Small Scale Life Podcast (Tom)

In this 238th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, my friend Adam and I discuss how to cook a turkey including brining the turkey, spatchcocking the bird vs. cooking it whole and how we serve the turkey to family and guests. We discuss our favorite side dishes and a couple failures in our Thanksgiving dinners (homemade stuffing). This podcast will be connected to a much more in-depth guide on Small Scale Life titled "How to Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving. (https://www.smallscalelife.com/how-to-cook-a-turkey/)" In that guide, I walk you through thawing a frozen turkey to brining the turkey (with three different brine recipes), spatchcocking the turkey, quartering the turkey, and cooking the turkey. Check out the article on Small SCale Life, and let me know what you think at realsmallscalelife@gmail.com. If you have any tips or recipes, let me know! Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Now that you developed your garden plan, it is time to start planting seeds for our gardens! Yes! It is time! Before you plant, you need to buy your seeds (unless you saved some from last season), and there are a lot of options out there. It can be confusing and overwhelming. In this post and episode, I am reviewing top seed sources for your 2018 garden. The best part about this: I am using feedback from the Small Scale Life Facebook Group and Minnesota-Wisconsin Regenerative Agriculture Group about seed vendors you use! You, my dear friends, your story are part of the show! In case you are new to our podcast and blog, Small Scale Life is all about removing stress from our lives by living simply through: • Gardening, • Healthy living, and • Having adventures along the way We are thrilled you are here and listening to our show or reading our blog. That means a lot to us, and frankly we wouldn’t do this if you weren’t part of our Small Scale Life. Thank you so much! Before we begin this episode, let’s hear from some friends of Small Scale Life: Friends of Small Scale Life • Aussie Flame Weeders – My friend Mick at Aussie Flame Weeders is offering flame weeders to reduce your non-revenue producing workload. If you want to eliminate weeds from your garden beds, a flame weeder is an efficient way to do it. I mean, who doesn’t want to burn pesky weeds with fire? Mick’s flame weeders are perfect for 30 inch (80 cm) garden beds and feature five stainless steel burners, 16” wheels and an ergonomic design that carries a propane tank so you don’t have to. Even if you don’t purchase a flame weeder, sign up on the Aussie Flame Weeder e-mail list to get access to videos and information. • Tommy Cakes – Midweek Mindset and the Small Scale Life Facebook Group Thank you to our friends of Small Scale Life. Remember: if you have a product or a service that you would like to be discussed on Small Scale Life, contact me at realsmallscalelife at gmail dot com or use the contact us page on smallscalelife.com. Introduction – Seed Vendors As we roll through February, it is time to get planting seeds and getting our seedlings started. As you have been finishing up your Garden Plans, I am sure you are finding that you need some seeds! If you type “seed vendors” into Google, you will be overwhelmed with companies and vendors selling all kinds of heirloom and genetically modified seeds. Where do you buy your seeds? This was the exact question I asked the two groups I manage on Facebook: • Small Scale Life Facebook Group • MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Facebook Group I wanted to get the perspectives of urban farmers, homesteaders and gardeners. The great thing is that this is input from across the country (Small Scale Life Group) and locally in Minnesota and Wisconsin (MN-WI Group). I wanted to see if there might be differences in how small scale gardeners buy their seeds versus more commercial operations like Michael Bell’s Half Acre Farms or Scott Hebert’s Flavourful Farms. The results in each group are summarized below and will serve as the basis for reviewing top seed sources. Small Scale Life Facebook Group We had some good participation from group members, and I appreciate your thoughts and feedback in the poll and on my direct messages. Here is what the results are telling us: • Johnny Seeds is the clear leader for growers in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. • Baker Creek is in second place with Seed Savers in a distant third place. • A few of our Small Scale Life members were very interested in saving their own seeds. Homesteader Greg Burns told me that his goal is to plant using saved seeds and not purchase any. New to gardening, Jacob Heinberg is starting his garden this year, and he is very interested in seed saving. While I won’t get into specifics in this post, I will have some posts about it in the near future. MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Group The MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Facebook Group is a smaller group composed of farmers, homesteaders and gardeners in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I wanted to set up a local network of people to replicate the Ohio Get Stuff Done Group, and there is a great group of people there. I plan to start meeting people in this group, but that is for another time. From the people that participated in this poll, we have the following results: • Seed Savers Exchange was the leader. • Burpee is second. • Saving your own seeds is in third place. Top Seed Vendors In order to help reviewing top seed sources, your humble correspondent went a little above and beyond and ordered seed catalogs from Johnny Selected Seeds, Baker Seed Company, Seed Saver Exchange and Burpee. I wanted to briefly review top seed sources from our polls and show the differences between their seed catalogs. While you can get a lot of information off each vendor’s website, seed catalogs provide a wealth of information about the seeds, produce or herbs, time to maturity, yield and some history about the origin of that particular plant or herb. One seed catalog provides specific information about resistance to certain blight (and that might be one of the reasons they are a leader). Johnny’s Selected Seeds Started in 1973, Johnny Selected Seeds is based in Maine and is 100% employee owned. They offer a variety of vegetable, herb, fruit and flower seeds. Johnny Seeds also offers a variety of tools and supplies for gardeners, market farmers and farmers. I am impressed by the information that Johnny Seeds has compiled beyond the description, days to maturity, what to expect at harvest and price options. The disease resistance information and germination guides are great! They also have some suggested planting program information for market farmers to follow during the “Stages” of the growing season. There is a lot to like about Johnny Seeds. What about cost? Johnny Seeds seems to be more expensive than other seed vendors; however, they offer seed packages for commercial producers (i.e., farmers). Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company printed its first seed catalog in 1998 when the owner was 17 years old. Baker Creek has three stores: Petaluma, CA; Mansfield, MO; Wethersfield, CT. They offer a variety of heirloom vegetable, herb, flower and fruit seeds, and if you are interested, they host events at their stores. Looking at their seed catalog, it is a straight-forward affair: history of the particular item, description of what to expect at maturity, days to maturity, amount in the packet (selected items) and price. Unlike Johnny’s, Baker Creek does not seem to have larger packages for commercial producers (i.e., farmers). What about cost? Baker Creek seems to be less expensive than Johnny’s Seeds and seems to be in the same range as Seed Savers Exchange and Burpee (depending on the item). Seed Savers Exchange Seed Saver Exchange started in 1975 and is based in Decorah, Iowa. They offer a variety of heirloom vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit. They promote their seed saving community and seed saving movement. Their seed catalog includes history of the particular item, description of what to expect at maturity, days to maturity, amount of seed in each option (all items) and price per seed option. Unlike Baker Creek, Seed Savers does offer some larger packages for more commercial operations. What about cost? Seed Savers seems to be less expensive than Johnny’s Seeds and seems to be in the same range as Baker Creek and Burpee (depending on the item). Burpee Burpee is big, and it is everywhere: Menards, Walmart, Home Depot, grocery stores, etc. Started in 1876, they are headquartered in Warminister, PA. They have vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruit, gardening supplies, seed starting supplies and lots of other items. Their seed catalog includes days to maturity, description of what to expect at maturity, amount of seed in each option (all items) and price per seed option. Burpee does not seem to have larger packages for commercial producers (i.e., farmers). It is a one-size-fits-all approach, and you can easily purchase their products at big box stores near you. What about cost? Burpee seems to be less expensive than Johnny’s Seeds and seems to be in the same range as Baker Creek and Seed Savers (depending on the item). What About Saving Your Own? Perhaps you don’t have the funds to spend on all these vendors. Times are tough for some, and there are ways to get gardening without breaking your bank. Seed saving is a great way to get your own seed collection started on the cheap. While I am not going to go into detail in this post about saving seeds, it is as easy as saving those pepper seeds in your bell peppers or jalapenos. Instead of composting them (and maybe growing vegetables and herbs in your compost pile), save the seeds from peppers, squash, cucumbers and other vegetables on a plate and let them dry out. Just make sure you label them or it could get messy! Saving tomato seeds is a little trickier. Tomatoes have a gelatinous membrane around the seeds, and you need to break that down by “fermenting” the seeds for a couple days. It isn’t hard, but I am planning to write a post about that. Of course, if you have a tomato you like, you can take a slice with seeds in it and plant it in soil. You will generate tomato seedlings! We will cover seed saving in another post. Other Seed Sources Be on the lookout for other sources of seeds. Some groups and organizations have seed exchanges and offer seeds. These can be great sources as well. The only potential drawback is that you might not get the particular variety you want, but you might get something unexpected! Putting It All Together After developing your Garden Plan for this year, it is time to purchase seeds. There are a lot of vendors out there, and it can be overwhelming to sort through all of them. The key is to use your Garden Plan to identify the seeds you need, and purchase your seed according to availability and price. Maybe you want to get your seed from one vendor that has them all? Perhaps you want to try a couple different vendors? Keep in mind that I only listed the big four from our poll. There are other vendors out there. You can save seeds from vegetables from the store or from your garden. That will save money and get you going this year, but you might not get the variety of tomato, pepper, bean or other vegetable you want. The benefits to saving your own are gaining that experience and saving money. Be on the lookout for seed exchanges or offers for free seeds. These can be ways to add to your collection. There is no right or wrong answer. The key is to get moving and collect your seeds because it is time to plant! That is next week’s topic! Thank You That’s about all for this post and podcast. I hope you found that reviewing top seed sources was useful and helpful. If you have comments or questions, please leave them as a comment to this post on Small Scale Life, use the Contact Us page, or send me an e-mail at realsmallscalelife at gmail dot com. Thank you again for listening to the Small Scale Life Podcast and visiting smallscalelife.com. We appreciate you and your time. Our wish for you is that you remove some of that stress in your life and live simply this week. This is Tom from Small Scale Life, and we’ll see you next time! Take care, everyone!

This is a great interview with Michael Jordan about his journey: from world traveler as part of the Army Corps of Engineers to traveling the world to learn about bees and becoming a beekeeping and mead-making expert while teaching others. It is amazing how life can send you in a new direction! I think one of the biggest take-aways from our conversation was this: If you find something you are interested in and really love, go on a journey. Discover and get into the details by learning from the experts. Dig deep. Once you have learned, share your knowledge with others. That really is the essence of Small Scale Life. We are all about learning new skills, practicing them and growing those skills, particularly as you share those skills with others. Thank you, Michael Jordan

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. How many of you set your New Year’s Resolutions and gave it up already?  You need to keep going.  Results are not guaranteed, but you will be better off in the long run for trying. In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes. Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life Introduction A lot of us get to the end of the year and we are excited to get a new slate and a new chance to do things different.  Many of us want to change something in our lives: Lose weight Get healthy Stop drinking Stop smoking Travel more Get ride of clutter Get organized Start a new business Others - yada yada yada How many of us set goals and resolutions for the New Year?  How many of us have already dropped by the wayside and punted on those goals? Statistically speaking, research has shown that 31 days after the first of the year, 64 percent of you have dropped your New Years Resolutions.  By March 1st, more than 80 percent of you have dropped those New Year’s Resolutions and goals.  You can see this at the gyms: the crowds that created standing room only and long wait times for equipment has eased up or evaporated completely. How many of you are like that?  Does one of these questions describe your state of mind: Do you get frustrated with your progress and results? Did you fall back into your same old patterns? Do you lack the time to put into this resolution? Do you lack a game plan for success? Did you forget the reason why you started? There are ways to break the chains of failure and defeat.  You can accomplish your goal successfully! 4 Tips to Keep Going It is tough to keep going, especially when times are tough.  Here are some ideas on how to keep motivated and making progress: Get a coach or accountability partner – Working with someone can help push and motivate you when you lose motivation. A good coach or accountability partner has your back and will keep you on task, even when times are hard.  After all, you don’t want to let that coach or accountability partner down! Start small; go low and slow – Too many of us go all out after we haven’t been doing something for a long time. Then we get really, really frustrated when change doesn’t happen or when you are sore.  Go low and slow, but do it consistently.  It will help with your recovery and motivation. Make it part of your daily routine – Block off some time every day to devote to your goal. Focus on that doing activities that get you closer to that goal during that time.  Do not get distracted by people or screens! Track your progress – Take notes and document your progress. It might not seem like you are moving a mountain initially, but when you look back after a month or a year, you will see how far you have come! Midweek Motivation Lesson: Keep Going Change is hard.  We are impatient creatures, and when results aren’t immediately seen, we throw up our hands and stop doing what we are doing. Keep going.  Keep pushing yourself.  You might be on the verge of a breakthrough, but you will never know if you give up.  Do the following things to keep going: Get a coach or accountability partner Start small; go low and slow Make it part of your daily routine Track your progress That’s all I got this week.  This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week!  Bada boom, bada bing! Sources Sources for today’s Midweek Motivation include: New Study Reveals How Long New Year’s Resolutions Usually Last 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February — here's how to keep yours How long do people keep their New Year resolutions? Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast.  You two ARE the wind beneath my wings! Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Badda boom, badda bing!  Dat's how we do it!  

Our topic this week on the Adam and Tom Live (ANT LIVE) is “Mindset and Milestones: Prepping for a Life Upgrade.” Before you step out on that limb and begin a new venture, there needs to be a shift in your mindset as and your prep for a life upgrade. Starting a new job, new small business, a new project, going in a different direction or starting over again from scratch takes planning, preparation and execution.  A Life Upgrade IS a big deal and will change who you are and where you are going.  Trust me, I know! There will be ups and downs along the way. Let me repeat that: there WILL be ups and downs along the way. Prepping for the lows (and the highs) is very important. It can take time for things to come together and start to flow the right way. How do you get over those valleys and keep going? What can you do to soften the blows and damage from the inevitable setbacks and storms? Adam started a small business and has been methodically building it over the past couple years. Julie and I ventured into the wild and tried our hands at homesteading on a small farm. One of us is still working on their dream; the other one pivoted and went in a different direction. What worked? What didn't? What did they learn along the way? A life upgrade is typically not easy and something that just happens overnight. A lot of planning and hard work are involved.  I mean, usually when change happens THAT fast, something dramtically good (winning the lottery) or dramatically bad has happened.  In my experience, it tends to be the later, and I wouldn't necessarily call that a "life upgrade." Serious illness, bankrupcy, job loss, financial ruin and death are definitely massive life changes, and those are not life upgrades.  Maybe once you walk through that dark valley and climb out on the other side, something good can happen, but again: it takes a lot of planning, hard work, help and therapy to get out of the pit. For this discussion, we are focusing on the mindset, milestones and prepping for a POSITIVE life upgrade.  We'll descend into the valley in a future show for you cannot have light without the dark, and that discussion is very important as well.  This is all part of the inward journey of our Small Scale Life. Do not fear the darkness because it reminds us of how good the light can be and feel. The ANT Live Show is on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel every Monday night at 7:30 PM Central. For links and show notes, head over to Small Scale Life website at https:///smallscalelife.com. Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This week, Tommy is on the road and is broadcasting from somewhere near the Front Range in Colorado.  In this episode, Tommy is going to discuss how you should always stop distractions and focus on the people and places around you. Consider this a little public service/community service on Tommy Cakes' part, if you know what I mean! In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes. Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast (http://smallscalelife.com), it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life (http://smallscalelife.com). Story Time If you look at modern Western Civilization today, and we have never been more distracted in our lives. Don’t believe me? Look around you: there are people who are tuning out of reality around them and completely tuning into the computer in their hands. A great example of our distracted lives plays out every day on our nation’s roadways.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,450 people died in 2016 due to distracted driving.  391,000 were injured in motor vehicles crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015. Many of those injuries and deaths are from talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, or fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system. On a given day during daylight hours, the NHTSA states that more than 481,000 people are using their cell phones while driving. You have seen these people, haven’t you?  They weave and bob in their lanes, correcting radically when they realize they are drifting into other lanes. The sad reality is: at 55 mph, texting on your cell phone for 5 seconds is like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed.  That is alarming! Midweek Motivation Lesson - Stop Distractions: Focus! Compared to our parents and grandparents, we live our lives at an incredibly hectic pace.  We are constantly on the go between work, school, activities, and kids’ activities (especially 24/7/365 sports).  Western Civilization has embraced and promoted multitasking and “on-the-go” hectic lifestyles in this modern age.  We push the limits to find one extra minute to send a text or make a phone call. How often are you eating a meal in the car “on-the-go” to another event or obligation? What are we really accomplishing and are we really happy with this lifestyle? There is no reason we need to live like this.  We can take some time, feel the sunshine, walk in the hills and mountains and breathe some fresh air.  Stop distractions by slowing down and focusing on the people and things in your surroundings. Make the time by taking the time. You cannot change Western Civilization, but you can change how you act and behave in it! Source Sources for today’s Midweek Motivation include: Statistics and cover photo courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast.  You two ARE the wind beneath my wings! Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Badda boom, badda bing!  Dat's how we do it!

In this episode, I am trying something new! This is the pilot episode of the new Small Scale Gardening Podcast. In this podcast, I am focusing on gardening and food preservation, which are my passions. As I learned from my good friend Greg Burns, I need to "Start with the Why" as I begin this effort. I talk about the following topics in this podcast including: Why I started blogging, podcasting and vlogging in the first place Our elders and their knowledge and experience Important Questions: Why start this podcast? Why split it out from Small Scale Life? What do you hope to accomplish? Check yourself before you wreck yourself.... Goals and objectives The future: interviews and garden tours; livestreaming on YouTube Call to Action This podcast will be hosted on Small Scale Life, and I will also provide links on Small Scale Gardening. Let's learn, do, and grow together! Special thanks to Hyde Free Instrumentals for the Acoustic Folk Instrumental. For more information, please see the following: Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8

What a week it's been! Julie and I have been so excited to bring you the Renew You Kickstart, and now that we are rolling down the tracks with the basics, it is time to talk about Leveling Up and Next Steps on this journey. Julie & I discuss tips and ways to continue to improve as you get stronger physically & mentally. For more information on this topic, please go to the article titled Leveling Up and Next Steps at Small Scale Life (https://www.smallscalelife.com/leveling-up-and-next-steps/). You can also join the free 7 day Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart at Small Scale Life. (https://www.smallscalelife.com/renew-you-in-2019/)

In this 239th episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Adam and I discuss attending small town tree lighting ceremonies and building new barrel garden planters. We also discuss the 2024 Acres USA Eco-Ag Conference including new trends in Regenerative Agriculture and homestead and small farm business ideas. Adam attended all four days of the conference, and he had a chance to attend presentations from Gabe Brown, Mark Shepard, and even Joel Salatin. He got to shake hands and rub elbows with a lot of leaders in the Regenerative Agriculture world Adam will lead the way and give us a recap of what he learned and what interesting things are coming down the pike in the Regenerative Agriculture space. I am curious if Joel Salatin talked about his new position as an advisor in the new administration and ant new policies he will be pushing. At the same time, our audience provided some good feedback and interaction with us, and Adam and I had a chance to brainstorm about what we would do to start a small business on a 8-agre homestead. Adam has an 8-acre homestead and has had a lot of irons in the fire, and I had a 10-acre homestead before moving to The Landing. We come up with some interesting ideas, and our listeners appreciated the brainstorming session. For links, support and other information, check out the Small Scale Life website at https://smallscalelife.com. Special Guest: Adam Rick.

This is our 167th episode of the show, and for this one, I ask the question: What is Resilience? As we watch the country’s systems (financial systems, banking, supply chains, health care system, education and entire industries) grind to a halt with this global pandemic, it begs the question: how fragile is our system? The answer seems to be: very! Although I don’t act like it at times, I am an engineer. I look at problems and issues and look for solutions. Our country’s systems are impossibly complicated. It is almost too big for one person or a small group of people to impact one way or another. While we cannot take on and change these massive systems, we can take on and change how we live our lives. For those of you who have been following Small Scale Life for a few years have seen this platform change and shift. We have gone down some rabbit holes, and at times it might have seemed that we were flailing and blowing in the wind. I have to admit, I have felt the same way! Two recent events have changed the way I look at Small Scale Life: A visit by my friend Greg Burns and Contrary Farmstead Podcast about this platform and our story The global pandemic and complete train wreck of our systems I have been doing a lot of thinking and brainstorming. The result is this podcast episode. I was driving home and recorded this as I was driving in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. It was raining, and you will come along with me on this platform-defining journey where I answer the question: What is Resilience?

Successful events and failed events do not just happen.  The success or complete failure is set in motion long before the actual event.  This past weekend, my family, Julie and I experienced both.  I am going to tell a tale of those two events and give you 10 Tips to Successfully Plan and Host an Event.  By following these tips, I think you will be well equipped to successfully plan and host your own event! For show notes, links and the 10 Tips for How to Successfully Plan and Host an Event InfoGraphic, please go to the Small Scale Life article titled "10 Tips to Successfully Plan and Host an Event." (https://www.smallscalelife.com/how-to-successfully-plan-and-host-an-event)

Are we really selling Driftless Oaks Farm? Julie and I just bought and moved to the farm almost two years ago and got everything we ever wanted...or did we? Tune in to Episode 218 of the Small Scale Life Podcast to find out who, what, when, where and why!

Welcome to the Small Scale Gardening Podcast on the Small Scale Life Network! Why is Small Scale Gardening important? You might be new to gardening, a grizzled veteran of many summers or new to this Small Scale Gardening platform, and you might be asking that very question. After all, what can you really do with a small garden? Can you grow anything in a small garden? What is the point? After all, bigger is ALWAYS better! Au contraire, my friends! In this post and episode, I am defining Small Scale Gardening, and I discuss why it could be a game-changer for new gardeners; veteran gardeners; older or physically challenged gardeners; and renters. This post and podcast episode will serve as a framework for future gardening projects, articles, podcast episodes and videos. Let’s begin! For more on this topic and to see the show notes, please go to the corresponding article on Small Scale Life titled "Why Small Scale Gardening?" (https://www.smallscalelife.com/what-is-small-scale-gardening)

In this 240th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Adam and Tom discuss watching drones, surviving Christmas gatherings and closing out 2024. Besides the conspiracies and parody songs, Adam and Tom discuss 9 Tips for Surviving Christmas Gatherings, which Tom admits he will be putting into play this week! From drones flying around our county to our Christmas/Yule Plans to Closing our 2024, Adam and Tom (the ANT Squad) covering a lot of ground tonight. Maybe it was the full moon, maybe it was the winter solstice energy, maybe it was the old Yule traditions...whatever it is, we are covering it tonight. We look forward to our awesome audience providing input and questions as usual,. and I am sure we will dive down some strange rabbit holes with these topics. Oh come, all ye faithful Joyful and triumphant Let's talk about Magic, technology, Old Gods, Old Ways, traditions, the New Year and aliens....why the hell not? The ANT Live Show is every Monday at 7:30 PM Central on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@smallscalelife). We then post the audio on the Small Scale Life Podcast as soon as we can....barring any reindeer, aliens or drones! Ho Ho Ho! Drink your drinks with your pinky out, and let's go! Catch ANT LIVE on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel at 7:30 PM Central on Monday evenings. Adam and I talk about mindset, small business, wellness, homesteading and other topics that come up. Remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing! See you tonight! ~ Tom LINKS: 🌱A Modern Frontier Website: https://www.amodernfrontier.com 🌱Small Scale Life Website: https://www.smallscalelife.com 🌱Small Scale Life Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/4raJ4BdYYnqSspeV/?mibextid=K35XfP 🌱Small Scale Gardening Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/dua9PobD1A82ANXC/?mibextid=K35XfP 🌱Small Scale Life Wellness Club Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/g/rd2j5aR2TBPgchy7/?mibextid=K35XfP DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a therapist. I am not in or connected to the medical community. Always consult a professional before trying any of these activities or any practice. Create and live your Small Scale Life at your own risk, but do it carefully and at your own risk. All actions you participate in are voluntary and at your own risk. To see more about mindset, homesteading, adventures and interviews with some cool people, check out the Small Scale Life Podcast and our site at https://smallscalelife.com Learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing! Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. In this episode, Tommy discusses Going Full Throttle on life, projects and major efforts.  It is up to you: if you want to have success, you have to go full throttle! Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life. Catching Up and Being Social with Tommy Cakes My sincere apologies that I have been noticeably absent from the series of Small Scale Life Podcasts of late.  Believe it or not, it has been since July 26th since my last Midweek Motivation Podcast, and that is a long time.  I have been a busy boy doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that, traveling around the country taking care of business.  In my own life, I have been roaring and going at full throttle, and I need to budget more time for these kind of podcast, because I do like being social with you. Speaking of social, it’s time for a little drinky drink!  It is time for a social.  Are you ready for our first sip?  Count it down with me and raise a glass….3….2….1…Social! Delicious!  That is really good! For show notes, pictures and more information, head on over to the article titled Midweek Motivation: Go Full Throttle on Small Scale Life! (https://wp.me/p6NX1f-Ve)

In today's podcast, I talk about a number of subjects including the following: Wishing listeners and the Lifer community a Happy Easter! Weekend 3 Things on the Small Scale Life Facebook Group Working through our busy week Gardening and Demo Day of the old raised beds Starting to build community online and in person! Remember: * Start small where you are and start with a couple people. * Over time, develop 5 close friends that have your back, and you have theirs. * Develop and Abundance Mindset. For more information, check out the article titled "Starting to Build Community" at smallscalelife.com.

Heathly Lifestyle with Chazington Alloucious - HELP 4 Who in the world is Chazington Alloucious?  What does this person have to say about healthy lifestyles, losing weight, fitness, mindset and clean living?  Well, fine friends and followers, you will have to listen to this podcast to find out. Chazington Alloucious and I have a great, meandering discussion about a lot of different topics including: What is happening with the weight loss challenges? Fitness over the past week and plans for the next week Focus and target areas for the next week Mindset - Daily journaling and future plans Geography - Where are the Twin Cities and what are they like? Podcasting problems and challenges Urban farming and hops farming And of course: what DOES a HenWay machine do? For those of you who missed it, here are the five questions from the Five Minute Journal that can be used to start your journaling (if you need a place to start): What am I grateful for? What would make today great? What is my daily affirmation? What are three surprising things that happened today? What could I have done to make today better? Links https://youtu.be/I-skJbxDOhw Chazington Alloucious and I discussed a few different sites, podcasts and video blogs during this episode.  Here is a list of those links: The Sample Hour - Drew's blog and podcast page School Sucks Podcast - Drew's friend who hosts a podcast and an on-line community dedicated to redefining education by promoting home-education, critical thinking, peaceful parenting, personal development and better communication strategies. Greg Burns & Drew Sample Chicken Processing Lifestream on Facebook - Greg, Drew and the Hillbilly Crew processing 80 meat chickens at Nature's Image Farms Five Minute Journal - Drew is using the Five Minute Journal to work through issues and develop his mindset John Suscovich's YouTube Hops Farming Playlist The video above was from the Hop Yard in Maine.  For more information on this farm, please see John Suscovich's Podcast Interview with Geoff Keating. Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Today’s podcast, post and YouTube videos are particularly timely.  In the Small Scale Life Facebook Group, our friend and new gardener Alex has a great question: “My tomatoes are so out of control and are completely shading my peppers. I have at least 10 peppers that have stopped growing and those are my favorite.  Can I cut back the tomatoes? Can I attempt transplanting the peppers? At this rate the peppers are not going to grow so these are my only two options besides just pulling them.” – Alex from Illinois. There is no need to pull the peppers!  I think we can figure out a way to aggressively prune tomatoes and get more sunlight to those peppers. Be advised: by aggressively pruning, you will get more tomatoes from your plants!  I think you can handle it though. For more information about How to Prune Tomatoes, head over to Small Scale Life (smallscalelife.com (www.smallscalelife.com)) for the post, videos, pictures and more!

Charles Hugh Smith - S1E13 In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I had the opportunity to interview Charles Hugh Smith.  He is an entrepreneur, author, blogger, podcaster and gardener.  Charles started the Of Two Minds blog in 2005, and his "side project of self-expression" has mushroomed into a 3,500 page website that has generated 20 million page views!  According to Charles, "the blog is #7 in CNBC's top alternative financial sites, and is republished on numerous popular sites such as Zero Hedge, Financial Sense, and David Stockman’s Contra Corner. I am frequently interviewed by alternative media personalities such as Max Keiser, and am a contributing writer on peakprosperity.com." Fortunately for me, Charles is on a podcast with our good friend Drew Sample.  Drew mentioned Small Scale Life, and Charles agreed to come on the podcast.  I was really excited to have Charles on the show.  I had read some of his posts on Zero Hedge over the years and found him to be a very good writer and deep thinker.  In addition, Charles has a garden and some fruit trees, so naturally he had to come on the Small Scale Life Podcast! Charles and I discussed the following topics during the show: Gardening Tribes Networks Jobs in the New Economy Mincome (Minimum Income) Healthy Lifestyle Sustainable Lifestyle What is Small Scale Life really all about? And much, much more! As you listen to the podcast, you might find that I did a fair share of talking.  Charles has a way of interviewing the interviewer!  I thought that was a pretty interesting turn of the events.  Regardless, I hope you enjoy this podcast and learn more about Charles and me! Thank You [caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Charles and his wife make pies from his peach trees in his yard. It looks awesome![/caption] It was great that Charles Hugh Smith spent some time with us at the Small Scale Life Podcast.  He is a deep thinking guy with a lot of ideas, and his analysis is really interesting.  I will be reading some of his books to learn more about meaningful work in the new emerging economy,  why things are falling apart and what we can do about it , and about survival when times get turbulent and tough.  Again, thank you, Charles, for your time and patience waiting for this podcast to be published.  You can come back on the  Small Scale Life Podcast at any time! Thank you, Drew Sample, for mentioning Small Scale Life to Charles.  I appreciate it, my friend, and I hope to return the favor! I would also like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song “Steady Wzdm” from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for helping to connect with Austin. Links [caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Charles Hugh Smith's latest book available on Amazon.com in print and Kindle[/caption] Charles Hugh Smith and I talked about the following links during the podcast: Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds Charles Hugh Smith's Books For Sale on Amazon.com Drew Sample from The Sample Hour US Army's Basic Training Physical Fitness Test Scott Hebert from Flavourful Farms Sabastian Junger's Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging Jack Spriko's The Survival Podcast Bring Danny Home Blog - Story of Finding My Son in 2015 Friend of Small Scale Life Podcast In this Episode, I talk about the following friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Condo to Compound Blog - Jay Dolan's journey from an urban/suburban life to a rural life. Failing Forward Profitable Urban Farming - Drew Sample and Scott Hebert's weekly podcast about success, failures and life as an urban farmer. Reconnaissance Man - Aaron Clarey's latest book for today's youth where he recommends that the Reconnaissance Man (or Woman) takes the time to explore this country, not just to see what this country has to offer, but to find out who they are, where they belong, and what they really want out of life. Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

How does a company grow 1 million meals in a place with incredibly high temperatures in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter? On top of that, this company has no tillable soil, no heavy farm equipment (i.e., traditional tractors or combines) and only asphalt and concrete to grow food. In addition, this company needs to move garden beds for new attractions and exhibits, so these raised beds need to be mobile. Impossible, you say? It is not only possible, it is happening right now in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In fact, it is happening at the State Fair of Texas while the fair is happening! In this episode, I sit down with Drew Demler from Big Tex Urban Farms and discuss various aquaponic systems and mobile garden beds used to grow 1 million meals for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We cover a lot of topics including who Drew Demler is, what kind of aquaponic systems are used, pests, fertilizers, wicking beds and small aquaponic systems you can set up at your own home. Big Tex Urban Farms has a focused mission: to "connect like-minded agriculture entities and provides fresh produce to organizations focused on hunger and healthy lifestyle programs." With people like Drew Demler leading the way, there is no doubt in my mind that Big Tex Urban Farms will continue to push the envelope and provide nutritous meals to those in need for a long time to come. For more information, links and show notes, please head to the article titled "SSG: How to Grow 1 Million Meals with Drew Demler " on https://smallscalegardening.com!

In last week's News from Around the Bend on smallscalelife.com (https://www.smallscalelife.com/news-from-around-the-bend-back-to-school-edition/), I opened the article by talking about kids going back to school. In some cases, our friends are taking their young adults to college for the first time. Julie and I have been there and done that. After all, both of our boys left our house and went to the US Army (Danny) or college (Ryan). We just took Ryan back to Winona, Minnesota, for the next phase of his college career. Whether you are taking your young adult to college for the first time, to kindergarten for the first time or sending your child to school for another round, we all have feelings of excitement, nervousness and doubt. Why do we feel this way and what can you do about it? In this podcast, I am mainly going to focus on young adults going back to school or heading off to college for the first time. A friend is feeling that sense of loss and depression after sending his son to college several states away. He was feeling pretty bad, and I wanted to respond to some of his questions in this podcast. The bottom line is that you have to let these young adults launch and start to explore their world. We are going to have to give up some control; these young adults are out of sight and out of "reach" (so to speak). You don't have control, and you need to let them learn. On the other hand, there are some things we can do to prepare for this phase of life. We need to have a plan in case things go awry. Life happens, and it can catch you by surprise if you don't have a plan. At the same time, there are some things we need to do to think about the next phase of OUR LIVES. Yes, the kids are going to leave the nest, so what comes next? Remember: failing to plan is planning to fail. We want you to be the best you, so start to put that thinking cap on, make some plans and execute! For more information and links in the show notes, check out the article titled "Preparing for the Next Phase of Life" on smallscalelife.com!

June is moving right along, and I hope you are doing well! A while back, I had a great conversation about Homesteading in Ohio with Daniel Bokros. Daniel is one of the Ohio Get Stuff Done Crew, and he has his own homestead called the Red Dog Ranch. In this podcast, we discuss his journey from the Marine Corps to the homestead in the Ohio countryside including real community, land, Joel Salatin, building soil, bees, pressure canning, chicken pigs and cows. That is a lot to pack into an hour! Check out more and get more detail on Small Scale Life (www.smallscalelife.com)e!

On his character James Keziah Delaney, Tom Hardy said, "All progress lies in the actions of the unreasonable man."  If you watched the first episode of the FX's show "Taboo," you will indeed see the actions of an unreasonable and mysterious man. In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I review this new show and dive into the characters, plot and reviews for this new show.  While I do not watch much television, I found this show interesting because I am a Tom Hardy fan.  I really liked his Bane character in the The Dark Knight Rises, and he played a great antagonist in The Revenant last year (which I reviewed here on Small Scale Life). While reviewing a television show is a bit out of character for this blog, I enjoy that period of history, and who doesn't want to see Bane stomp around London and kick some 19th century butt? Keep in mind that this is a fan show, and any images, music or story are not my own.  I am simply commenting on the show and characters as a fan of the show.  The images are from the FX, and the piano theme song is from artist Lunar Black's piano cover song.  Please frequent their sites! Podcast Topics for "Taboo" In this podcast, I discuss the following topics: Why am I talking about a television show? The Jist of the Show Characters House of Delaney (and Others) East India Company Basic Plot - Building a Foundation Mystery and Intrigue London in 1814 Comments from other Reviews     Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but GREATLY appreciated)! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This episode is focused on overcoming dread. Are you spending all your time and energy worrying about something?  Are you afraid to tackle tasks?  Perhaps you need to change your perspective and mindset, and Tommy Cakes is here to help overcome your dread. In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes. Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life. Introduction – Overcoming Dread At one time or another, everybody has that nasty feeling in the pit of your stomach. Maybe that feeling comes from one of these examples: Going into work at a job you don’t like, Talking to an authority figure after making a mistake, Meeting new people, Taking care of tasks Delivering a project or service to a client or Speaking in front of the public (like on a podcast…doh)! Over time, that nasty feeling in your stomach grows, and you feel exhausted or have little motivation to complete tasks and take care of business.  You procrastinate and, in some cases, that small task mushrooms into a massive problem that takes a lot of time and energy to resolve.  Have you experienced that? Story Time Let’s tell a little story outlining this.  Our hero hurried and scrambled last summer as he packed up all his belongings and prepared to move from his house.  His lovely wife made arrangements with a local storage facility.  Our hero, his boys and a few friends loaded the belongings into the storage locker. After a couple trips with a big truck, pickup truck, SUV and other vehicles, the house was empty and the storage locker was loaded.  Other belongings and furniture were taken to the new house, and our hero settled into his new place. This winter, the time came when our hero had to clear out the storage locker. Our hero started to be concerned.  Who was going to help empty the storage locker and load the truck?  Where was all of this stuff going to go?  Could our hero even move that much material? As the date came closer, our hero’s thought about it more and more.  Slowly bur surely, his concern turned into dread.  It seemed that this was too big a task to handle and too much material to move to a small house and small garage. The day came, and our hero and his lovely wife picked up the moving truck and drove it to the locker.  They opened the locker, and after taking a deep breath, they began to load the truck.  They loaded quickly, and as they worked, the hero’s feeling of dread began to diminish.  Dread slowly turned to confidence, and confidence slowly turned to euphoria. As they closed the door of the truck, the hero said triumphantly, “I have been dreading this day, and that wasn’t as bad as I thought.  Let’s try to get it all loaded tonight…..!”  The hero’s lovely wife reminded him that night was coming, and that the dynamic duo had extra help the next day. Midweek Motivation Lesson So what is the point of this story?  The point of this story and your Midweek Motivation is the following: [tweetthis]Overcome dread by focusing your mind and completing one task at a time. Start easy tasks to get momentum! #mindset #overcomingdread[/tweetthis] [tweetthis]Stop letting your fear and imagination rule your life. #overcomingdread[/tweetthis] You don’t have a lot of time on this earth.  Use your time wisely. Worrying and dreading about something is wasting your time and energy.  Whatever that source of dread is, it is going to be over after you engage and finish the task, and chances are, you’ll feel a lot better once it is done.  Take a deep breath, close your eyes and pull the trigger.   BOOM! This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week! Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast.  You two ARE the wind beneath my wings! Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Badda boom, badda bing!  Dat's how we do it!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Lifers. I hope you have a good holiday with your significant other. How is it going? How are you feeling? Are you making it through these tough times and cold weather? It can be hard this time of year. It feels like Spring is never going to get here, and we have a long stretch of sea before us before we get to a warmer seas and safe ports. On our course, there a rocks, reefs and sandbars that can snag our sailing ship. We can get stuck and hung up there, and that can be dangerous in foggy or stormy seas. You didn’t know you tuned in to a sailing podcast, did you? This is all a metaphor for life right now. Many of us are struggling with issues and problems, and sometimes we get stuck. We stop moving and get bashed and battered, much like a ship stuck on a rock, reef, or sandbar. Captains use charts, buoys and Lighthouses to safely navigate rivers, seas and oceans. We need the same in our lives as we deal with problems, issues and hang-ups. On this 185th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, let’s put on our Captain’s hat, hoist the sails and grab the charts and a glass. After all, its time to discuss When the Struggle is Real, Find Your Lighthouse to skirt the rocks and find better seas or a safe harbor. We can even say “Yarrrrrr” as we do it, maties! Now bring me that horizon…Yo ho! For show notes and links, head over to smallscalelife.com!

I completed the Whole30 Challenge on March 2, 2020. How did it go? In this post and podcast episode, I discuss Whole30 Challenge results a week after completing the challenge and answer the next question: "Whats next?" By the way, if you want to try the Whole30 Challenge, we are just starting Round 2! You can join Team Rhino and get this done! It is not too late. Nothing stands in the way of a rhino! To join Team Rhino, get the Small Scale Life 24 Hour Plan or see the show notes, please see the article titled "Whole30 Challenge Results and Thoughts" on smallscalelife.com! (https://www.smallscalelife.com/whole30-challenge-results-and-thoughts/)

We have a great podcast for you today.  Today’s show is an interview with Doneil Freeman, who is a husband, father (a Regenerative Dad), permaculturist, farmer based on regenerative agriculture principles, beekeeper, teacher and a fellow podcaster.  Doneil Freeman operates Freeman Family Farms located in Calhan, Colorado.  Doneil has experience beekeeping, rebuilding soil in arid places and regenerating overgrazed pastures using principles from regenerative agriculture and permaculture.  He has run a successful CSA program, and he has a lot of advice for those of us who are starting small businesses which includes market gardens, urban farms CSA programs and even a blogs and podcasts. This will be a two part interview.  In this podcast, we cover a lot of topics including attending Hogtoberfest, beekeeping, starting and running a CSA program, and regenerative agriculture including rebuilding soils in arid environments.  Part 2 will include a discussion about Doneil’s wicking beds and the Regenerative Dad’s podcast. Topics - Regenerative Agriculture with Doneil Freeman Doneil and I discussed the following topics in Part 1 of our two part interview: Hogtoberfest 2017 with Greg Burns, Drew Sample and Michael Jordan Origin Stories My Story Doneil's Story Doneil's Bees Regenerative Agriculture, Restoring the Land and Farming Boom to Bust CSA Program Freeman Family Farm Links Doneil and I covered a lot of ground in this podcast including the following links: Doneil Freeman on Facebook Freeman Family Farms Regenerative Dads Podcast Website Regenerative Dads on iTunes The Sample Hour Episode 171 - Hogtoberfest 2017

In this 228th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I had a chance to catch up with Adam Rick from Modern Frontier Farms in Dousman, Wisconsin. At the same time, Adam and I are kicking off a new Livestream on the Small Scale Life YoutTube Channel on Monday nights at 7:30 PM Central. This is the audio from that first show. Adam Rick is my brother from another mother and owner/creator of Modern Frontier Farms in Dousman, Wisconsin. Adam lost his HVAC job a couple years ago, and with the support of his lovely wife Lisa, Adam started Modern Frontier Farms, a grass fed, pasture fed small meat business. Adam works in conjunction with a local cooperative of Amish farmers, Wautoma Family of Farms, and along with other regional producers. Adam and is partners are producing animals that are raised the way nature intended. The meat is fantastic, and I will have a chance to reintroduce Adam to the Small Scale Life Community, talk about this business and talk about what we are planning to do with a regular livestream on Small Scale Life. As always, remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing! ~ Tom LIVE STREAM SPONSOR: Brought to you by A Modern Frontier Farms: https://www.amodernfrontier.com Get all your pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken from Adam at Modern Frontier Farms. Grass Fed; Grass Raised; 100% Delicious! LINKS: 🌱Small Scale Life Website: https://www.smallscalelife.com 🌱Small Scale Life Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/4raJ4B... 🌱Small Scale Gardening Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/dua9Po... 🌱Small Scale Life Wellness Club Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/g/rd2j... 🌱Small Scale Life Telegram Chat Group https://t.me/+X60kPSJ3bLY0YTUx DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a therapist. I am not in or connected to the medical community. Always consult a professional before trying any of these activities or any practice. Create and live your Small Scale Life at your own risk, but do it carefully and at your own risk. All actions you participate in are voluntary and at your own risk. To see more about our wellness journey, gardens, homesteading adventures and interviews with some cool people, check out the Small Scale Life Podcast and our site at https://smallscalelife.com Learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing! *************** Special Guest: Adam Rick.

In Small Scale Life Podcast Episode 214, I talk with my friend Adam about his family's journey to starting High Desert Hives and Homestead in Colorado. How does a successful guy decide to walk away from the hustle and bustle of city life and a fast paced corporate job and move to the country to start a garden, grow a thriving beekeeping business and raise boys in a world of freedom and wonder? Listen to Small Scale Life Episode 214 to listen and be inspired by Adam's story. You can find all the show notes at https;//smallscalelife.com.

I have been successfully growing seedlings inside for the past few years, and there are a ton of Lessons Learned from my own successes and failures.  In this podcast, I boil it down and focus on 9 Lessons Learned from Gardening Indoors.

Julie and I had a great conversation about wellness, homesteading and grounding with Hannah from The Wisconsin Homestead Podcast. Topics include clean eating (Keto and Whole30), grounding, spirituality (energy and the Drum Wash) and of course The Wisconsin Homestead Podcast. What is Grounding? For those who may not know what “grounding” is, grounding is a practice where you walk barefoot, sit, or work outside to contact with the Earth's surface. By grounding, you are actually connecting your body to the earth’s energy, and at the same time, you are transferring the earth’s energy from the ground into your body. It really helps you to feel connected to the earth and more at peace. If you don’t believe it, you should give grounding a try! Why am I talking about this? Well, you’ll see really soon in this podcast episode, and this is part of our Wellness practice on Small Scale Life where we are healing and strengthening our bodies, minds and spirit. We will be talking more about this in future episodes of the Small Scale Life Podcast. Now, without further adieu, here is Wellness and Grounding with Hannah from The Wisconsin Homestead Podcast. For show notes, check out the post titled "Grounding with Hannah from The Wisconsin Homestead Podcast" on smallscalelife.com.

Get Out of Your Rut - S1E11 For the past month, I have been in a rut.  From the outside, people would not really know it since I keep smiling and trying to move forward.  Some things converged together and hit me like a tidal wave.  It came to a head on the week of Memorial Day, and I have been getting out of my rut since.  In this podcast, I talk about what I am doing and what I have learned along the way, and maybe this will help you get out of your rut and moving forward. This is a difficult podcast for me to post, and I struggled with putting it out there for a couple reasons: I had some technical issues with my laptop that delayed my posting of this podcast This is a very personal podcast, and I hesitated posting it Believe it or not, I don't like talking about what goes on in my head. I keep things pretty close.  My friend Drew Sample told me that I needed to share it because there lessons to be learned from this experience.  I agreed and decided that it was important to me to share this with you.  Take from it what you will, and hopefully you will get out of your rut too. Let's get the funk out! Life is too short and too beautiful to be down in the dumps! [caption id="attachment_803" align="aligncenter" width="2592"] Sunset in Colorado Springs, Colorado - June 2015[/caption] Thank You Thank you, listeners, family, friends and followers, for hanging in there during this month.  Stay tuned because more great stuff is coming! Thank you, special people in my life, for lending a helping hand with encouragement and kind words.  Really, you guys are the best, and I appreciate you.  For those of you in a rut and struggling, find a good, kind person and lean on them.  It really does help to look at your problems and issues through a different prism and perspective. You might find a new path forward or a new solution to your problem. I would like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song “Steady Wzdm” from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for his assistance. Links I have two links for you today, and these are for friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Jen Semmler from Young Living Essential Oils - Jen is your representative for all nature essential oils. Please contact her through Facebook to order yours today.  Let Jen know that you heard about her from the Small Scale Life Podcast. The Sample Hour Podcast - My friends Drew Sample and Scott Hebert continue to fail forward to succeed at life on the Sample Hour Podcast.  Check out their podcast today!  They laugh, they cry, they sing and they take off their shirts just for you. https://www.instagram.com/p/BGVa7YnHSFA/?taken-by=flavourfulfarms&hl=en If you would like to advertise your product or service on the Small Scale Life Podcast, please contact me at realsmallscalelife [at] gmail [dot] com. Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Are you stressed out about money? On a given Sunday night, do you dread going into the work the next day? If you are, you are not alone. A recent study created by mobile-banking company Varo Money reported that out of 1000 Americans polled, “a whopping 85 percent say they "sometimes" feel stressed about money, and a full 30 percent say they're "constantly" stressed about their finances.” That is really amazing! What can you do about this? How about generating some additional income through a lifestyle business online? It is May Day, and in a celebration of capitalism, I am thrilled to have Kevin Geary as my guest today for a second time on Small Scale Life. This time, Kevin Geary and I discuss how to start a lifestyle business that allows you to put some of that stress at ease by earning extra income while charting your own destiny from almost anywhere on this planet. Kevin has started various online businesses over the years, and he has learned some critical techniques to target your niche audience and ultimately sell more of your products and/or services. For more information, links and the show notes, please see Small Scale Life (http://smallscalelife.com) Kevin Geary can be found at Six Figure Grind (https://sixfiguregrind.com/) and Rebooted Body (http://https://rebootedbody.com/) If you would like to join the Make It Stick Master Class and support Small Scale Life, please use the following link: https://academy.rebootedbody.com/makeitstick/?affiliate=smallscalelife (https://academy.rebootedbody.com/makeitstick/?affiliate=smallscalelife)

In this 121st episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Julie and I are announcing the Renew You in 2019 Kickstart! This is a FREE 7-day event that will provide tools, tips and a community that will help get us improving our mindset, nutrition and movement in 2019. Julie and I want want you, the Small Scale Life Community and others, to join us in starting 2019 off on the right foot. With this Kickstart, we are developing a foundation for success to be the best you (and the best us) in 2019. We are really focusing being intentional for three key aspects of our lives: Mindset Movement Nutrition Julie and I will be rolling out a way to join and get access to these tools and tips in the near future. We will have more information soon! Stay tuned to smallscalelife.com for more information!!! (http://smallscalelife.com)

Happy Spring, everyone! In this 222nd Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to discuss attending my first Beekeeper Conference called Beek Meet 2024 and 5 Lessons Learned from Beekeepers at the conference. While I am not a beekeeper, I found the conference incredibly interesting, educational and entertaining. I also met some really great folks at the conference, and I had a chance to connect with some really good friends from Ohio. Find all the links and show notes at smallscalelife.com (https://smallscalelife.com)! A direct link to the article is found here: https://www.smallscalelife.com/5-lessons-learned-from-beekeepers-at-beek-meet-2024/ To sign up for the Whole30 Challenge, go to the Small Scale Life Website. An email sign up form is on the main page of the website and under the Wellness tab.

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This episode is all about the lessons learned from the life of PT Barnum and the movie “The Greatest Showman.” There are some great lessons learned about friends, creativity and unstoppable drive from the life of PT Barnum, and Tommy Cakes tells you some of those lessons in his own unique way. In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes. Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life   Introduction – The Greatest Showman In case you haven’t noticed, Midweek Motivation is a little different than your typical Small Scale Life post.  We get into some social and cultural commentary while I try to motivate you with some of that knowledge. In this show, we are going to focus on a movie that everyone is talking about.  The movie is good entertainment with some life lessons buried inside it. As you know, movies have depicted some interesting and uplifting characters that have done some truly remarkable things beyond wearing fancy clothes and impressive hats! Story Time The hero of this story started from humble beginnings as the son of a son of innkeeper, tailor and store-keeper.  Our hero was excellent at math but didn’t like physical work! From his first job as a shopkeeper, he moved up and eventually purchased a museum.  He added new attractions and transformed it to include: A lighthouse lamp that shown light down Broadway A strolling garden on the roof with a view of the city Giant animal paintings from the windows and Hot-air balloon rides that launched from the showplace daily. Over time and by adding exotic acts to his show, our hero met with the Queen of England, Czar of Russia and royalty across Europe. In just a few years, he owned several museums and had a draw of 400,000 people a year! Our hero lost his wealth in some bad business and real estate deals, and he spent four long years in litigation and public humiliation. His friends stood by his side and supported him, and eventually he gained momentum and created the US’ first aquarium and met with the President of the United States. Even after his museums burned down, our hero once again connected with friends and started a circus in Delevan, Wisconsin.  He had the first circus to move from town to town and across the country by train (and the first circus to own a train).  It was billed as the Greatest Show on Earth! After leaving the circus, our hero wrote books and became a politician, serving as a State Representative for four terms and later served the mayor of his town. Midweek Motivation Lesson: Friends, Creativity and Drive So what is the point of all this? Life is hard, and it knocks you down.  Things happen that don’t seem fair, and the odds can be stacked against you. We can learn from Phineas Taylor Barnum, the hero of our story and a distant relative of Julie Taylor Domres. When times were tough, PT Barnum's friends supported and helped him.  Even when the chips were down, PT Barnum used his creativity and relentless drive to push himself to new limits and new successes. What’s holding you back?  Get started making good friends and using your creativity and drive today.  We are waiting to help you, friend.  Reach out and take my hand. That’s all I got this week.  This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week!  Bada boom, bada bing! "The Greatest Showman" Recently Hollywood released a movie about PT Barnum called “The Greatest Showman.”  While there are a lot of things that are Hollywood fiction and narratives, it is an uplifting movie.  Tommy Cakes gives it two thumbs up, so go see it. After all, it takes an Upcoming Showman to know the Greatest Showman! For a taste of the energy of this movie, watch this pre-production video from "The Greatest Showman."  Throughout the movie and this clip, I kept waiting for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine moment, but we got something completely different and inspiring! I have to give my wife Julie credit, it was a good movie and had great energy (even though it did not match historical accounts).  By the way, my wife Julie IS a distant relative of PT Barnum (that is true), so you can see why she puts up with an amateur showman like yours truly. Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast.  You two ARE the wind beneath my wings! Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Badda boom, badda bing!  Dat's how we do it!

Midweek Motivation is a new weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This episode is focused on the big lesson learned from the Viking's Minneapolis Miracle in their game against the Saints.  In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes. Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it's Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes.  Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business.   I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly.   Story Time This story is about a man named Marcus.  He has been playing football all his life.  Marcus did all the drills, participated in all the practices, played in all the games and finally made it to the NFL.  Marcus is a rookie playing in his first big game.  The game has come down to the final minutes in the fourth quarter.  Marcus' team has a slim lead, and all his team has to do to win is to stop the opponent on their final drive.  At this point it looks like Marcus' team will win the game.  Victory is in the bag!  All Marcus had to do is stop the opponent from scoring a touchdown. With ten seconds left on the clock and third and ten, the opponent's quarterback steps up to the line of scrimmage.  He gets the ball and scans the field.  He throws the ball downfield to a receiver, who makes an incredible jump and grabs the ball. This is Marcus' big moment.  All he has to do is tackle the receiver and the game is over.  However, Marcus puts his head down and completely misses the tackle.  The receiver sprints to the end zone, winning the game!  Marcus' team loses, and the "Minneapolis Miracle" is born.   Marcus is Marcus Williams from the New Orleans Saints.  A rookie who put his head down and missed an easy tackle. This play inspired this post, and it inspired a whole nation of Vikings fans who are looking forward to "bringing it home."  Midweek Motivation Lesson The point of this story and your first Midweek Motivation is this: [tweetthis]Keep your head up; finish strong!  Keep your eyes on the target.  If you don't, you will miss every time.[/tweetthis] Stay on target and succeed!

In this 224th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss three critical elements of vegetable garden layout design and planning. I have always said that there are three elements for successfully growing plants: light, water and nutrients. It is time to take these three elements from theory to reality as I show you how these three elements impacted my new vegetable garden layout here at The Landing. My hope is that you can implement some of these ideas and concepts in your own garden, whether it is a brand new garden or one that has been around for a while. Now, there is a lot to do before I begin planting in my new garden. I have a lot more prep work on the future garden area including adding my new Wicking Bed Gardens and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow Systems, placing mulch and erecting a fencing and gates. I provide a status report of the Garden Build Project at the end of the article. For links and written article for this episode, please head over to Small Scale Life website for more information! (https://smallscalelife.com)

In this 175th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to be talking about Escape Velocity: Blogging is Art with Atlantis Gazette. What is Atlantis Gazette? The Atlantis Gazette is an art, business and lifestyle blogging and podcast project started by my friend Cal Massey from California. As he describes in this episode, Atlantis is a mythical and fictional city that disappeared under the ocean. The Atlantis Gazette, however, is a newspaper dedicated to people doing cool things in the world. Cal Massey is just starting out and outlining his plans for this platform. What is Escape Velocity? This is part of a new project here on Small Scale Life called “Escape Velocity.” Many people have ideas, dreams or even goals for starting a side hustle or business; however, they never act and never start. Some launch and fail. Others launch and get enough momentum to escape the gravitational pull of an ordinary life, job or career and start a new side hustle and business. Through the Escape Velocity Podcasts, I am hoping to document lessons learned as people push forward on their side hustles or small businesses. For more information and links, please see the article and podcast episode posted on the article titled Escape Velocity: Blogging is Art with Atlantis Gazette on smallscalelife.com.

What is a Modern Victory Garden in 2020? For this special episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast and Small Scale Gardening Podcast, I have assembled a panel of gardeners, farmers and homesteaders who have grown food for a living and to prepare for tough times. Our panel hails from California, Colorado, Wyoming and Minnesota, and through our combined experience, we provide some thoughts and information for folks who might be starting their gardening journey in 2020. History of Victory Gardens Looking at history, one thing is clear: when times get tough, people get gardening! During World War I and World War II, people in America and around the world started victory gardens in their yards and in their communities to provide food for their families, neighbors and armed forces. A new foe is here, and people are once again faced with rationing and shortages “on the home front.” What is the response from Americans and people around the world? Return to the Land! Return to the Garden! Many of you are starting your garden for the first time. There are a lot of things to think about before you start growing plants. While it does not have to be complicated, there are proven methods and techniques we can use to successfully grow food. This is particularly true if you are trying to grow food in small spaces: on your balconies, on your patio, or even on your driveway in your apartment, condominium, townhome, rental home or own property. You CAN grow food; we are here to help you start! Show Notes and Links For more information, show notes and links, please go to the article titled "Modern Victory Gardens for 2020" on smallscalelife.com! While you are there, make sure to subscribe to the Small Scale Life Newsletter Email and received your FREE Seed Starting Guide. I walk you through my tried-and-true process for growing plants (vegetables and herbs) from seed. This Seed Starting Guide also gives you "must have" and "nice to have" shopping lists of materials needed to grow plants from seed. As a bonus, you also get the Ideas and Inspiration Guide that shows you examples of seed starting set-ups from members of the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. Click on this link and get your FREE Seed Starting Guide today! (https://www.smallscalelife.com/garden/free-seed-starting-guide/)

Have you ever felt overwhelmed as you think about how to start gardening or kicking off a new garden season? There are so many questions, options and methods; it can feel like you are lost in a lush jungle of options and questions: • Do I start seeds or buy them from a store or a greenhouse? • Should I till up your yard and plant in native soil or build raised beds? • Should I use Square Foot Gardens, Rain Gutter Grow Systems, Wicking Beds or Root Pouches? • How should I orient my beds (north-south vs. east-west)? • Can I put a garden in a shaded spot? • What soil mix should I use for my raised beds? • Am I going to have an organic garden by using compost or use fertilizers or both? • How far do I space my garden beds from each other? • How close should I put the plants in my garden beds? • What are these pests (bugs, birds or four-legged animals) and how do I stop them eating my plants? • How can I reduce weeding and the work involved in gardening? • Why bother? I never remember to water my plants and kill everything I touch! If you feel this way, this new How to Start Gardening Series is for you. I am designing this series for people starting from scratch and with a clean canvas. My goal is to reduce the confusion and help you successfully grow plants and vegetables.

This is our 80th Episode!  Whoo hooo!  For this episode, we are shifting gears a bit on this episode, and you are going to get to learn a lot more about our story.  My guest and I (and other celebrities who stop by) are going to talk about going from high paying, fast-paced lifestyles to slower-paced, more simple lives with less stuff.  How does one achieve that? Where does one begin?  My guest and I have some ideas, and in this episode, we are going to discuss the 5 Steps to Developing a Simple and Intentional Life. In this episode, my wife Julie Domres is my special guest, and we discuss some of Before we get to that, let me ask you a couple questions: does your stuff stress you out?  Do all the materials, goods, and things in you house and garage give you a sense of dread or anxiety?  My guest and I are going to take you on a journey. Show Notes for 5 Steps to Developing a Simple and Intentional Life In this podcast, Julie and I discussed the following topics and links: Friends of Small Scale Life (see below) Gnarled Knot Design Nature's Image Farms Introductions Who is Julie? What has been happening the past couple weeks? Weekend to Remember Marriage Retreat - Family Life Moving Our Stuff Home Our Story  Moving Out and Storing Stuff Planting Our Flag in North Minneapolis Schemes and Ideas Decision Process and Finalizing "The Plan" Our Journey to Develop a Simple and Intentional and Life Survival Mode and Chasing Dollars Jobs, Kids and Life Minimalism - Learn, Do and Grow in Motion How did we find Minimalism? Tom - Local Author and Blogger Aaron Clarey - Captain Capitalism Website Julie - The Minimalism Documentary Going to see the Minimalists in Minneapolis (link to podcast of the event) Other Minimalists Josh Becker - Becoming Minimalist Colin Write - Exile Lifestyle Patrick Rhone - Minneapolis Author of "Enough" What does it mean to us? 5 Steps to Developing a Simple and Intentional Life Eliminating Clutter Reducing Time Commitments Reducing and Eliminating Debt Replacing Screens with Reality and People Defining What's Truly Important in Your Life Putting It All Together Key Topics, Thank You's and What's Coming Up

This is Tom from Small Scale Life. I am glad you are here today listening to this podcast episode or watching this YouTube video! This is another member appreciation video and podcast episode where I am going to do just a little talking at the start and let you relax or meditate to wonderfully calming Wind Chimes, wind and birds in Minnesota. For those of you who want these chimes (like I do), these are Woodstock Chimes' "Chimes of Neptune." Special thanks to Small Scale Life member Danielle for her video and her windchimes. They are a true blessing and mean a lot to her and her family. It is a special honor to share these with you, so thank you, Danielle. The world seems to be a crazy and upside down, and I know a lot of us are sheltering-in-place and hunkering down in the Time of Corona. To help with that, I believe we need to get back the land and nature to unwind and become more resilient. If you want to see other Running Water, Creek and River Videos and Podcasts, check out the following: Spring Birds and a Bubbling Stream Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMxpAnoLm6E&t=446s Stream of Meditation – Relax to a Bubbling Creek: https://www.smallscalelife.com/stream-of-meditation/ I hope you enjoy this video and podcast episode, and I hope that it helps you relax, and I will be creating more relaxing videos in the future.

After a long hiatus this Spring, Host Tom resturns to Restart Our Small Scale Life. This is a 10 minute episode that covers the following topics: Host Tom introduces himself to the audience Where the Small Scale Life Podcast has been over the past 6 years and where it is going in the future Driftless Oaks Farm's projects and opportunities For links and show notes, head over to smallscalelife.com (https://smallscalelife.com)!

The one year anniversary of the record-setting Government Shutdown happened on January 25th, 2020. The anniversary came and went without fanfare by most, but for those of us who were impacted by that particular Shutdown, we remember it all too well. Last year, Julie and I breathed a sign of relief as the Shutdown ended and we realized that we had enough money in our Emergency Fund to survive. This weekend, I toasted Julie as we took a few moments to remember where we were and how far we have come in a year! We have a fully funded Emergency Fund with 6 months of expenses, and Julie and I got there even after going on a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii (which was all paid in cash). Of course, we didn’t start out that way. No, dear Lifers, we did not. We were horrible with money, and Julie and I were in survival mode and living on the edge. It was not the way to operate a household budget and certainly injected a lot of stress and uncertainty in our lives. It took a lot of time, but we finally came to our senses and started following Dave Ramsey’s babysteps. I have to give Julie a lot of credit for getting us going and getting us to where we are today. Good job, Jules! You might be asking: “That’s great, but how do you start your $1000 Emergency Fund?” Well, dear Lifers, you are in luck. We are talking about The Saving Problem, defining an Emergency Fund, discussing our experience and giving you 9 Tips to Start Your $1000 Emergency Fund. For more information and show notes, go to the article titled "9 Tips to Start Your $1000 Emergency Fund" on smallscalelife.com. (https://www.smallscalelife.com/9-tips-to-start-your-1000-emergency-fund/) *Also make sure to download the FREE Budgeting Bundle on smallscalelife.com as well! Start your journey to becoming financially free today! (https://www.smallscalelife.com/free-budgeting-bundle/) *

This week, Greg Burns, my friend Jay and I finish Homesteading for Beginners by discussing the Definition of Homesteading.  This is the last part of a 2-1/2 hour conversation that focused on the start of our own individual homesteading journeys.  This is a philosophical discussion about the definition of homesteading, how to build experiences and how to cultivate people while building community. If you are new to Small Scale Life or missed Part 1 of the Homesteading for Beginners podcast (http://www.smallscalelife.com/homesteading-for-beginners/), I recommend that you take a listen.  In that podcast, Captain Lumbersquatch Greg Burns, my friend Jay and I discuss starting our own Homesteading journeys by asking why. For more links, photos and extensive show notes, please go to Small Scale Life to get more information (https://wp.me/p6NX1f-TY)!

This is a [late] podcast and post about Minnesota Traditions on Labor Day 2018. These traditions include the Exodus to Lake County and the Minnesota State Fair. I had the opportunity to spend four days at the State Fair in a booth, so I had a different experience than many who went as spectators. I will also talk about my Weekend 3 Things and give you an update on Operation Outreach as well. Stay tuned, there is a lot to talk about as I head south in the Mobil Small Scale Life Podcast Studio! For show notes, pictures and more information, head on over to the article titled Minnesota Traditions - Labor Day 2018 on Small Scale Life! (https://wp.me/p6NX1f-UD) Special Note: I have to apologize to all the listeners out there: I did not intend to publish this podcast and post without any content! Yikes! As an aside, it is interesting that some folks shared this without any content….hmmm….Anyway, thank you for your patience!

In this 225th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I recorded a video and audio while I was IN the garden, so this is truly a garden chat with your lovable host Tom.  In this episode, I discuss the garden build project including the fencing, the border, mulch, gates, Wicking Bed Planters and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System Planters.  I talk about cabbage worms eating my broccoli, how my peppers really stink this year and how my tomatoes, zucchini and basil are stars of the garden.  Towards the very end of the episode, I talk about Driftless Oaks Farm and provide some advice about where to buy land or a homestead based on our own experience at Driftless Oaks Farm.  While it didn’t work out as expected for us, it might be different for you.  I would highly recommend that you think long and hard and look long and closely at any property before purchasing it.  We got caught up in the idea and excitement, and fortunately the gods smiled upon us. While we podcasting types typically obsess about audio quality, there is something neat about this recording.  It is imperfect: there are chickadees chirping, the green heron squawking, planes flying, traffic driving by, Julie talking to a friend, kids chattering as they walk down the street in front of our house and a passing train heading from the Twin Cities to Stevens Point, Wisconsin.   This is life in a small town in America in 2024.  This is how it should be.  We are part of this community, and these things are just part of our life here now.  We can be perfectly imperfect because that is what we are. And that, my friends, is a GOOD thing.

Happy Easter! As a gift to you, dear listener, this podcast episode is simply a way for you to decompress while listening to a relaxing stream of meditation near Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. In many religions and practices, the folk would go to a stream, river or lake in order to meditate and pray to their gods. Water is life, and chants and prayers seem to resonate in the forest and along the shores of streams, rivers or lakes. In these uncertain times, I wanted to provide a way for people trapped in quarantines or under shelter-in-place orders in urban landscapes to have a way to connect with nature. You might not be able to be by this stream physically, but I am providing a method to connect virtually. I firmly believe that we need to by physically, mentally and spiritually fit as we come through these dark times and begin to rebuild our homes, neighborhoods and communities. Being in touch with nature and connecting with our spiritual selves will help give us strength in the days to come. I hope you enjoy this recording. I plan to capture more of these places and spaces and provide them to this audience. My goal is to trigger something deep inside you as you meditate in order for you to become the best you. As I always say at the end of my videos and podcasts: Learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. Take care, everybody!

Do you feel stressed out? Does it seem that there is too much noise and information out there? How do you sort through what is important and what is not? In today’s fast paced world, there are incredible demands on our most precious resources: our time, our energy and our money. As we go through life, we seem to collect more and more stuff. We have closets, basements, garages and storage lockers full of stuff! Do we need it all? How can you decide what to keep and what to give away? In this episode of Small Scale Life, Julie and I work through a number of Decluttering Questions and Answers from our own experience in the trenches of our garage, basement, kitchens and utility drawers. Got junk? Well, its time to embrace that chaos and make some decisions! This podcast will help you on your own path to living a simple and intentional life. For more information and tips on HOW to declutter, please see the corresponding article on Small Scale Life titled "Minimalism: Decluttering Questions and Answers."

We are rapidly rolling through June, and by now your plants should be really starting to grow.  In this episode, it is time for another Garden Update, and while our gardens might be growing, our plants are under siege from common garden pests of all shapes and sizes.  I am dealing with some common garden pests here in my small raised beds, and I wanted to give you a head’s up about some common, and one unusual, pest before too many of you lose productive plants. In addition, I expanded my garden space by adding two vinyl gutters two weeks ago!  I have discussed these kind of gardens before in the Vertical Garden 101: Introduction to Vertical Gardening (http://www.smallscalelife.com/vertical-garden-101/) and Vertical Garden 102: How to Build a Vertical Garden (http://www.smallscalelife.com/how-to-build-a-vertical-garden/) posts.  I provide some thoughts about these type of gardens in this podcast in this environment. Introduction: Common Garden Pests How are your plants doing so far this season?  We are  moving into a point of no return for the 2018 season.  What do I mean?  With us getting into late June, there is a point where plants like tomatoes, peppers, squash or zucchini cannot be replaced and still generate a decent harvest this season.  The bottom line is that if you lose a plant any later in the season, it will be difficult to replace it. This is why pests are so difficult when they show up in the garden.  I am sure pests have their place in the world; however, they do not have a place in my gardens where I have been working hard to create healthy and happy plants and produce to feed my family. Without much ado, I am going to discuss how the garden is doing and some of the common garden pests I am dealing with this season.  Some of these pests have been more destructive than others, but regardless, you have to check your garden daily and make sure that you address and dispatch each pest quickly. For more information, please see the article on Small Scale Life (http://www.smallscalelife.com/common-garden-pests/).

Tribe, Ritual and Debt - S1E18 October is winding down, and it feels like there is A TON to do.  I have not posted much this week because I have been processing vegetables and herbs like crazy!  I decided to clear the garden beds, and that triggered a mad dash to get preserve the vegetables and herbs before everything rotted.  In the past two weeks, I have made salsa and tomato sauce, frozen rhubarb, and drying parsley, dill, and oregano.  I am thrilled to be exercising some of my equipment and skills this season, but in the back of my mind, I knew I had content like this podcast about tribe, ritual and debt to post. If you listened to Season 1, Episode 17, our friend Jay Dolan from the Condo to Compound Blog was called to the "principal's office" at the firehouse to handle an assignment.  We had a chance to get together and discuss a number of topics again.  I was trying to get Jay on HELP Episode 6 about Hogtoberfest, but things didn't quite work out.  Jay and I ended up furthering our discussion about tribe and small communities, as well as a number of other topics.  As a head's up to you, Jay does make an announcement about his blog towards the end of the show, so if you have been to his site, you will understand what he is talking about. Podcast Topics https://www.instagram.com/p/BLkQVHMAg07/?taken-by=smallscalelife Jay and I discuss the following: One Year Anniversary of the Small Scale Life Blog Tribes and Rituals Debt and Debt Reduction Budgeting Concepts Vision of the Rural Life Learning Skills and Taking Time Condo to Compound Blog Updates   Links https://youtu.be/O4Go_UmX-ZM During the Small Scale Life Podcast, Jay and I discuss the following links: Jay’s Condo to Compound Blog John Mosby - Forging the Hero: Who Does More is Worth More Drew Sample and The Sample Hour - TSH - 125 - Hogtoberfest 2016 HELP Episode 6 – Hogtoberfest and Tribe USA Today - Nearly 7 in 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings Dave Ramsey – How to Start to Get Out of Debt  Jack Spirko’s Survival Podcast – Episode 1628 Five Financial Landmines to Avoid when Buying Land Jack Spirko’s Survival Podcast – Episode 1778 Finding a Remote Property Jack Spirko’s Survival Podcast – Episode 1788 Finding the Right Property to Turn into a Homestead Jay and I talked about the commercial using Aerosmith's "Dream On" song.  I was wrong; it was Walmart.  I linked it above. Friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast   In this Episode, I talk about the following friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Condo to Compound Blog – Jay Dolan’s journey from an urban/suburban life to a rural life. Failing Forward Profitable Urban Farming – Drew Sample and Scott Hebert’s weekly podcast about success, failures and life as an urban farmer. Reconnaissance Man – Aaron Clarey’s latest book for today’s youth where he recommends that the Reconnaissance Man (or Woman) takes the time to explore this country, not just to see what this country has to offer, but to find out who they are, where they belong, and what they really want out of life. Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but GREATLY appreciated)! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

This is Season 2, Episode 24 of the Small Scale Life Podcast, and I have a great interview lined up for you today.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you will have a break from my monologues with this podcast.  I am SURE there is much rejoicing with that news.  In this episode, I am interviewing a husband, dad, teacher, small business owner, body builder, trainer, and urban farmer!  This gentleman’s name is Michael Bell.  He is a fellow kindred spirit from down in Texas, and in Part 1 of our two part interview, we are talking urban farming! He is not only a mountain of muscle, but he also owns and operates Half Acre Farm.  Inspired by some of my heroes including Gary Vee, Curtis Stone and JM Fortier, Michael is carving out his organic footprint in a quiet spot six miles from down Downtown Dallas.  It is pretty cool talking with Michael, and I learned a lot from him.  Whether it is starting your own small business (not necessarily urban farming) or getting fit, I think there is something for everyone in these next two podcasts! Topics In this podcast, Michael Bell and I discussed the following: Introductions Who is Michael Bell? What was your first gardening experience? Urban Farming Why urban farming? Influences and inspiration Property Crops Business model and clients Challenges and solutions Future projects In Part 2 of this interview, we discuss body building and the journey to develop a healthy lifestyle. Links for Michael Bell https://www.instagram.com/p/BZpYPKuBQLq/?taken-by=dallashalfacrefarms You can find Michael Bell with the following links: Michael Bell on Instagram Dallas Half Acre Farm on Instagram Michael Bell on Facebook Small Scale Life Facebook Group - Yes, folks, I added him....shhhhhh!   *Friends of Small Scale Life * Introducing Aussie Flame Weeders, a new friend of Small Scale Life! Aussie Flame Weeders makes stainless steel flame weeder manifolds.  They are making manifold set available this month, and they expect to start shipping them all by the start of November.  The manifold set up will contain: Custom manifold to suit 30-inch bed Five stainless steel German made burners that can removed to be cleaned, changed or replaced LPG equipment to suit a standard propane bottle Flint lighter To help promote this deal, Aussie Flame Weeders are offering all customers who purchase a custom manifold the chance to win Coolbot!  These are perfect tools for your urban farm! To be in the competition all you have to do is: Order a manifold before the October 31, 2017 Like the Aussie Flame Weeders Facebook page or share the page with fellow urban farming friends. Help by providing feedback in a short survey they will email to you if you agree to participating To find out more: Check Aussie Flame Weeder out using the following links: Aussie Flame Weeder website is www.aussieflameweeders.com Aussie Flame Weeder on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/aussieflameweeders/?ref=bookmarks

In this 120th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am had a great conversation with my friend Michael Bell about changes at Dallas Half Acre Farms. Michael has been very busy since our last interview, and we will discuss how he is changing his business from a CSA model (weekly box of a variety of products) to growing salanova salad empires in Dallas, Texas. As we discussed recently with Drew Sample, new opportunities and reality can force change, and you have to be ready to adjust accordingly! (http://www.smallscalelife.com/pivoting-business-strategies/) Are your ready to change? For TONS of more information and links, check out the show notes for this episode at Small Scale Life. Click the link for the post titled "Bellcast: Growing Salanova Salad Empire in Dallas, Texas." (http://www.smallscalelife.com/growing-salanova/)

It is time for another exciting episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast!  This is a long overdue Healthy Lifestyle Update, and I am checking back in to with you as my accountability partners.  So for this episode, treat is like a warm-up for Thanksgiving: prepare yourself to hear all about my ailments and knee pain and problems, just like you are listening to your dad around the dinner table.  No, not really…well, maybe a little.  Seriously though, I am going to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly in regards to my journey towards improving my health and fitness. In case you are new to Small Scale Life, we are living simply by growing, exploring and living healthy.  To put it simply, we are focused on: list text hereGardening, list text hereHealthy living, and list text hereHaving adventures along the way. Before we begin, let’s hear from some friends of Small Scale Life. Friends of Small Scale Life Lumbersquatches Greg Burns and Drew Sample - Good Men and Good Friends! For this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I wanted to give a big shout out to my friend Drew Sample at The Sample Hour.  He just released Episode 171, which is all about Hogtoberfest 2017.  In case you missed it, Drew Sample and I talked about Hogtoberfest 2016 last year.  I have not had a chance to listen to this podcast yet, but given the people and personalities that attended this year, I am positive that this podcast will be simply awesome.  Special shouts out to all the attendees for showing us how small communities of like minded people can come together to do some really cool stuff.  Thanks for recording and posting this Drew! I would also like to remind you that the Hogtoberfest host Greg Burns from Nature’s Image Farms does have comfrey left, and it is available for you at Nature's Image Farm.  As always, use discount code “SSL” for 10% off and FREE Shipping!  So, if you would like to have your own Bocking 4 of Boking 14 Comfrey cuttings, reach out to Greg Burns at Natures Image Farms today! Healthy Lifestyle Update: Good, Bad and Ugly So. Many. Patterns. Icing my knee this afternoon. Starting PT tomorrow. Thanks @mbell971 and @jdoms91 for keeping my spirits up. Sucks to hobble around. You don’t realize how much you rely on your knees until they don’t work right (pain free). A post shared by Small Scale Life (@smallscalelife) on Nov 7, 2017 at 3:42pm PST Today on Small Scale Life, I am going to discuss some of the good, the bad and the ugly related to jump-starting this journey. As you start to move, you might find out that some things need some attention and some work.  You might even find out that you are not a 2 on the healthy lifestyle scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the fittest person in your dreams), you might be a 1.  Right now, I am a 1.  What will it take to get to a 2? The last time I talked about this topic was back at the end of September.  I have had a whole month, so what progress did I make?  In a way, it is like showing your homework, a project or a speech in front of the class.  Some of it might be good.  Some of it might be bad, and in some cases, just plain ugly. The good news is that I am still here, still working on it and still moving forward.  I am working through the pain, and it has given me a serious appreciation for people like Todd Ehrhardt that are living and making progress on their dreams in spite of their physical pain. We’ll start from the worst case and work backwards, so we end on a positive note. What can I say?  I am a positive guy and want to end on a positive note and looking forward. The Ugly Let’s start with the ugly.  If you follow Small Scale Life on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you have seen a lot of pictures and posts of my knee under various ice packs.  I have been nursing a bad knee since the end of August when I worked at the Minnesota State Fair.  So, what is going on?  To answer that question, we have to go back in a time machine. Back in my youth, I played football in high school and in college.  As a defensive lineman and linebacker, I had my share of sprained ankles and fingers.  I also had two knee injuries.  As a Senior in high school, I strained my Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) on my left knee against Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (my son Ryan’s nemesis from high school basketball).  That healed fairly quickly. The bigger, more serious injury occurred in college.  I was chasing down a running back on a broken play in a game against Hamline College, and a guy who was subbing in for our injured safety dove right into my left leg, bending it backward.  I partially tore my Posterior Collateral Ligament (PCL) and once again strained my MCL.  I also taught the Hamline sideline a new vocabulary and language that would make Salty Seaman proud.  I was out for the year, and I decided to end my football career. Flash forward 26 years from 1991 to 2017.  I went from endless hours behind desks and in meetings to working on my feet a lot.  In my current role, I am inspecting railroad crossings, working at events like the State Fair or presenting to people.  That means I am standing, sometimes for hours on end. In addition, I am just a little heavier now in my 40’s than when I was 18 years old.  Just a bit!  Those old injuries coupled with extra body weight and being on my feet a lot created a perfect storm for arthritis in my knee.  Welcome to getting old and years of neglect, my friends! *The Bad * Since the end of August, I have been hobbling around the house or at work and icing my knee at night.  It affected me during the 14-Day Rebooted Body Walk Challenge, and I had to sign up for the 1 mile per day challenge because I was really worried that I couldn’t go farther on a given day. I have gone to the doctor a couple times: once at the end of September and then again recently.  I saw a general practitioner in September, and while the direction I got from them was okay, it was based on old information, x-rays and data from 2012.  I knew I had to go to a specialist. In late October, I was able to get to see an ortho.  They took new x-rays of my knee and confirmed that I had arthritis and poor cartilage in both knees, particularly my left knee.  Apparently the x-rays revealed that my lower legs are slightly misaligned from my knee, and this alignment forces the bulk of the weight and force to my inner knee and inner foot. Based on discussions with the ortho, we decided to move ahead with Physical Therapy, holding off on cortisone shots or surgical options.  One of the options was removing a wedge from both of my lower legs, forcing realignment of my legs.  This would force my weight to be more evenly distributed through my legs to my feet.  While the ortho shrugged it off and said it was like taking a chunk out of a tree (with a reciprocating saw), the thought of that did not appeal to me at all! Who wants someone sawing off part of their leg? The bottom line is that my why’s for getting healthier are becoming even more urgent.  Life will get a lot less painful if I do the work to rehab myself and can shed some weight. Truth be told, it has been a miserable few days since the weekend.  My knee was really sore after swimming a mile on Sunday, and I was really hobbling around the house and work.  It was pretty painful, and I could feel my other muscles tightening up and tiring out while they compensated for my knee. The Good Got a walk with @jdoms91 tonight in the neighborhood. When we got close to shingle Creek, we hear two Great Horn Owls in the stand of cottonwoods and other trees along the creek. Owls are awesome, and I have learned to mimic their calls. Needless to say, we stopped and I called. Two owls got excited (they are territorial) and flew into trees right over our heads. They eventually decided to move on, and they took flight. The geese and ducks called out warning calls as the two owls flew over the water. It was a fantastic to see them fly. What a night! It is amazing what you see on a walk in the urban area sometimes. A post shared by Small Scale Life (@smallscalelife) on Oct 5, 2017 at 9:17pm PDT There is hope, however.  Yesterday I went to the Physical Therapist.  We discussed the situation and she put me through some evaluations to see how bad it was.  Probably the most difficult part of this was squatting down.  That was pretty brutal.  She also twisted my knee around trying to check if the meniscus was bad.  That was a little painful. She was able to see a lot of issues I have with my legs and muscles.  The fact is that my calves are too tight, as are my hamstrings.  My glutes, core and my quads need to be stronger, and my hips need some work as well.  All of these things impact my knees and my lower back, which have both been pretty sore over the past several months. I walked away with a laundry list of stretches and exercises to start rehabbing those muscles.  I am working on that list of stretches and exercises at least two times a day, and I will be going to have therapy for the next six weeks.  I have to do the work to make this better; no one can do it for me. It certainly has been a wild year for me.  I don’t usually go to the doctor or physical therapy.  I haven’t in years.  That all changed this year as I have truly tried to rehab my body. list text hereThrough Kevin Michael Geary’s Rebooted Body, I took care of some sleeping issues and got my lower back checked out. list text hereI can also attribute my recent trips to the doctor, ortho and therapist to the Rebooted Body Walk Challenge as well. Maybe I should send Kevin my bills? So, you might be asking, what is good about any of this? The good part of this journey is that I am trying to get myself in a better place physically.  Stretching and working out again is going to help me.  I have been getting back in the pool more consistently, and last night I even tried the stationary bike.  I can tell you that the pool has felt better for my knee that the bike!  It was rather painful to spin those pedals, and my resistance level was set at 3.  Sad because I used to start at 8 or 10. Anyway, this journey is not an overnight sprint.  It is a long, slow walk.  My progress will be measured by inches at first, and then feet.  It is going to take time and effort, but it is not too late to fix myself. I have to do the work.  I have to commit to it.  This is important, and it is becoming more and more important as I get older.  When you are young, you can do things that and ignore warning signs.  I do not have that luxury.  As I told the physical therapist, my 68 year old father-in-law walks better than I can right now.  That needs to change. My journey is just starting.  Stay tuned to these Healthy Lifestyle Updates; it is going to be an interesting, and sometimes frustrating, walk. Your Challenge Thank you for tuning into this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Share this post and podcast; maybe that person you share it with will get inspired to go to the doctor and get help for their pain.  Maybe you will be inspired to get moving and start your own journey.  I am starting small, and you all can probably walk circles around me.  Are you willing to get off the couch and start?  Join me and give it a try! Share and Interact Please help the podcast and blog grow.  How do you do that?  Subscribe on iTunes, leave a rating and share this podcast with others.  For those of you who have left reviews and ratings, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I do appreciate it.  We have great followers and friends of the Small Scale Life Podcast, and I appreciate you all. If you have any comments on the show, feel free to leave them on the contact us page or as a comment under this blog post.  Reach out.  Engage.  You are not alone in this world.  You have friends here.  Connect with us on the blog or in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. Thank you again for tuning in.  Remember to grow, explore and be healthy!  This is Tom from the Small Scale Life Podcast, and we’ll see you really soon!

It is that time of year again: it is time to make My 2020 Garden Plan! I have been looking at my snow-covered garden and getting the itch to grow something, taste something fresh and make some delicious pickles, relish or salsa. Who is with me? This long slog from January to April in the northland really gives a gardener cabin-fever, but it is these quiet, cold nights where we come up with new ideas and our garden plans for the new season. It is also almost time to start growing those seedlings! If you are new to gardening, you might feel overwhelmed. Maybe you want to grow everything in that shiny seed catalog! Maybe you just don’t know where to start. For veteran gardeners, you are probably so used to growing the same stuff that you don’t think about it too much. You might be curious how other gardeners “DO IT,” and by that I mean creating a 2020 Garden Plan. You can get your mind out of the rain gutter now! In this podcast episode and post, and I am going to talk about the following: • Looking Back at 2019 • My 2020 Garden Plan Step 1: My Ultimate Garden List • Step 2: Reality Check: Reducing the List • What is Whole30? • Step 3: Finalizing My 2020 Garden Plan (List of Vegetables and Herbs) • Next Steps For show notes, pictures and links, head over to Small Scale Gardening site for more information! (https://www.smallscalegardening.com/my-2020-garden-plan/)

HELP Episode 9: Restarting My Engine 2017 is flying by a light speed.  January, February and March are rapidly fading into the history books.  How are you doing on your health goals? I have to be honest: I am restarting on my health goals for 2017.  I really haven't written about my health goals or talked about them at all in 2017.  As I discuss in the podcast, I punched out after Halloween last year and just tried not thinking about exercise, tracking food and pounds on the scale.  As I look at how the year ended and new year started, I failed to achieve my big goal, and I just decided to punt and regroup. Restarting my engine is critical to getting back in the fight.  I have change from always being on defense to rolling forward on offense.  You cannot do that sitting on the couch, behind a microphone, or writing blog posts.  It is time to move and get active.  This podcast summarizes my four point plan to restart my engine for 2017 and the rest of my life. Disclaimer I am not a licensed health care or fitness experts.  I am not a doctor.  Please be sure to consult your doctor, dietician or other health care professional about health, fitness or other medical issues.  All information shared on the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast and Small Scale Life are for informational and inspirational purposes only. Topics For Restarting My Engine I discussed the following topics in this episode: Wrapping Up 2016 HELP Episode 7 - Interview with Kevin Michael Geary Restarting My Engine in 2017 Signing up for and bowing out of a 12-Week Weight Loss Challenge Starting the Rebooted Body program Listening to Rebooted Body Podcasts Restarting Regular HELP Podcasts and Blog Posts Keeping Perspective Going Forward Links During the podcast, I discussed a few different sites, podcasts, videos and blogs.  The following is a list of those links:. Free 12 Week Weight Loss Challenge Back Up Fitness Group on Facebook Episode 7 of the HELP Podcast – Drew and I interview Kevin Geary about what we are doing and about the three pillars to healthy living: Eat, Move and Live Kevin Geary’s Rebooted Body – Kevin Geary's Blog and Podcast. Check out his site to “get a body and life you love” Kevin Geary’s YouTube Channel Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please consider becoming a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel.  Subscribers and ratings from listeners help us grow the podcast and the blog.  As you know, people look at subscribers and reviews before they listen.  Few subscribers and few reviews mean that no one cares to listen or rate the podcast.  Please click subscribe, and you will get notices when a new podcast is available. If you provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review! Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher

By now, most people have let the New Year's goals, initiatives, mantras and plans fall by the wayside. Change is hard, and it is easier to slide back into old programming and old habits, especially when you cannot SEE progress on the scale, in you bank account or in the way you feel. To make progress on goals, it helps to have an accountability partner. In this episode, Tom and Adam discuss progress on small business and wellness goals at the end of January 2025. Adam discusses what has been happening on Modern Frontier Farms and some recent successful events he had. Tom discusses his recent canning project using an All American Canner. He canned 18 pints of homemade salsa and 10 quarts of tomato sauce. For more links and show notes, head over to the Small Scale Life (https://smallscalelife.com) for more. Remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday! Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the joining of two souls in holy matrimony: Jay and Andrea.  Congratulations, my friends!  Your friends from the frozen tundra in Minnesota celebrate this glorious event with you! As I woke up this morning, I was thinking about this event and your wedding.  I woke up thinking about what I would say to you both as you begin this phase of your lives together.  I have been married for almost 24 years, and I have learned some things along the way that I would be happy to pass along to you both.  This is the same advice from the same philosophers I gave to my brother when I was his Best Man at his wedding some years ago.  It is the same advice I will give my two boys when they wed some day in the distant future. Go with the Flow The first piece of advice comes from a great philosopher of the modern age.  This man hails from the far north as well.  In his case, he comes from Canada and is one of their most cherished treasures.  In the timeless words of John Candy: [tweetthis]"Go with the flow like a twig on the shoulders of a massive stream!" John Candy[/tweetthis] Marriage and life can be compared to going down a river.  Sometimes, marriage and life is good and easy.  The waters are calm, and things take little effort.  Other times, there are rapids, and it takes a lot of effort to avoid getting hung up on the rocks.  In the worst of times, the river rushes over a waterfall.  You need to hold on to each other tight and go over to uncertain depths below or figure out a safe way around the impending disaster.  The key through all of this is to be together and work like a team.  By doing that, you will be equipped and able to take on whatever is around the next bend in the river. Laughter is the Best Medicine The second piece of advice comes from another great mind and talent of our current year and current age.  This is truly an exquisite mind and talent: one that is unparalleled in all the land.  I, I mean this talent, firmly believes that you should, no matter what, always try to laugh.  Life comes at you fast, and sometimes the only way to cope with it is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, make a joke and laugh.  Don’t take yourself too seriously. Live, laugh and love.  Truly is more than a cheesy slogan on an Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest page.  It is the truth.  It is how I try to approach life, although sometimes I am better at it than others. You have to laugh together to make sense of this mad, mad world.  Even when Jay leaves his nasty workout socks on the floor or the toilet seat up.  You just have to laugh. Congratulations!  Start Your World Julie and I wish you two the best.  We wished we could be there with you to celebrate this event, but we will make efforts to celebrate sometime and in some place in the future. Congratulations! Good luck, good fortune, and may God smile upon you. Start your world; it begins….now!

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This week however, I will be completing the Midweek Motivation due to the seriousness of the topic and story. In case you are new to Small Scale Life, I am your normal host of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Tom Domres. I am doing this episode by request from Daniel from Ohio.  He is a Marine with time in Afghanistan under his belt. Thank you for your service, Daniel.  He asked me to read this story for Midweek Motivation, and after reading the article, I wanted to move forward with it.  In this day and age, we see a lot of people who are elevated to “hero status” for strange reasons and to fulfill agendas and narratives.  What does real sacrifice look like?  Two Marines who gave all in defense of their Band of Brothers in Iraq in 2008 show us what real sacrifice is, even in this modern era.  While you might not make the ultimate sacrifice for others, what can you do to help your family, neighbors and community around you? Story Time Daniel sent me a link to a story written by Geoffrey Ingersoll from the Business Insider in 2013.  The title for this piece is “Everybody should read General John Kelly’s Speech about Two Marines in the Path of a Truck Bomb.” As a dad to a combat veteran, this story hits home.  My son could have been one of these young men when he was deployed to Afghanistan.  I am going to read selected portions of this story for you, and I will provide a link to the original story in the show notes.  The link to the original story is here: http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kellys-speech-about-marines-in-ramadi-2013-6 Midweek Motivation Lesson: Sacrifice for Others Many of us will never find ourselves in a similar situation as Corporal Jonathon Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter.  These men gave the ultimate sacrifice for men they knew, and some they did not know. How can you apply this story to your own life? We live in a fast-paced and isolated world.  We are connected by apps and screens, but we really don’t know each other. It is time to stop connecting on screens and start connecting in real life.  Reach out, meet face-to-face and develop those relationships.  Help your friends and neighbors with a project, or invite them over to your house for dinner.  Lend them some support and give them encouragement.  Sometimes some folks just need a smile and some time to talk. While you might not make the ultimate sacrifice to stop a truck bomb for your family, neighbors and friends, you might be able to help them when times are tough, or even when they aren’t (to quote Jack Spirko). Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast.  You two ARE the wind beneath my wings! Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Badda boom, badda bing!  Dat's how we do it!  

My guest on the Small Scale Life Podcast this week is Brian Aleksivich from the LOTS Project and our Fireside Freedom Podcast! We are talking about monetizing your homestead (making some money because….hey, we like money)! Brian started a lot of different business ventures since starting his Happy Hills Homestead 7 years ago, and I wanted to find out what worked, what didn’t and what other lessons he learned along the way. Check out the Episode 197 of the Small Scale Life Podcast! Available at smallscalelife.com or on streaming apps everywhere!

This morning I received a message on Instagram from Scott Hebert asking me when Michael Bell from Half Acre Farm was going to be back on the podcast.  It has been a while since the first BellCast (Season 3 Episode 5) in January, and a lot has happened!  Fortunately for all of us, Micheal Bell returns to the Small Scale Life Podcast to discuss progress at his urban farm in Dallas, Texas. Michael and I discuss a number of topics including the great weather in Texas right now (and the crappy weather in Minnesota), what he has planted and some of his profitable urban farming strategies. Michael is using some really interesting and simple marketing techniques to develop business opportunities and increase his urban farming operation.  As you will hear, he is employing techniques with great success! Michael feels that there are a lot of growth opportunities for profitable urban farming in the future, and he provides some positive encouragement to those who might be considering an urban farm as a side business. Topics Discussed on the BellCast: Profitable Urban Farming Micheal Bell and I discussed the following topics in this podcast: Welcome Back to the Show Texas weather Minnesota weather What’s Growing on the Farm? Tomato varieties Peppers Squash and zucchini Greens Onions Radish Beets Tomato Tips Septoria Leaf Spot Pruning Tomatoes Watering - low and slow Marketing and Customers for Profitable Urban Farming Instagram Strategy Telling the story How to sell a superior product Vegan Body Builder - YouTube Video Try to get restaurants for the Summer Start Profitable Urban Farming: 100 families = $100,000 Community Building Other farms are starting in the area, but there is a big market Rose Creek Farm Singing Frogs Farm Scott Hebert at Flavourful Farms Opportunities to collaborate and work together Diego Footer's Farm Small; Farm Smart Podcast Connect with Michael Bell on Instagram Putting It All Together As Michael stated, you can start profitable urban farming using simple techniques: connecting with people who are looking for great tasting, fresh produce in your area using Instagram. By starting small, you can focus on your client’s needs and share you story as you sell your produce.  As Curtis Stone has said on many occasions, your customers want to share your story with others, and once you sell your produce, customers will share their experience with others.  Michael experienced that very thing with the ladies who spent time at the farm and essentially sold his product to the whole office! You can do this, and there are people out there that can help!  We will continue to explore these topics with Michael in future BellCasts!

Winter has arrived in force!  We got our first decent snowfall here in Minnesota on Saturday.  On top of the snow, we are getting slammed by January-like cold.  We will be dealing with -20 degree Fahrenheit temperatures by Saturday here in the Twin Cities.  In fact, as I recorded this podcast, it was -1 degree Fahrenheit (and feels like -15 degrees Fahrenheit)!  Winter is here, and it is time to talk about some key winter tips for preparing yourself, your equipment and your house for this kind of cold and these kind of conditions. As an aside, we welcome new listeners to our weekly podcast from our new Stitcher channel!  If you are new to the Small Scale Life Podcast, this is a weekly show dedicated to developing a sustainable small scale life through healthy living, gardening, frugal living and having adventures along the way!  Our motto is learn, do and grow. If you would like to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast on Stitcher, listen using the following link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/smallscalelife/small-scale-life Podcast Topics https://www.instagram.com/p/BN7Sgt3Akn2/?taken-by=smallscalelife In this podcast, I discuss the following topics: Introduction to the Small Scale Life Podcast and Small Scale Gardening Blog Is Small Scale Life a Wellness Program? Conditions and Driving in Snow Winter Tips for Working in the Cold, Winterizing Your Equipment and Winterizing your House Winter Tips for Managing Ice Dams Links [caption id="attachment_1371" align="aligncenter" width="762"] Our quiet street after the snowstorm - December 2016[/caption] During the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss the following links: Small Scale Life Podcast Season 1 Episode 19: Happy Birthday, Small Scale Life! About.com - How to Prevent and Remove Ice Dams University of Minnesota Extension - Ice Dams Sample Hour with Drew Sample Small Scale Gardening Facebook Group MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Facebook Group   Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but GREATLY appreciated)! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Hey, Lifers! Do you want to know a little secret Tom and I have figured out that is absolutely KEY to setting us up for success to meet our health and fitness goals??? Actually, beyond the 24 Hour Plan and sticking to the basics of drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and doing some kind of daily intentional movement, this is THE most important thing you can do. Yup, you guessed it (really smart of you, based on the title of the post!)....It's Meal Planning and Food Prepping! To get useful tips and information for your Health and Fitness Journey, check out the following articles on Small Scale Life: Day 6: Meal Planning for Success (https://www.smallscalelife.com/day-6-meal-planning-for-success/) Day 6: Food Prepping for Success (https://www.smallscalelife.com/food-prepping/) Feel free to join the Health and Fitness Renew You Campaign on Small Scale Life by clicking the link! Go get em, Lifers! (https://www.smallscalelife.com/renew-you-in-2019/)

In this 207th episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I introduce the Drifting to Driftless Series by focusing on my recent Adventure in Cedar Rapids, Mount Vernon and Decorah, IA. The Drifting to Driftless Series is where I share my adventures and wandering. It will be a regular feature on Small Scale Life. For pictures, videos and links from this "Drift," head on over to smallscalelife.com. (https://smallscalelife.com)

In this podcast, Julie and I talk about How to Budget Your Way to Financial Freedom. We unpack the 9 Steps to Creating Your First Budget (with an additional bonus step at the end). This is the podcast you have been waiting for! After recording this podcast, Julie and I realized that there was a lot to this topic. Budgeting so important to your future success, but creating your first budget can be overwhelming and stressful. Julie and I have done a lot of thinking about how to present this material and share our process with you. To help you with successfully creating your first budget, Julie and I decided to create and release a Quickie Monthly Budget rather than a complicated spreadsheet. We want you to try this method of budgeting in a simple and easy to follow format. As part of Creating Your First Budget Week, Julie and I will be releasing a Quickie Monthly Budget with instructions on Wednesday this week at smallscalelife.com. We will have a special page dedicated to this Quickie Monthly Budget, and we will include a link in the show notes once the budget has been posted. In the meantime, head over to smallscalelife.com to find more information and get the show notes on this podcast!

It's Day 3 of the Renew You Kickstart (https://www.smallscalelife.com/renew-you-in-2019/), and today's topic is Basic Nutrition. Michael Bell returns to walk us through this topic, and he gives some great advice for folks starting on their journey with the Renew You Kickstart (https://www.smallscalelife.com/renew-you-in-2019/). As Julie and I have been saying over and over in previous podcasts and articles: this is about starting where you are. Some of us have been medicating ourselves with cheeseburgers, fries and beer (or Diet Coke) for many, many years. As we start to pay closer attention to what we are eating, we will find that there are some benefits to eating "what God made," or in other words: "real food." This food is delicious, especially when it is not buried under three gallons of dressing and cheese! For more information, please see the show notes from the article titled "Basic Nutrition with Michael Bell" on Small Scale Life. For the more on the Renew You Kickstart, please see the page on Small Scale Life for this campaign. (https://www.smallscalelife.com/renew-you-in-2019/)

In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Julie and I talk with Maria the Intuitive Energy Healer about the Full Moon Energies, the importance of community, and our 2022 Guiding Words. Who is Maria the Intuitive Energy Healer? Maria the Intuitive Energy Healer has been practicing over 6 years and helps people heal naturally and coaches people to achieve their goals and live their best life. Julie and I have been meeting with Maria since the Fall of 2020, and she has helped us work through decisions and issues. In a way, Maria helped us see beyond Eagles Ridge and what was possible. Opening our eyes lead us to Driftless Oaks Farm...and we have been truly blessed for that decision. For all of the links described in the show and show notes, please go to smallscalelife.com. (https://smallscalelife.com)

Urban Farming and Podcasting with Drew Sample - S1E10 In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I interview Drew Sample about urban farming and podcasting. Initially inspired by Joe Rogan's podcast, Drew Sample started his own podcast called The Sample Hour.  Initially, it was mainly focused on comedy and stand-up comedians.  After becoming interested in permaculture and urban farming, Drew shifted the focus of The Sample Hour.  After more than 112 episodes, Drew feels that he is hitting his niche interviewing permaculture and urban farmers (sounds familiar). Drew and our recent guest Scott Hebert have a weekly podcast where they talk the problems, solutions and progress they are making on their urban farming operations.  In addition, Drew has interviewed some very interesting people on his podcast including Curtis Stone, Jean Martin-Fortier, Charles Hugh Smith, Jack Spirko, Diego Footer, Rob Kaiser, Paul Wheaton, Matt Powers, Grant Schultz, Luke Callahan and others.  That is a lot of brain power right there (and a lot of links), and I highly recommend you listen to those interviews (after you listen to this one). Drew started his urban farm in 2015 after determining that he "needed to get outside more" and finding that urban gardening was a path forward.  The interesting thing is that his urban farm is on property that he rents in Columbus, Ohio.  His farm is called Capital City Gardens, and he is working in cooperation with Heirloom Produce (owned and operated by a life-long friend Joel).  Drew is learning how to operate his urban farm with help from his friend Joel, Scott Hebert and from Curtis Stone's Profitable Urban Farming course.  This is his first year of " urban farming really intensely." [caption id="attachment_727" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Drew's urban farm is located in his backyard in Columbus, Ohio; he is a renter just like me![/caption] Drew stated in this episode that he was going to start publishing videos on his YouTube Channel.  True to form, he did publish a good quality, great sounding video where he talks about permaculture with Steve Harbolt at Sawyer-Ludwig Park in Marion, Ohio. https://youtu.be/hCiuwpk3rxc Thank You We appreciate the time Drew spent with us on the Small Scale Life Podcast.  We wish him the best of luck for his urban farming and podcasting operations this season.  I hope to have Drew back on the podcast in the future to follow-up with him about the urban farm. I would also like to thank Austin from Beatsby_Roi for providing permission for using the song "Steady Wzdm" from The Lemon Water Chronicles, Volume 1, on the podcast.  I would also like to thank Dillon from The Soapbox Collective Podcast for his assistance. Links Drew and I talked about the following links during the podcast (and there were a lot of them): The Sample Hour - Drew Sample's blog and podcast platform; also home to Drew and Scott Hebert's weekly podcast The Sample Hour's Facebook Page The Sample Hour's YouTube Page The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast Curtis Stone's "The Urban Farmer" - Book and online course - Keep in mind Drew offers a 10% discount Curtis Stone's Green City Acres - Urban Farm Curtis Stone's YouTube Channel - Great tips and videos Permaculture Voices with Diego Footer - Great podcasts about permaculture and profitable urban farming Will Allen's Growing Power Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm and books Food Inc. - Documentary film John Martin Fortier's "The Market Farmer" book and blog Jack Spirko's The Survival Podcast Ben Hartman's "Lean Farm" book Back to Eden Paul Wheaton - The Duke of Permaculture Ramps - What are they? Little John in Sheboygan, Wisconsin - Drew's most recent interview with Little John Grant Schultz from VersaLand.com - Grant's YouTube Channel Eric Schultz - Farmer to Farmer Podcast Charles Hugh Smith's Of Two Minds Blog Listen Use the following link to listen to the podcast.  Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews.  You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on 5 stars. Subscribe to the podcast! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Welcome to 2018, everyone!  Back in 2016, one of my first interviews was with a guy who was kicking off his small market farming operation in Chilliwak, British Columbia. That guy is Scott Hebert, and his farm is called Flavourful Farms.  Since that interview, Scott has been working hard on his farm, landing new clients, and starting a new podcast and Vlog!   He is a busy guy.  I am thrilled to Scott back on Small Scale Life to kick off the new year.  In this podcast, we discuss a number of topics including farming, stoicism, his podcast Stoic Mettle, launching his Vlog, developing a tribe and growing and maintaining his beard.  I had a lot of fun on this episode, even with a minor technical glitch and some background noise (on my end) that will be addressed in future shows. One cool thing that happened during this interview was that Scott announced starting a weekly Vlog on his YouTube Channel.  Scott Hebert and I discussed the following topics in this interview: Who is Scott Hebert? - Flavourful Farms and Farming - Starting the Farm - Mindset - Cost of Entry for Farming - Case for Being Debt Free - Pricing and Customers - Plan for 2018 - Physical Requirements for Farming - Bees and Chickens - What would Scott do differently? Stoic Mettle, Stoicism and Tribalism - Why stoicism?  How does this relate to farming? - Starting and revising the Stoic Mettle Podcast - Stoicism, Tribe, and Friend Gap - Future of Stoic Mettle Growing and Maintaining a Beard Key Take-Aways from the Interview

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This week, Tommy is back and broadcasting outside a lounge somewhere in the Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In this episode, Tommy discusses feeling overwhelmed and how to eat an elephant. In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes. Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life (http://smallscalelife.com). Introduction – Feeling Overwhelmed As many of you know, I have been on the road a lot recently.  When you are gone from your home and family, things start to pile up.  Sure, you might be meeting excellent people and doing great things on the road, but life feels out of control.  Things break, the lawn grows, and business needs attention. These things start to weigh on your mind and bog you down.  Returning home, you suddenly have a lot to do before you reload and head out again.  As that to do list grows and the tasks get more complex, so does that feeling of panic and dread (https://wp.me/p6NX1f-Hi). You can easily feel overwhelmed by the demands of family, work and life.  That feeling can wash over you, and if you are not careful, you will get nothing done because you feel paralyzed by the amount of work on your plate. That is how I am feeling as we roll into this weekend.  How are you doing? To read more about how to Remedy Feeling Overwhelmed, head on over to read the rest of the story on Small Scale Life! (http://smallscalelife.com)

HELP Episode 3 - Spinning Salad If this podcast sounds a little different, it is!  I record a brief solo podcast while I am whipping up a salad for a family gathering at William O'Brian State Park on the banks of the St. Croix River.  The salad and company were fantastic as we went to the park and took an almost two mile walk along the river.  If you are in Minnesota, you should spend some time at this park and camp overnight.  You can canoe, kayak, fish, hike and enjoy the great outdoors at this park. [caption id="attachment1087" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Beautiful weather on the St. Croix River at the William O'Brien State Park in Marine, Minnesota[/caption]   [caption id="attachment1088" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The State Park Salad that had romaine, spinach, kale, chard, cucumbers, green peppers, bacon (on the side) and tomaotes (on the side).[/caption] In this episode of the weekly Healthy Lifestyle Podcast, I talk about the following topics: Spinning Salad - Ingredients in the Salad Different Foods - Sweet Potatoes, Jalapeno Poppers, Salsa for the 3rd Annual Salsa Contest Kwitcherbellyackin Weight Loss Challenge - Initial Weight and Progress during Week 1 and Week 2 Workout and Diet Plan Updates - It has been a strange week Updates and Changes - Forum on Small Scale Life, Winter Gardening, Experiments and Future of my Backyard Garden Drew Sample will be returning in Episode 4 of the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast, and we will be recording and posting that podcast soon! Links [caption id="attachment_1089" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Before dinner, we took a walk along the St. Croix River at William O'Brien State Park.[/caption] I did not talk about any links during this podcast, but I think you should go to the following sites: William O'Brian State Park on the banks of the St. Croix River Two Beers with Charles Hugh Smith - on the The Sample Hour Workout and Diet Plan for the Weeks of 9/4/16 and 9/11/16 – Tom’s Workout and Diet Program The Whole 30 Program – Drew’s Program for Changing his Relationship with Food DDP Yoga – Drew’s Fitness Program Tabata Workouts for Beginners - My friend Jay Dolan said I should be trying some Tabata Workouts Friends of Healthy Lifestyle Podcast I am always happy to show some of my friends some love.  This week’s friends of the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast: Small Scale Gardening Group on Facebook - Failing Forward Profitable Urban Farming – Drew Sample and Scott Hebert’s weekly podcast about success, failures and life as an urban farmer. Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Healthy Lifestyle Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Happy MLK Day! It is a day of new starts: it's still early in the New Year, the new Administration has peacefully taken power and there is a new cease fire in the Middle East. So far, so good (but really super cold! Several of us are planning to start new things in 2025. New workout plans, new diets, book clubs, neighborhood gatherings, garden plans, new businesses, new side hustles...the list is endless. Some people decide to go "all in" on their new thing or endeavor. Is it an obsession or just intense focus over time? Some folks in the self-improvement world have coined the term "Monk Mode" to describe this process of going all in. There are benefits and drawbacks to Monk Mode, and Adam and I are talking about them in ANT Live 14. Here are our show topics: Catching Up Definition of Monk Mode Benefits of Monk Mode Drawbacks to Monk Mode Tips for Successfully going into and out of Monk Mode It should be a great show! Catch ANT LIVE on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel at 7:30 PM Central on Monday evenings. Adam and I talk about mindset, small business, wellness, gardening, homesteading and other topics that come up. Remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that, my friends, is a good thing! ~ Tom LINKS: 🌱A Modern Frontier Website: https://www.amodernfrontier.com 🌱Small Scale Life Website: https://www.smallscalelife.com 🌱Small Scale Life Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/4raJ4B... 🌱Small Scale Gardening Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/dua9Po... 🌱Small Scale Life Wellness Club Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/g/rd2j... DISCLAIMER At Small Scale Life, we are not medical professionals, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, or therapists. We are not in or connected to the medical community. Always consult a professional before trying any of these activities or any practice. Create and live your Small Scale Life as you choose, but do it carefully. Any actions you participate in are voluntary and at your own risk. To see more about gardening, connecting with nature, wellness, mindset, and interviews with some cool people, check out the Small Scale Life Podcast and our site at https://smallscalelife.com Learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that, my friends, is a good thing! **************** Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Welcome to Fall 2018 where the snow flies and water freezes before the leaves drop! Such is life here in the north country this year. Last week was a tough week: I was physically and mentally exhausted. Adding to the exhaustion was disappointment after my plans to head to Hogtoberfest 2018 fell apart on Tuesday. I needed a change or pace and a change of environment. In this podcast, I talk about my October doldrums, how I spent the week recuperating and retooling on a number of fronts and overcoming October blues. For more on this story and to see pictures from this podcast, check out the article titles Overcoming October Blues on Small Scale Life! (http://www.smallscalelife.com/overcoming-october-blues/)

In this 212th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast (and first episode of 2023), I am talking about 10 Goal Setting and Self Inventory Questions to Start 2023. From my own work while on vacation and after my birthday, I am starting the 2023 Project Me Initiative. As part of the New Year self inventory and goal setting exercise, I have 10 questions that I have asked myself (and one bonus question). As I thought about where I have been, where I am currently at and where I want to go, I developed the 2023 Project Me Initiative. What is that? Well, you'll have to go listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast to find out! Also, for more links and show notes, head to https://smallscalelife.com.

Have you ever thought you were climbing a mountain? Huge obstacles in life take on different forms and shapes. They can be finances, health issues, clutter, relationships, work or just life in general! Those obstacles have a tendency to start as molehills and become mountains. Many times, we do not put those mountains in our lives on purpose; they just seem to happen. What happens when we do put those mountains in front of us on purpose? Last weekend, Julie, Savannah, the Old Trapper and I got to witness what happens when 110 souls put running up and then down a mountain that they put in their life on purpose. We witnessed these 110 runners competing in the Last Runner Standing Ultramarathon where these athletes truly began climbing mountains with mindset, heart and dedication! In this post and podcast, I will discuss the following topics: What is an Ultramarathon? What is the Last Runner Standing Ultramarathon? The Ultramarathon Community Winners Running the Last Runner Standing Ultramarathon – In their Own Words [For more information, please head over to the article titled "Last Runner Standing Ultramarathon" on smallscalelife.com!](https://www.smallscalelife.com/last-runner-standing-ultramarathon/)

In this podcast, I am going to talk about my November travels, and then we are going to talk about the future of Small Scale Life. As a Life Alchemist, I am mixing together equal parts of my own content, content from people in our community, content I find interesting and some good old fashioned fun. For more information and the show notes, check out smallscalelife.com. SMALL SCALE LIFE SHOW NOTES: https://www.smallscalelife.com/giving-thanks SMALL SCALE LIFE COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallscalelifepodcast

Rebooted Body with Kevin Geary - HELP 7 Have you ever struggled with diet plans?  Do you feel overwhelmed with information from family, friends, media, celebrities, and even popular television shows telling you what you should and shouldn't do to lose weight?  How many times have you started a plan, had some success, and then put that weight back on (or put even more weight on your body)?  Have you ever just wanted to just wipe it all away and start over? You aren't alone if you answered "yes" to one or more of those questions.  Let me be honest with you: I am there right now.  I answered "yes" to all of those questions tonight.  Every. Single. One.  I wish it wasn't the case; I wish I could report that things were going splendidly, and I was well on my way to getting fit and losing weight.  That would be a complete bullsh*t. Drew Sample and I recently interviewed Kevin Geary, blogger, podcaster and creator of Rebooted Body.  As he states on Rebooted Body, Kevin is a "leading authority on the psychology of eating. He and his team have helped men and women in over 30 countries around the world get a body and life they love."  Kevin has been there. struggling with is weight since he was a teenager: thin and unhealthy.  He used to have really low energy and was addicted to sugar and sugary drinks.  Kevin discovered the "Real Food Movement" and lost 40 pounds.  It wasn't until he examined his mindset and understood the "why" behind his eating patterns and confronted those issues that he broke the cycle and started living a healthier lifestyle. Topics https://youtu.be/vZFjloTup6s   Kevin, Drew and I discussed the following topics in this episode: Diet and fitness over the past week and plans for the next week Drew and I tell Kevin about our current diets and work out routines Kevin leads a great discussion about the inner rebel, willpower and discipline (I can relate to the inner rebel) Kevin then discusses the three pillars to healthy living: Eat, Move and Live Eat - Eat real foods; our bodies are nutritionally deficient Move - The human body needs to move; start by walking every day Live  - Sleep at least eight hours a day; focus on gut health For me, this was a powerful podcast that I have been digesting and thinking about a lot recently.  I will be doing some more research and self-examination using the Rebooted Body website and platform.  I learned a lot from this interview, and I appreciate Drew and Kevin being on this podcast with me. Links Kevin, Drew, and I discussed a few different sites, podcasts and video blogs during this episode.  The following is a list of those links:. Kevin Geary’s Rebooted Body – Drew and I interview Kevin Geary in Episode 7 of the HELP Podcast. Check out his site to "get a body and life you love." Kevin Geary's YouTube Channel Rest Faster – Blog post on Robb Wolf’s site about rest protocols and routines to improve your rest and recovery Five Minute Journal – Drew is using the Five Minute Journal to work through issues and develop his mindset Headspace – Drew and Scott are using the Headspace application for daily meditation Audible Application – Make the most of your mundane tasks and drive time! Rate on iTunes I checked iTunes, and we only have three reviews.  Thank you for providing a review (you know who you are; I really appreciate it). We really need some more ratings from listeners, so please rate and review the Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog.  As you know, people look at reviews before they listen.  No reviews or poor reviews mean that no one cares to listen or rate the podcast.  You don’t need to write a book or write anything.  Just give a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

"Your goal is your destination; your budget is your roadmap." - Julie Domres Do you have dreams and goals? Are you making progress towards achieving those goals? For some people, it is difficult to dream. Others have big plans and goals, but they do not execute and take steps towards making those dreams a future reality. In this podcast, Julie and I discuss How to Dream Big, Set Goals and Take Steps to Achieve Them. Dreaming big and setting those goals are the "Secret Sauce" behind budgeting. You are developing powerful "whys" for those times when you are tempted to engage in retail therapy, splurge on meals or rack up massive credit card debt to impress people you don't particularly like! As we discuss in this podcast, you need to start with your powerful why. Before you begin budgeting, you need to do some deep thinking and dreaming about what you want your life to look like in 10 years, 3 years and 1 year. Once you have this vision set, you can focus on developing your budget that will set you up to achieve your dreams! We'll share with you how to dream big, set goals and take the steps to achieve them in this podcast. How do we know they work? Because we are using this to achieve our goals too! For more information on this post including getting the show notes, head to the article titled "How to Dream Big, Set Goals and Take Steps to Achieve Them" on Small Scale Life (https://smallscalelife.com)

Old Man Winter has struck back at us meddling kids in the north country with a vengeance. All across the Upper Midwest of the United States, temperatures have dropped below zero, and the wind chills are approaching -50 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme cold is life threatening, especially to those caught outside unprepared. In this article, I will discuss How to Prepare for the Polar Vortex. While it isn't necessarily part of our Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart, how to prepare for the polar vortex is first and foremost on everyone's mind in the Upper Midwest. After all, being prepared might just save your life in these conditions! For more information on this podcast, please see the following posts: How to Prepare for the Polar Vortex (https://www.smallscalelife.com/prepare-for-the-polar-vortex/) Winter Driving and Survival Tips – S1E21 (https://www.smallscalelife.com/season-1-episode-21-winter-driving-survival-tips/) * Winter Tips (https://www.smallscalelife.com/season-1-episode-20-winter-tips/)

How do you find your passion? Do you even know what your passion is?  If you know what your passion is, are you doing something that taps into that internal fire that lights you up? Many of us have a skill, a talent, knowledge, experience, ability or product that we create or do without thinking about it. We have that secret something or interest that drives us and lights us up. Some of us take it to the next step and create a hobby out of that thing. Others tell us that we are "really good at that thing and could sell it or make a business out of it." Some of us take that step forward and create that business or follow that passion in our career. There are others, however, that struggle with finding that thing. They don't seem to have that bright fire for one particular skill or thing. In this episode, Adam and I are focusing on how to find our passion. We hope to answer the following questions: How can you discover your passion? What are the benefits and drawbacks of following your passion? What are you willing to sacrifice for your passion? Not everything is rose petals, rainbows and unicorns. The rose does have thorns, and there are some drawbacks of following your passion, and Adam and I will talk about those things as well.  For links and show notes, head over to Small Scale Life Website! (https://smallscalelife.com) Special Guest: Adam Rick.

This time of year, we gather and celebrate the holidays with family and friends. For members of our family, this is a particularly meaningful Christmas: this is the first Christmas without Barb Taylor and without Mary Cicero. Two great ladies that made our world a brighter and better place. While these wonderful women left us too soon, we continue to practice Holiday and Christmas Traditions that bring family and friends together. We will build on these Christmas Traditions in the future as we celebrate each other, our lives, our history and our heritage. In this post, I will discuss Five Christmas Traditions that we practice, and if you don't have your own Christmas Traditions, maybe that will inspire you to give some of them a try! Just to be completely honest with you, I am late with this post. I originally wanted to post it earlier this week. Given the mix of emotions this year, I found that this was a particularly difficult post for me to write. I struggled with how to frame and write it as I have been working on it all week. I want to thank my sister-in-law Kelly Domres for helping me "get over the hump" on this post. As she said eloquently, "Do not dwell on the negative; you have a lot to be thankful for this year." She is absolutely correct. This post is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Kelly. 1. Decorating the Christmas Tree We moved from our house in St. Louis Park in July, and most of our stuff is still in a storage locker. This is by design because we moved into a furnished house, and we were planning to move our gear when we finally purchased our house. The drawback to this strategy, however, is that all of our holiday decorations (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter) is buried deep in the storage locker somewhere. Fortunately for us, Julie's parents had an artificial tree, lights and ornaments stored in the basement of this house. Christmas was Julie's mom Barb's favorite holiday, and she always tried to make it special for the family. Using her tree, lights and decorations is comforting and special for all of us. Julie and I set up the tree and the lights, and then we all took turns adding ornaments to the tree. There are some special ornaments from the past, some that are funny and some from relatives long since passed. Inspired, I even decorated the outside of the house with lights and ornaments. Barb might not be with us in body this year, but her spirit and her memory lives on for all of us. Her decorations, lights and trees remind us of what a great and generous woman she was. 2. Favorite Christmas and Holiday Movies https://youtu.be/4fyS5CLBgyM I have really made a conscious effort to NOT watch much television and movies in 2017. Sure, I watched Taboo (and even did some podcasts about the show Taboo earlier this year), Game of Thrones and The Punisher, but overall, I have done a pretty good job limiting my time in front of a television or movie screen. This time of year, however, I make an exception. With Ryan home from college, we gathered together as a family to watch some classic Christmas and Holiday movies. There have been some great ones over the years, and the following movies are our family favorites: • Planes, Trains and Automobiles (I seriously know almost every line of this movie) • Christmas Vacation • Elf • A Christmas Story We have watched two of the four movies so far this season, and we will have to find the time to watch the last two. It is easy to forget how funny these movies actually are, so if you need a break and want a good belly laugh this time of year, check out these classics. You won't even shoot your eye out, kid! https://youtu.be/9jyCfRHumHU 3. Wooddale Church Christmas Program For the past few years, we have gone to Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. This year, Julie, Danny, Ryan, David and Jenny (brother and sister-in-law) went to Wooddale's Christmas Program. The church is massive, and they had a full orchestra, choir, organ and even interpretive dancers. The program consisted of the following songs: • Overture "Canticle of Glorias" • Gloria in Excelsis Deo • O Come, All Ye Faithful • White Christmas • How Great Our Joy • Pat a Pan • Noe! Noe! • Fum, Fum, Fum • The First Noel • Angels We Have Heard on High • The Christmas Story • Ecolgue for Piano and Strings Opus 10 • No Eye Had Seen/All is Well • Amazing Grace It was very profession and extremely inspirational. Some of the songs had a Celtic feel to them, and the grand finale included a Scottish man playing bagpipes in traditional dress. It was amazing to hear, especially since it was my dad's and Barb's favorite hymn. If you have a chance to go to a church program, you should. It is a chance to decompress, tune out the commercialism of the season, sing carols and hymns, and share in the Christmas message with family and friends. https://youtu.be/euWfTiYwRB0 4. Decorating Christmas Cookies When Julie and I were in high school, we would decorate sugar cookies with Julie's family, her cousin, her aunt and her uncle every year. It was a lot of fun (and it tasted good too)! This year, we gathered once again to decorate Christmas cookies. It was a team effort: we made dinner, Julie's dad and fiance Sue made the sugar cookies, and Julie made the frosting. We had a great dinner, and then we got down to business decorating the cookies. It was a lot of fun, and we had a bunch of laughs as some of our "artists" got creative with gingerbread men and Santa cookies. In fact, you can see one of those cookies in the picture above (just don't point it out to your kids). I am sure eating tons of cookies covered in the world's best frosting didn't help my healthy lifestyle goals, but it was worth it! We'll have to do it again next year! 5. Christmas Eve Meal My ancestors on my mother;s side came from Poland and Czechoslovakia. This year, I did a little research about Polish Christmas traditions. In Polish households, Christmas Eve is an extremely important day. The Polish people celebrate Christmas by preparing a big meal called "Wigilia." This traditional meal is a big deal. According to the Polish Women's Alliance of America, the wigilia consists "of twelve meatless dishes, and includes many kinds of fish, beet or mushroom soup, various dishes made from cabbage, mushrooms, or potatoes, pierogi, followed by dried fruit compote and pastries for dessert." The meal does not start until the first star is seen in the sky. Like Polish homes, we traditionally have a big meal on Christmas Eve. Unlike the Polish dinner, we eat meat (and lots of it). We have adopted something my side of the family started doing years ago: fondue. We will cook shrimp, beef, and vegetables in boiling oil or broth (we have tried both). We will make a cheese fondue and dip bread into it (big hit around Green Bay Packer fans), and we will have a dessert fondue with chocolate, marsh mellows, strawberries and pound cake. The beauty of the Christmas Eve fondue is the social aspect of the meal. It takes time to cook the food, and it is a lot of fun to talk with everyone, joke around a bit, and yes, steal someone else's meat or shrimp (accidentally, of course)! It takes some time to prep: cutting the meat, breads, pound cake and vegetables; preparing the various fondue pots; and gathering the various dipping sauces for the cooked food. A few words of caution before you do fondue: list text hereThe oil, cheese and chocolate are VERY hot. Be careful around the fondue pots! list text hereThings splatter and spill, so use a disposable table cloth. list text hereBe careful using the fondue forks. Someone usually ends up spearing their finger by accident. list text hereThere usually is a lot of clean-up after the meal, so be prepared for that! This year, we are planning on a smaller meal on Christmas Eve, but we will eat very well. We will celebrate Christmas Eve dinner with Julie, Danny, Ryan and me, and we are eating steak, shrimp, twice baked potatoes and salad. It will be a great dinner! How about you? What are your Christmas Traditions? What do you do with your friends and family? I would love to know, and maybe we will incorporate some of your traditions into our Christmas and Holiday Celebrations. Feel free to share your Christmas Traditions as a comment on this blog post. This is a busy time of year. Before we let the moment get away from us, I would like to thank you for following Small Scale Life. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and your support. Please be safe this holiday season. Enjoy each moment, and be kind to someone. In case we haven't said it yet, Julie, Danny, Ryan and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Today’s Small Scale Gardening Podcast episode is a real treat. When I started Small Scale Life Podcast, my good friend Mr. Tactical Jay was my initial cohost on the show. We have remained friends for a few years, and he is our guest on the Small Scale Gardening Podcast! In this episode, Mr. Tactical Jay and I discuss growing mushrooms and gardening in Virginia. Even though the homestead appears to have a lot of space, the property is on the side of a mountain and slopes away from the house. Mr. Tactical is looking at different approaches to growing food on his 2 acre homestead. Some of these method include growing mushrooms, microgreens and a ton of food in his 3 wicking beds. It's all about wellness and sustainability, and Mr. Tactical Jay is looking to improve his skills while using everything his property has to offer: from berries to gardens to mushrooms. My hope is to inspire you to look at your location to find ways to use your resources effectively and grow food. This was part of a 2 hour interview, and I am breaking it down into bite-sized chunks. We discuss a lot of different topics, books and blogs, so check out the show notes for this podcast on the article titled "Growing Mushrooms and Gardening in Virginia" on smallscalegardening.com! (https://www.smallscalegardening.com/gardening-and-growing-mushrooms-in-virginia/)

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you are spending lots of quality time with your family and friends this season. We certainly will be doing just that over the next week! In this post and podcast, I wanted to establish a tradition here on Small Scale Life by rebroadcasting my reading of the poem “Twas the Night before Christmas.” My dad used to read it to my family when we were young, so in that fine tradition, I am posting it for you and your family to enjoy. Reading this poem brought so many memories back from when I was young. This time of year was always a lot of fun for us: we would go sledding, make snow forts, have snowball fights, cross country ski and spend all day out in the snow. We would come home wet and cold, and warm up in the living room near the wood burning stove while drinking hot chocolate. Our wet boots, hats, gloves, and snow suits hanging in the basement laundry room (or wadded up in a ball near the laundry room - our boys come by it naturally). Nothing says the holidays more than some of the classic songs from bygone eras. I have added three of my favorite songs to the end of the podcast. These songs are "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Frank Sinatra and "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole. In this age of techno-modified singers, it is excellent to listen to these songs from the Golden Age of our country: when times and living were a little more simple. In this day and age when we are so caught up with shopping, presents, dinners, parties and technology like our phones and social media, it is important to take a little time to stop and enjoy the people around us and the moments we share with them. That is my hope for you this season. Show Topics During this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss the following topics and play the following songs: list text hereIntroduction list text hereHistory list text hereTwas the Night before Christmas Poem list text hereA Visit from St. Nicholas Wikipedia list text hereTwas the Night before Christmas – UK Carols Blog list text hereReading the Poem list text hereClosing Remarks list text hereTraditional Holiday Songs: list text here"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby list text here"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Frank Sinatra list text here"The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole list text hereClosing Song Putting It All Together From my family to you, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Always continue to strive to live simply: grow, explore and be healthy! May your 2018 surpass your expectations!

As we roll into September, I have to ask: how is your garden doing? It has been a while since our last tour of the Small Scale Life Garden, so I figured it was time to post a Late August Garden Update and discuss my Fall Planting strategy. With cooler temperatures this week, it is a constant reminder that winter is coming, and I need to get my rear end moving to take advantage of the remaining garden season. For more information, pictures, links and a whole lot more on the Weekend Three Things, Garden Update, and Fall Planting Strategy, please see the article at Small Scale Life (https://wp.me/p6NX1f-Ue)!

Happy birthday, Small Scale Life! Happy birthday to me! We made it one more time around the sun, and January 2nd was our collective birthday. Small Scale Life is two years old, and I am just a little older than that (really). The purpose of this post is to thank you all for all the love and kind word's yesterday on my and Small Scale Life's birthdays. Please note: I originally posted a much longer post about where this platform is going in 2018, but I am re-writing this post to thank you all for all the well-wishes I received yesterday. The longer article will be published in a separate post. Just in case you are new to Small Scale Life, we are living simply by growing, exploring and living healthy. To put it simply, we are focused on: • Gardening, • Healthy living, and • Having adventures along the way Happy Birthday On my and Small Scale Life’s birthday, I wanted to thank everyone for being a part of our story and being a part of our Small Scale Life. I had so many good conversations and well wishes on my birthday! It was a little overwhelming, and I really am thankful for your comments. I am totally serious: if I could throw a big party and invite you all, I would! Maybe I'll have to think about organizing something like that.... All in all, I had a very busy year at Small Scale Life and in my personal life, but through it all, I think I have gotten a little wiser and a little better at this blogging and podcasting stuff this year. I know there is a lot to learn and I am constantly improving, and I appreciate new friends who have helped me over the past year. I really want to thank all the people who were guests on the Small Scale Life Podcast this year including Greg Burns, Jay Dolan, Travis Swanson, Todd Ehrhardt, Micheal Jordan, Michael Bell, and Doneil Freeman. What a great group of people! I really do appreciate the support and your time. If you haven't listened to those shows, you are missing out. Go to the Podcast tab and start listening today (or just click the text)! Just Getting Started We will use the lessons learned this year to improve Small Scale Life, the podcast, our urban homestead and ourselves this year. We have some ambitious goals in 2018. I am working hard to put a team into place that will allow us to grow and improve this platform. We will have regular guests and a more regular schedule for posts and content. More on all that in upcoming posts and podcasts, and the proof will be the quality of our work. The bottom line is that I think we are going to have a great year! Thank you for everything in the past two years. Thank you for the engagement and taking your time to follow us. We would not be doing this if it wasn't for you. We are just getting started. 2018 is going to take your breath away, and I can't wait! Stay tuned and continue to live simply, grow, explore and be healthy with us in 2018!

What is a Sustainable Life? - S1E6 After a bit of a break in March, the Small Scale Life Podcast is back!  Before we posted another episode, I needed to get some infrastructure in place that would allow this podcast to be placed on iTunes.  This is the official reboot of the podcast, and we are looking forward to more episodes in Awesome April.  In this episode, I discuss the elements of my vision of a sustainable life including the following topics: Mission of the Small Scale Life Podcast and Blog What is a Sustainable Life (in my view)? The definition of sustainable The three pillars of sustainability (economics, social development and the environment) How that definition and the three pillars relate to what we are doing on Small Scale Life Healthy Living Economics and Frugal Living Gardening Adventures and Having Fun Restarting and Rebounding after Failure Awesome April and the 2nd Annual Salsa Contest All of the elements that I discuss are related to the Core Principles I described on the About Page of the Blog.  You can see those principles here. Finally, we are really excited that we have a fantastic logo and other key infrastructure in place that will help us upload this podcast to iTunes.  Thank you, Jenny (you know who you are), for all of your hard work and creativity on this effort! Links During the podcast, I discuss the following links: Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow Systems on Small Scale Gardening Septoria Leaf Spot on Small Scale Life Organic Gardener Podcast - I will be a guest on the show this week Gallant Garden in Charlevoix, Michigan (Gallant Gardens' Facebook Page) Flavourful Farms in Chilliwak, British Columbia (Flavourful Farms' Facebook Page) MN-WI Regenerative Agriculture Group Small Scale Gardening Facebook Group Regenerative Agriculture Group Check those links out; there are some really fantastic people out there living sustainable lives and getting stuff done! Your Turn What is your definition of a sustainable life?  How will you achieve it?  Will you achieve it in the near future?  I would love to hear from you. Also, if you would like to enter the 2nd Annual Homemade Salsa Fiesta Contest, please send me an e-mail at realsmallscalelife [at] gmail [dot] com.  Remember: the contest will be held on Earth Day Weekend, so contact me soon! Finally, review this podcast on iTunes.  It will help us grow!

Happy Thanksgiving, Lifers! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving planned. If you have been to Small Scale Life this week, you know Julie and I have been busy trying to get recipes posted up on the website to help you with your Thanksgiving preparations. Check out the blog at smallscalelife.com for the following recipes: A super quick/super good cheesy au gratin potatoes recipe (http://www.smallscalelife.com/pressure-cooker-cheesy-au-gratin-potatoes/), How to cook a turkey (http://www.smallscalelife.com/how-to-cook-a-turkey/) and How to cook a ham Thanksgiving should be a lot of fun and bring people together, so we are helping you get ready and get the dinner on the table. It doesn't have to be overwhelming; we are here to help! As you finish up your prep and cooking, I also give a little advice on how to facilitate your family, friends and other guests who arrive at your house. It's life lessons we have learned from experience. I have been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt with some of this! For more tips and photos, check out the post titled "Happy Thanksgiving from Small Scale Life" using the link! Happy Thanksgiving, all! Bon appetit!

On this 189th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am talking homestead hunting, Roberts Rules, grounding and gardening with Letti Loo from the Liberty All Day Blog, Podcast and Vlog. Letti is a busy person! She is married and has a busy little boy, and along with her own platform, she is a co-host on the 80’s Mom Podcast and has her own virtual assistant company called Parli Pro Consulting as well. Like Julie and I, Letti and her family are escaping Chicago and returning to the land. They want to get back to a place and a life that makes sense. They want the liberty and freedom to become who they want to be, grow their own food, have some animals, build a community and do something simply magnificent in a beautiful place. They are on the path that so many urbanites and suburbanites are on right now: escaping the large cities, the rules and the chaos. The land rush is on, and prices are climbing and property is scarce. Homestead hunting has been really tough and intense because potential places are sold sight unseen and as-is for premium prices. Will Letti and her family find that oasis in the sea of confusion? I know they will! Remember, dear Letti, good things are coming. It will work out and you will get the right place for you. Keep your chin up as your keep homestead hunting. Speak it; claim it; believe it!

What a GREAT weekend!  We are really excited and are celebrating here in Minnesota.  Of course, most of the people are celebrating the Minneapolis Miracle where the Vikings vanquished the New Orleans Saints and are heading to the NFC Championships. As a life-long Packer fan, I could grumble, but I won't.  It isn't the real reason we are celebrating.  The real reason we are celebrating is that we have achieved another great milestone here at Small Scale Life.  As announced in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group this weekend, we are celebrating because we hit another 10,000 downloads of the Small Scale Life Podcast!  That is pretty exciting news, and we wanted to say thank you for hitting 20,000 downloads since starting this podcast a couple years ago. I know some of you are new to our podcast, blog and social media platforms.  In case you are new, Small Scale Life is all about living simply by focusing on: Growing, Exploring and Living healthy. That is pretty general, and we typically focus on: Gardening, Healthy living, and Having adventures along the way We are thrilled you are here and listening to our show or reading our blog.  That means a lot to us, and frankly we wouldn’t do this if you weren’t part of our Small Scale Life. Thank you! Learning, Doing and Growing in 2017 I really didn’t know what to expect when blog in November 2015 and I started this podcast in January 2016, and I am truly grateful and blessed that you are spending your time with my guests and me on the podcast, on the blog, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Gab and YouTube. This has been a learning process.  We are, in fact, learning, doing and growing in real time, before your eyes.  What do I mean by that? Well, let’s look at the numbers from Wordpress for Small Scale Life and compare 2016 to 2017: 2016 6,590 views 3,389 visitors 75 published posts 30 podcasts 5,000 downloads 2017 10,922 views 6,862 visitors 53 published posts 35 podcasts 15,000 downloads By listening and engaging with us each week, you are pushing me to improve my processes and the quality of the blog, podcast and social media platforms.  This is not an easy job, so I am calling in some support to help in this effort.  I will provide more detail about that in the next post! Putting It All Together Thank you again for your time and your attention in previous years. I am looking forward to 2018!  We are going to focus on developing our urban homesteads and farms, small businesses, tribes, and healthy lifestyles.  At the same time, we will continue to seek and find adventures, where ever they take us.  We should have a lot of fun together and hopefully bring some great content to you. My call to action for this post and podcast is to connect with us.  Become part of the Small Scale Life story.  Engage with us and share you comments with us.  Ask questions and let us know you are out there.  If you are inspired to try gardening, urban farming, getting healthy or taking the road less traveled, let us know! I am but a humble pirate. The wind is blowing at our backs, and the tide is rising.  There are empires to plunder and rum to drink.  Hoist the sails; man the mizzen mast! Bring me that horizon, yo ho!

In this 5 Year Anniversary of Small Scale Life Podcast episode, I am going to be talking about Practicing Gratitude for the Good, Bad and the Ugly. There is so much to be thankful for after starting this project 5 years ago. I recently posted the following quote on the Small Scale Life Instagram feed: “It’s hard to have a bad day when you START your day with gratitude.” Truth be told, I didn’t just develop this quote out of thin air. Julie says it around the house (now around the apartment) a lot, and it is true. Practicing gratitude and being thankful really does change our outlook on life and results in helping us lead happier lives. In this episode, I will be discussing 9 steps for practing gratitude in your own life. I am not an expert in this yet, but I am trying these steps out in my own life. For more information, please see the article titled "Practicing Gratitude for the Good, Bad and the Ugly" on smallscalelife.com! (https://www.smallscalelife.com/practicing-gratitude/)

In this 208th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am looking back in time to June 2022 where I was talking about projects and efforts at our Driftless Oaks Farm. The projects featured in this episode are: Removing Fence from the Blue and White Pens Cutting Box Elder Trees Building Wicking Beds out of 55 Gallon Food Grade Barrels Working on Operation WW Prepping to Plant Potatoes My Farm Journal posts, videos and podcast episodes document our progress and our observations of life at our little Driftless Oaks Farm. For more links and show notes, please head over to smallscalelife.com! (https://smallscalelife.com)

It's Day 2 of the Renew You Kickstart, and today's topic is Basic Movement. As Julie and I have been saying over and over: this is about starting where you are. Some of us live in cube farms and are keyboard warriors; we are not ready for triathalons marathons or lifting heavy weights. To help discuss this topic, I brought in my friend Michael Bell to discuss Basic Movement. Michael is a husband, dad, urban farmer, PE teacher, competitive bodybuilder and a fitness coach. Michael has coached more than 300 people over 20 years, and he spent some time with us to discuss starting a fitness and exercise journey. For more information on Basic Fitness, please see the post at Small Scale Life titled Day 2: Basic Movement with Michael Bell. There is more information on smallscalelife.com In addition, if you would like to participate in the Renew You Kickstart, please click on this link! (https://www.smallscalelife.com/renew-you-in-2019/)

Merry Christmas, everyone!  As I mentioned in Season 1, Episode 21 Winter Driving and Survival Tips, I wanted to do something fun for Christmas that the whole family could enjoy.  My dad used to read "Twas the Night before Christmas" to the family when we were young, so in that fine tradition, I read and recorded it for you and your family. Reading this brought so many memories back from when I was young. In this day and age when we are so caught up in shopping and presents and packages and dinners and parties, it is important to take a little time to stop and enjoy the moment.  As my brother reminded us this week: [tweetthis]"Life is but a mist; we are only on this earth for a short time. Enjoy life, family & friends! Merry Christmas!"[/tweetthis] From our family to yours, have a Merry Christmas!  Please enjoy your family and friends and make some new memories. Links for "Twas the Night before Christmas" [caption id="attachment_1436" align="aligncenter" width="3264"] Merry Christmas, everyone![/caption]   During this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I mention the following links: Twas the Night before Christmas Poem A Visit from St. Nicholas Wikipedia Twas the Night before Christmas - UK Carols Blog  The closing song was borrowed from this YouTube video:   https://youtu.be/yGVZBpzh47I   Rate on iTunes Since we are now on iTunes, please rate and review the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Ratings and reviews help us grow the podcast and the blog, and I appreciate your reviews. You can leave a review by following these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars. Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but GREATLY appreciated)! You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review!

Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you? I am Tommy Cakes. Who am I? I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things. Don't worry about it! What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business. I import knowledge I export that information at premium prices! I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life. Story Time Let me tell you about the very short-lived government shutdown. Did you even know it happened? Since we don’t do the political thing on Small Scale Life, I will tell you a story instead. On Friday last week, a lone Federal employee got a phone call from his boss in a far off regional office. The boss told him that the shutdown was most likely going to happen. Since this guy was classified as a “non-essential employee,” the employee would be on furlough (unpaid leave). The boss provided instructions about what to do if the shutdown occurred and hung up. As the employee completed his work, his mind drifted to what this shutdown meant and could do to his family’s budget. No work meant no pay. This could hurt since his paycheck went to pay a lot of the bills. If this was a long shutdown, the loss of this source of income could hurt in the long run, and the rhetoric out of Washington was not good (meaning this could be a long shutdown). The employee started to think about what he had been doing over the past couple years and how he had not followed through on some ideas and plans. His side hustle was merely a hobby, and the work he had done to prepare for a major disaster was not enough. He and his family were not ready to outlast a major event, even after everything he had read and researched on the topic. The employee stewed and resolved to take care of those things once the shutdown occurred. There were a lot of details to be worked out, but it just needed his undivided attention and focus. He planned his Monday, knowing that the shutdown was inevitable. Sure enough, the politicians could not agree, and the shutdown happened. The non-essential Federal employees were on furlough, and that included the hero in our story. Our hero was ready to act. Even though this would hurt in the short run, he would begin the process to develop that side hustle into something. As he sat down at the computer to implement his plan, the phone rang. The boss called and informed him that he was no longer non-essential, and that he had to report to work (without pay)! Our hero, thrown for a loop, made some phone calls and got rolling with his regular work day. Later that day, the government re-opened for business for another couple weeks. He resolved to implement his plan and start preparing for the next disaster right away. Midweek Motivation Lesson So what is the point of all of this? The point of this Midweek Motivation is this: [tweetthis]Be vigiliant. Be ready. Be prepared. Life comes at you fast, and if you prepare, you are set up to adapt and overcome life’s challenges. [/tweetthis] How do you do get prepared? Save some money, get out of debt, store some food and water, and get healthy. Stop dreaming and researching. Start doing and executing. Prepare for the worst. Boom! If you want to learn more about HOW to prepare, stay tuned to Small Scale Life. More to come on that. This is Tommy Cakes, and I see you next week!

In this 209th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, your Wandering Gardener Host Tom talks with his friend Mr. Tactical Jay about the modern back to the land movement, setting big goals and creating a Jay's massive garden on the side of a mountain. This is Part 2 of an earlier conversation about the Modern Day Back to the Land Movement that has been happening in the United States as society seems to be unwinding due to the global pandemic, increasing crime in urban area and unwraveling social structures in the United States. These issues coupled with shortages (fuel, food and other goods and services) and incredible inflation are pushing people Back to the Land and to start developing skills like growing food, preserving the harvest and having animals and livestock. For Part 1 of this conversation, you have to go back to Small Scale Life Podcast Episode 204 titled "Modern Day Back to the Land Movement" which you can listen to by clicking this link. (https://www.smallscalelife.com/modern-day-back-to-the-land-movement-with-mr-tactical-jay/) Join the Back to the Land Movement in the country, the suburbs or the urban space. How you start this journey is up to you, and you can start right where you are. How can you do this? Grow some vegetables in your space Preserve foraged, grown or purchased vegetables or fruits Build community of like-minded souls As Jay and I discuss, you don't need 3, 5, 10 or 100 acres. You can start right where you are!

In the Frozen Tundra of America's northland, we seem to have turned a corner on the weather last week. Something is in the air. The birds are showing us that something is up: from the pairs of eagles flying over Eagles Ridge and near the Third Floor Castle in the Sky to the cardinals popping up everywhere. We are entering a Season of Change! On this 187th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discuss about how Our Time is Finite as we enter a Season of Change here at Small Scale Life. Spring 2021 is coming, and there will be a lot happening on Eagles Ridge, Small Scale Gardening, Small Scale Life and in our lives. Time is finite. There is only so much time in a day, and it really comes down to how we use that one essential limiting resource: time. It is time of new beginnings, and we can still be the lighthouse even though things look differently. If you remember, these are my Guiding Words for 2021. Things may change, but not all change is a bad thing. After all, gardeners and homesteaders know that as old, unproductive growth is removed, new plants can sprout and grow. Head over to smallscalelife.com (https://smallscalelife.com) to get all the show notes and links.

It's a Leap Year Episode Small Scale Life Podcast! Episode 220 was recorded at 2:22 PM on 2/29/2024 (look at all those 2's), so you know this was a special, foundational show. In this episode, your Host Tom introduces the Whole30 Challenge and summarizes the basic rules of this elimination diet. There are plenty of do's and don'ts, but do not let the rules stop you. By doing the Whole30 Challenge, you will come away understanding what your body reacts to (dairy, gluten, legumes, processed foods, sugar), and that will lead you to success as you focus on healing your mind, body and soul. We have some links and resources for you at smallscalelife.com (https://smallscalelife.com), so you’ll want to head over there to learn more. Also, to join the Small Scale Life Wellness Club on Facebook, please use the following link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallscalelifewellnessclub/

In this 203rd Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I have a Chicken Chat with my good friend Amy Dingmann. Julie and I are chicken newbs, so we wanted to learn from someone who has done all things chicken! Amy Dingmann is from A Farmish Kind of Life (https://afarmishkindoflife.com/) where she talks about her life on a little 5-acre farm in Central Minnesota. Amy is a writer, podcaster, blogger, YouTuber, and also has a snail mail paper newsletter (called The Farmish Papers). During this episode, we discuss what is happening on our farms, all things chicken the chicken chat), gardening and her platform and plans at A Farmish Kind of Life. You can find more links and information at smallscalelife.com (https://smallscalelife.com). Chicken stock photo by freeimages.com/cholin. Free Image used according to use agrement.

In this episode, I wrap up Christmas 2016. This was a lost track that I am posting as a listener appreciation podcast. I talk about what is important during the holidays.