Today was a little trying for our tinkerers. Tuesday is known for being one of the harder days of the week. We're tired from the first full day, we miss home a little bit, and many of our projects haven't come as far as we expected them to just yet. It's tough to have put in a lot of work but not have your vision yet in view. It requires a little bit of reflection: what do I really want to see myself do while I'm here? We've come up with group projects, but now we need to make them important to ourselves to keep us motivated. Today, we started finding out what those things were.

Just before breakfast is served, Mo and Jenna discover the blog left open from last night. They are delighted about seeing themselves in photos and the silly poses in which their new friends have been caught.

It gets them inspired. "Can we take pictures?" The collaborators see no reason to say no. The camera is handed off into small hands. The rest of this blog chronicles what various tinkerers found important enough to click away at. But first, Mo needs to figure out how this thing works.

We wake up to the marine layer giving us an ugly, soggy, chilly day, but a tinkerer still finds it lovely enough to capture.

Portrait of a Tinkerer: Victor puts on his serious face. He looks how we all feel in this weather.

We don't let the grey skies get us down, and we don't forget to still put on sunscreen. The sun is still out there, Devon!

Juan saw that his smoking driver pose was popular for the blog yesterday, and so he perfects the pose. Werk it.

Collaborator Dee helps out Team Piki with their stage. They get a little stuck; everyone built so much so fast yesterday that we're out of some types of lumber. The next load is on its way, but for the moment, they have to figure out what to work on.

Not even this dank and dreary day can get Hugo down. You go, Hugo.

Team Nooi is grinding away on their various types of chairs. They've decided to make many different types available for theater-goers.

Bryn watches us from his sky bench perch.

Misha is eating well. He shows the camera just how well he can eat.

Truly, these kids can eat.

And it looks like Juan has the camera now.

Eve snatches a 2x3 to keep working on the Nooi seating.

Sasha's teaching Bryn how to finger knit the paracord so we can have some neatness in the tangled mess of the paracord bin.

Nooi is working on some swing seats! They go off to measure the seat to make sure the frame is right. Collaborator Caroline is trying to keep it together.

Nooi is also working on some chairs with a soft, flexible back. Devi and her team have implemented an interesting solution.

Portrait of a Tinkerer: Tenley awaits lunch, claiming her spot at the table.

Portrait of a Junior Collaborator: Does Mac do magic tricks? The tinkerers are sure to question him about it.

Portrait of Collaborators: Kevin knows how to make Rhody laugh.

McKenna steals away the camera for a one-on-one photoshoot.

Lunch has become a wonderful time for this group. We share riddles and word problems, swap stories, and laugh until our sides hurt.

After some questionable photo compositions are reviewed, there is a Photography 101 class. As part of it, the idea of the Rule of Thirds, where aesthetically pleasing compositions fall on imaginary lines that highlight the main points of the composition, is illustrated. The photos from this point on, we find, are somewhat more considered.

Portrait of a Junior Collaborator: Adam practices his ukulele.

The photographers start experimenting with lighting. Hugo is an excellent subject.

Our workshop gets some photolove. Remnants of the PK shrine remain on the walls.

And another lovely view. We're quite proud of our little shop. Is that blue sky?

The wood arrives! Thanks, Gever!

Suddenly the chop saw has a lot of work to do.

Meanwhile, a new form of communication between the tinkerers and the blog writer emerges:

Sure thing, Morgan. -Caroline

Deja vu?

Down at Midway Station, junior collaborators talk with some campers to figure out what projects would energize them the most. The campers pause to think about it. Misha and Nathan get together to fix up a few things we didn't get to last week.

Devi and Kira show off their extremely tactile-friendly chair backing. Now it just needs a way for people to sit on it.

It seems someone touched the camera lens, and a proper cleaning cloth is nowhere to be found. Part of the Nooi team tries out what will be the swing.

Portrait of a Tinkerer: Jenna doesn't care for cameras being this close.

Portrait of a Tinkerer: Patrick is crushing it today with the chair building.

Collaborator Dee and team seem to have made some repairs to the cart and they take a slow walk down the track to test it out. Unfortunately, the wheels aren't spaced quite right and the car gets stuck. Back to the drawing board.

Sasha gets caught smiling on the steps of the workshop.

Misha has made a chime! He wants it to alert people when the future window opens at Midway Station.

Victor has a riddle for you to answer before you can pass him. Riddles are all the rage here this week.

Hugo grabs a human clamp so he can finish his table for the yurt during free build time.

The swing logistics are getting sorted out. Morgan's sprained ankle from last week hurts a little bit, but she's back on her feet after a short break and some ice.

Caroline takes Piki up to the benches to describe the benefits of fashioning 2x4s together on their short sides rather than their wide flat sides.

She gathers up Bor, Hugo, Tenley, and Bryn on the flat-sided 2x4. The team is concerned it will break, but a 2x4 is surprisingly strong. It would take much, much more weight to break this piece of lumber. However, it does start to sag under the weight. That's bad, because every time the board bends or bounces, it pulls on the screws attaching it, and makes the structure weaker, and therefore not as safe.

Piki learns that there's a huge difference in strength and flexibility when you simply turn the 2x4 on its side. They take turns trying to bounce on it, to no avail; it's way more sturdy. The team agrees that they should at the very least make the beams on their platform oriented the other way and maybe add more supports before putting on all their plywood flooring.

Down near the shop, Nooi has raised their swing seat. Bryn takes ride while Anthony talks about the engineering.

After a few more swings by other campers, the collaborators notice a crack forming along the length of one of the supports. They decide to decommission the swing for the day and come back to it tomorrow.

Kira has worked hard all day, and like many of the tinkerers, managed to dodge the camera all day. She gets caught now.

By the time dinner is served, the excited photographers have worn the battery out. After dinner, excited builders run back out to keep working into the soggy night until the collaborators are forced to make them stop. We have a circle to reflect on all that has happened in the day and what we want to work on in the morning. Some tinkerers lament the setting of the sun, but tomorrow is beach adventure day and we need our energy! Send good, warm, sunny vibes for us all.

Blog written by Caroline, with big thanks to all the photographers that told us about their day through photos.

Session B: Day 3 - Self Portraits and Self Reflection