Esteban Ademovski

B.E.L. Post # 249

I started my morning with some cleaning, and it was actually a very pleasant and delightful way to begin the day.

After that, I relaxed for a little while before heading over to the lab. I spent some time working on the fences and making a little more progress there.

Afterward, I headed back to base camp and helped with the preparations for the pizza party. It was nice to pitch in and help get everything ready.

Once everything was taken care of, I settled down with some reading and journaling. I always enjoy having a little quiet time to reflect and write.

I spent the remainder of the day relaxing with my little dog, Chapito. 🐕 He makes for pretty good company.

Overall, it was a slower-paced day, but a good one. I got some fence work done, helped out with the pizza party, and still had time for reading, journaling, and relaxing. Sometimes a balanced day like that is just what you need.

Coydon Wallham wrote:

Esteban Ademovski wrote:The first half of the day came with a few challenges. The retaining pin on the auger sheared off and disappeared, so we had to head back to the shop to get another one. Once we got back to work, we also ran into a lot of large rocks that kept stalling the auger and slowing down the digging.

Is that new auger to replace the old one, or just an additional one?

Yes this a new corded auger to replace the old battery one .... and it definitely packs a good punch with the torque behind it ...

B.E.L. Post # 248

After the morning meeting, we split up into two teams for the day.

Stephen, Daniel, and Leo worked on irrigation, chop-and-drop, and other tasks around the Abbey. Meanwhile, I had Stevie and Jesse working with me on the junkpole fencing.

I had Stevie frame the junkpole panels on the section I was working on, while I assisted as needed and helped keep things moving. Jesse was also building junkpole panels, but she was working on another section of the fence.

After lunch, we switched over to irrigation. We filled up the turtle water tanks and irrigated the area between the Red Cabin and the garlic patch.

After finishing the irrigation work, Daniel, Jesse, and I headed back to the Abbey to continue working on the fencing. Daniel and I pulled the pickets out of an existing junkpole panel and set them aside. I then switched tasks and started harvesting more support pieces for the new section of junkpole panels, while Daniel stayed behind to disassemble the frame.

Another productive day of building, irrigation, and putting more work into the Abbey fencing.

B.E.L. Post # 247

This morning the crew headed over to the Abbey. I had Jesse and Dan on my team, and we continued working on the fencing framework and making further progress on the fence.

Meanwhile, Stephen and Leo were working on irrigation.

After lunch, I had the same crew and we switched over to irrigation. We watered Apricot Alley and Lightning Hill, then filled up the turtle water tanks.

After that, we headed back to the Abbey and continued working on the fencing.

Another productive day getting a good mix of fencing and irrigation work done. 🌱🪚💧

B.E.L. Post # 246

Today started off with a nice walk with my little doggo. The weather was absolutely beautiful—cool, comfortable, and just a really nice way to start the morning.

After our walk, I spent some quiet time doing some more journaling, drawing, and reading. I'm really enjoying having that time in the mornings to slow down a little, reflect, and get my thoughts down on paper.

After that, I got into some hands-on work. I did some chainsaw maintenance, worked on irrigation, and spent some time doing chop and drop.

Nothing overly dramatic today, but it was one of those days where I got a little bit of everything in—some quiet personal time, some equipment maintenance, some land work, and some time outside.

I wrapped up the day hanging out with my fellow boots, which was a pretty good way to finish things off.

Another solid day at Wheaton Labs. 🌱🪵🐕

B.E.L. Post # 245

I woke up to a beautiful, delightful morning. It was cool and just felt like a really good start to the day.

I took my little dog for a walk all over the place, and afterward we sat up on top of the berm shed, overlooking the beautiful scenery in the background. It was one of those moments where you can just sit there and appreciate where you are.

After taking care of some personal business, I spent some time journaling, writing, drawing, and studying for a bit.

Later, I irrigated at base camp and filled up both of the turtle tanks so everything would be ready for Monday morning.

For the remainder of the day, I just relaxed with my dog and enjoyed a quiet, peaceful day.

Sometimes the simple days are the best ones. 🌿🐕

B.E.L. Post # 244

Today at the Abbey, we split into two teams. Dan, Jesse, and I worked on the junk pole fencing, building on the progress from earlier in the week when we cleared another 50 feet of fencing and harvested poles for the support pieces. Today, the plan was to start digging the post holes and getting the posts set, while Jesse continued filling in the frame sections from another part of the fence.

The first half of the day came with a few challenges. The retaining pin on the auger sheared off and disappeared, so we had to head back to the shop to get another one. Once we got back to work, we also ran into a lot of large rocks that kept stalling the auger and slowing down the digging.

After lunch, Dan and I headed back to the Abbey and were finally able to get all three post holes dug. The holes were spaced 9 feet apart and dug down to 3 feet deep. We put about 3 inches of gravel in the bottom of two of the holes, set the posts in place, and backfilled around them with gravel to create a gravel sock.

Meanwhile, Stevie and Leo were working on irrigation, chop and drop, and other tasks around the site.

Afterward, we headed back to Base Camp for some delicious huckleberry pie. A big shout-out to Paul for being so kind and treating us to such a delicious treat!

After having my slice, I broke off to harvest some potatoes and do some trail maintenance before wrapping up the work week.

A productive way to finish out the week!

B.E.L. Post # 243

We started our day heading to the Abbey, where Leo and I were cutting junk-pole-sized trees that will be used for supports for another section that needs to be rebuilt.

I noticed a couple of the existing posts had rotted from the bottom, so this gives us a good opportunity to bring that section of panels up to the new standard while we're rebuilding it.

Meanwhile, everyone else was working on irrigation, chop-and-drop mulching, and other tasks as assigned.

After lunch, Stevie and I cleaned out the work rigs and planted some seeds. I then filled one of the work rigs with gas and came back to do some chainsaw maintenance.

To finish out the day, I did some trail widening by the turtle lot.

Another good, productive day getting things done and continuing to improve the place.

B.E.L .  Post # 242

The crew and I started out at Base Camp. We loaded up the woody bits from by the Turtle Lot onto Roy and hauled them up to the site by the Love Shack. We spread the woody bits over the berms being built there, getting another layer of woody material in place for Paul to add more soil with the excavator.

From there, we headed up to the Hangar Tree site and the Plum site, where we added more woody bits on top of the berms there as well. We also charged up the tractor’s dead battery and got it back up and running.

We also worked on irrigation, including the berms around Apricot Alley, Lightning Hill, and Far Arrakis.

Another solid day of moving material, building berms, getting equipment back in action, and knocking out more irrigation work. Little by little, the sites are taking shape. 🌱🌲

B.E.L. Post # 241

We started the morning collecting woody bits from Far Arrakis and loading them onto Roy. We brought them up to the new berms being built by the Love Shack and laid out the material.

Jesse, Stevie, and Leo then switched tasks and went to buck up a fallen tree from yesterday to bring back to the site. I took the tractor and hauled soil material from Far Arrakis, staging it for Paul to scoop up with the excavator.

After lunch, we all headed over to the Abbey. Jesse and I worked on the framework for the fencing, while Stevie, Dan and Leo continued assessing the pump house and working on irrigation.

Another productive day getting things moved, built, and progressing around the Lab.