at all.

Coydon Wallham wrote:

Esteban Ademovski wrote:The soil is going to be hauled back and staged at Basecamp for an upcoming project.

Any idea how long soil like this can be staged and retain biological activity before it reverts to dirt?

From what I understand, it probably depends on moisture, temperature, compaction, and how much organic matter is mixed in. Since we'll be putting this soil back to use pretty soon for the new hugelberms by the Love Shack and Hanger Tree, and the other bobs and Ins coming up, I’d imagine it should retain a good amount of its biological activity during that short staging period. I’d be interested to hear what you’ve seen with soil like this, though.

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:

Esteban Ademovski wrote:I was really excited to get another turn on the excavator. Today I got 17 minutes of supervised seat time, bringing my total between yesterday and today to 32 minutes.

I think you're doing a superb job so far with Rex, Esteban...! You ought to have plenty of hours racked-up this coming week and then more time going into the winter.

Thanks, Stephen! I really appreciate that. I’m looking forward to getting plenty more time on Rex and continuing to build my skills. I can already tell that the controls are starting to feel more natural with each session, and I’m noticing my muscle memory getting better. I’m excited to keep putting in the seat time, learning from the experience, and seeing how far I can take it.

B.E.L. Post # 237

I woke up nice and refreshed to such a gorgeous, cool morning. It was pleasant and delightful enough that I was able to take my little doggo for quite a long walk before the heat really settled in and made being outside for that length of time nearly impossible.

I spent the majority of my day reading, journaling, and working on a few personal projects of my own. It was a quieter and more productive kind of day.

Late afternoon into early evening, I noticed that the wooden red cabin sign had fallen off from above the front door of the cabin. After taking a closer look, I found that of the two star-drive screws that had originally been holding the sign, one was completely missing and the other had backed out, leaving about 3/16" of the screw protruding from the backside.

So I headed over to the shop and gathered what I needed:

* 3 × 3" T-25 star-drive screws
* Impact driver with T-25 torque bit and bit extender
* Mini level
* Tape measure

I decided to make the job a little easier by drilling some pilot holes into the sign first. I then started the three additional screws just enough to give them a bite and make positioning the sign easier.

I also decided that rather than replacing the original two fasteners, I wanted to secure the sign with four fasteners total.  The sign is a fairly hefty piece of wood, measuring approximately 18.5" L × 6" W × 1" H, so I figured the additional fasteners would provide a more secure attachment and, hopefully, eliminate the possibility of it falling off again — especially the possibility of someone walking underneath it and getting an unexpected little "love tap." 😄

I pulled up a stool, grabbed the sign, centered it above the door frame, and checked it with the mini level before fastening it securely to the red cabin.

Once that was taken care of, I spent some time over at the classroom with the new boot, Dan, learning a little bit about replacing battery cells in battery packs.

So it turned out to be a pretty nice day overall — some quiet personal time, a small but worthwhile repair, and an opportunity to learn something new.

B.E.L. Post # 236

Jesse, Leo, and I started our day at Basecamp, where we set up the irrigation sprinklers, did some soil probing, and watered Lightning Hill with watering cans. From there we moved over to the Horseradish Berm for some trail maintenance.

Leo and I also continued working on the junkpole panel at the house paddock, and we were able to completely finish the framing on it. We also made sure there was gas in the work rig before getting into some chop and drop.

In the afternoon, Leo and Jesse joined Stephen out at the Lemon Tree site to get some more time operating the excavator. The terrain out there is fairly flat, and they were working on digging soil from a designated area and loading it into the dump trailer, with Stephen supervising and giving them guidance as needed. The soil is going to be hauled back and staged at Basecamp for an upcoming project.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was with me at the Abbey. I went over the proper procedures for operating a chainsaw and had them work on clearing an area with some tree stumps. After that, we set up drip jugs around some caged baby trees, then they helped me with framing another junkpole panel before we finished up with some chop and drop.

Later on, we switched things around. Jesse and Leo came back to the Abbey while Andrew and I joined Stephen out at the Lemon Tree site.

I was really excited to get another turn on the excavator. Today I got 17 minutes of supervised seat time, bringing my total between yesterday and today to 32 minutes.

One of the things I noticed today was how much smoother the controls were starting to feel compared to yesterday. I'm beginning to develop some muscle memory with the controls, and the movements are starting to feel a little more natural instead of having to think about every movement individually. Stephen was there supervising and helping guide me as needed while I worked on digging the soil and loading the dump trailer.

I'm still very much a beginner on the excavator, but it's pretty cool to already feel a difference after only two days. I'm definitely looking forward to getting more time in the seat and continuing to build that skill.

Yesterday 2026/08/06

Started the morning with Leo, Jesse, and me handling irrigation around base camp, making sure everything got a good drink. Once irrigation was finished, Leo and I moved on to the junk pole fencing at the house paddock, while Jesse continued working on the junk pole panels along the drive, which she completed. We wrapped up the morning with some chop-and-drop, leaving base camp looking a little better than we found it.

For the afternoon shift, we headed to the lab, where everyone had the opportunity to spend time operating the excavator. It was a great learning experience, and I was surprised by how natural the controls felt once I climbed in. It felt intuitive from the start and was easily one of the highlights of my day. I'm looking forward to getting more seat time and continuing to build that skill.

To finish the day, we made our way to the Abbey. Jesse and I continued making progress on our section of junk pole fencing, while the rest of the crew focused on chop-and-drop and irrigation. It was another productive day with a great mix of hands-on learning and meaningful work. Every day the projects move a little further along, and it's rewarding to be part of that progress.

B.E.L. Post # 235

We started the day by getting the new boots—Andrew, Daniel, Stevie, and Michelle—paired up with Stephen and his crew. Their tasks included filling the turtle water tanks, hauling water up to the Abbey, and helping with a variety of other projects around the lab.

My team consisted of Leo, Jesse, and myself. We kicked off the morning shift at base camp by getting the irrigation going. After that, Jesse continued working on the junk pole panels, performed chainsaw maintenance, and kept the irrigation going with the watering cans.

Meanwhile, Leo and I worked together on the junk pole panel fencing at the house paddock. After a while, I broke away to focus on chop-and-drop and mulching.

For the afternoon shift, we headed up to the Abbey. Leo continued with irrigation using the drip jugs while also doing more chop-and-drop and mulching. Jesse and I continued making progress on the junk pole panel fencing.

Overall, it was another productive day with good teamwork, steady progress on several projects, and a great opportunity for the new boots to get introduced to the work and rhythm of Wheaton Labs.

B.E.L. Post # 234

   Woke up to a cool, delightful morning and walked my little dog for a while before joining the cleaning blitz. Afterwards, sat with Stephen, Leo, and Jesse, and Stephen talked about the new boots that will be arriving. Once that wrapped up, made the solarium tour-ready as usual, then went off to do laundry, some journaling, studying, and had some great conversations with Leo. Later did some chop and drop work and chainsaw maintenance. And ended the day meeting the new boots.

B.E.L. Post # 233

Today started with irrigation. We irrigated the hugelberms and then watered all the baby trees along Lightning Hill and Apricot Alley using water pails to give them a good soak.

After that, I switched gears and assisted Stephen with felling a tree, once the tree was down, I helped with cleanup ... 

While that was happening, Jesse and Leo were working on irrigation at far arrakis as well, keeping up with the watering needs of the site.

For the afternoon shift, we all headed over to the Abbey. Leo focused on irrigation and chop-and-drop work, while Jesse and I continued making progress on the junk pole fencing.

Another productive day of working with the land, building infrastructure, and moving projects forward.

B.E.L. Post # 232

We started the morning by gathering all the tools we needed from the library and the shop before heading out to the Abbey.

Jesse and I continued working on the section of junk pole fencing, making progress on the fence panels and continuing to develop the overall structure. Meanwhile, Melissa and Leo focused on chop-and-drop work and mulching, building organic matter and supporting the landscape.

Later in the morning, Stephen brought over the trailer with the two turtle water tanks, adding another piece to the ongoing water infrastructure work.

After lunch, Melissa and I headed back to the Abbey. I continued working on the junk pole fence panels while Melissa focused on irrigation alongside Stephen.

Back at base camp, I tasked Leo with continuing work on the house paddock, including irrigation of the berms and giving the berms some extra attention and care.

Jesse continued working on the junk pole fencing along the drive while also giving some much-needed attention to the chainsaws.

Another productive day of building, maintaining, and improving the systems that are taking shape across the property.