In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why slowing down is essential for emotional and physical health
• How nature’s rhythms can guide our own
• Practical ways to simplify, declutter, and reconnect
• How to set boundaries heading into the holidays
• How this season nurtures renewal, rest, and spiritual grounding
• How slowing down now prepares you for a better spring

What’s ONE thing you can slow down this week?

Let us know via email at realsmallscalelife@gmail.com!

Whether your “hearth” is a wood stove, kitchen table, fire pit, or simply a calm moment at the end of a long day, this episode is about returning to what matters:

Slowing down. Giving thanks. Growing gratitude. Building connection.

Bring your coffee and coffee cake or donuts....let's chat as we learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday!

Like the famous novel by Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times and it was the worst of times."

Ok, that was pretty dramatic.

We had a really great season for some vegetables, ginger and herbs,. At the same time, we had a tough time with other favorites like tomatoes and squash.

What worked?
What didn't work?
What will we do n 2026?

You can find out tonight on the Small Scale Life Live Stream and Podcast. We go LIVE at 7:00 PM Central.

It is going to be fun!

For more including links, show notes and photos, head over to the Small Scale Life Website.

As a note, we will be streaming Wednesdays at 7:00 PM Central Time on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel. Bring your floaties, river shoes, some snacks and drinky drinks. Let's go!

Grow Roots
Find Peace
Live Small
Love Big
Live Well

Remember to learn, do grow and be a little better everyday!

• Starting a new business called Tommy Cakes (Bird) Seed LLC
• Gardening,
• Improving the shoreline,
• Feeding the birds,
• Taking some shorter trips
• Connecting with neighbors and,
• Dealing with the Government Shutdown.

The government shutdown is concerning. 42 million Americans might lose access to funds to purchase food and put it on the table, and whiile we cannot change what happens in Washington DC, we can help people right where we live. A couple great ways to help are;

• Stock local little library pantries,
• Make monetary donations to local food shelves and pantries,
• Bring foo to local food shelves and pantries, and
• Volunteer at local food shelves and pantries.

Start where you are with what you have. We need to come together and help those in need in our community. It starts with us.

The Small Scale Life Podcast returns on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM starting 11/12/2025. I will be live-streaming on the YouTube Channel and creating a podcast from that video. Join us LIVE! Bring your floaties, river shoes, some snacks and drinky drinks. Let's go!

Grow Roots
Find Peace
Live Small
Love Big
Live Well

Remember to learn, do grow and be a little better everyday!

Speed....it can help and it can hinder.

Act too quickly, and you can make costly mistakes.

Act too slowly, and you can miss opportunities.

The reality is that we live in a fast-paced world and have a ton of things going on in our lives. There is little time to stop and take a breath, and when you do, the little cell phone demon in our hand calls to us and beckons us to Doom Scroll. Yes, the struggle of our modern world is real.

While many of us understand that, there is the other side of that coin. Homesteading and moving to the country to start a "simple life" sounds fantastic. Leaving the sirens and hustle of the bustle of the city creates peace and tranquility. However, for some of us, the silence and quiet life drains us. The silence becomes VERY, VERY loud as we need to confront the our shadow. There might be little or no escape! Ask me how I know.....

It always comes back to balance. We need to move fast enough to accomplish goals, tasks and objectives, but we need to slow down and smell the flowers, tend to our gardens, feed the birds and spend some time with family, friends, pets and livestock.

After all, those tomatoes aren't going to grow themselves, and the deer sheds aren't going to find themselves.

Adam and I are going to talk about things we can do to master speed in business and life. For some of us, we want to move faster to get more. For others like me, I want to slow down, savor and enjoy each moment, each monarch butterfly, hummingbird and oriole visiting The Landing.

It all comes back to balance.

As always, remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

This applies to more than business as well. Our lives are connected cycles of high activity, stress and constant action with cycles of lower activity, quiet, learning and rest.

It is true: we need those lower activity cycles to rest and recharge. At the same time, we can use those quiet times to keep learning, doing, growing and being a little better everyday in our own way.

Stop in for a spell tonight at 7:30 PM Central on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel! I will be posting last week’s and this week’s audio on the Small Scale Life Podcast as well!

In this high pressure hustle culture, we can learn to ride the lull and use our slow time to thrive.

As always, remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

"No" is the most powerful and shortest sentence in the English language. Sometimes we need to just say this powerful and short sentence to friends, family, acquaintances, coworkers, bosses, customers, etc.

Adam and I are going to talk about setting boundaries and using the word no in business. We both have experiences from the house to the farmer's market to the corporate world, and as a recovering people pleaser, no can be a very uncomfortable word and sentence.

For links and show notes head to the Small Scale Life website at https://smallscalelife.com.

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!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Unfortunately, this is the season....to pay the piper. December is usually expensive and gets us in trouble. The holidays bring us expenses with presents, gatherings, parties, events and vacations.

January brings us the cold hard reality: we have bills to pay and usually don't have enough money to cover the rest of the month. It can be stressful: there were times where Jules and I had $50 in the account to get us through the month!

Fortunately, February isn't usually as cold as January. We have an opportunity to catch our breath and dig ourselves out of a financial hole (provided that we don't blow it all out on Valentine's Day). We can literally thaw the deep freeze on our wallets and bank accounts if we take control of our budgets and cut spending.

How is your bank account looking right now?

Maybe it is a pocket full of sunshine and you are smiling.
Maybe it is empty as the grasslands of South Dakota and has tumbleweeds blowing across it.

Whatever situation you might be in right now, events and decisions in far off places are going to hurt our accounts. The fact is that tariffs on goods and energy are going to hurt the American consumer.

We need to acknowledge that fact and prepare accordingly, so even if you have a fat wallet and happy bank account, we need to prepare for what is coming at the stores and at the pump.  It doesn't matter what you believe politically, there will be repercussions from policy decisions and actions in the far off Heart of the American Empire.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.  This is a hard reality, and I hope you understand that as we move forward and prepare accordingly.

If you are struggling financially, there are a few ways to get out of it. One way is to make more money (side hustles, extra jobs, etc.). Another way is to dramatically cut back on expenses, especially the ones that are not necessary.  We are going to focus on cutting expenses dramatically in No-Spend Challenge or Frugal February.

Remember: February is the shortest month of the year. You can do this; we can help!
Learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday!

For more resources including tips, guidelines and budgeting tools, check out the post at Small Scale Life!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

Julie has been a world traveler this week as she has been on a much-needed vacation to the Dominican Republic. When she is away, Tommy Cakes will play! Tom has been focused on processing 2024 tomatoes and making salsa and tomato sauce, a 5"x5" mold for suet cakes, making some kombucha and completing some home improvement projects.

On Ant Live 14, Adam challenged Tom to do a 24-Hour fast. After thinking about it during the show, Tom agreed to run a fast from Wednesday to Thursday. Having just completed the fast, Tom describes how he was feeling and how he pushed through the headaches and hunger during the 24-hour period. To be honest, it wasn't that bad!

Tom completed a 36 hour fast on Friday to Sunday that week, but that was after he recorded this show.

For more information and links, head over to Small Scale Life. Remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday!

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 for more. Remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

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.

1. The potential TikTok ban and how it could affect Small Scale Life
2. Changes to the Small Scale Life website to make it more functional and organized
3. Tommy's 2025 Garden Plans (big changes to the Small Scale Garden)
4. What Backyard Birds are hitting the Suet Feeders
5. Answering Audience Questions and
6. Talking about the direction of Small Scale Life going forward

It has been a while since Tommy has done a solo Live Stream, but he ended up covering a lot of topics in an hour! For show notes and more information, check out https://smallscalelife.com.

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/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

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!

Catch ANT LIVE on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel at 7:30 PM Central on Monday evenings. Adam and I talk about small business, gardening, connecting with nature, mindset, 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/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

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.

We have 9 days left of 2024, and then this chapter of our lives closes and becomes a memory. It has been an interesting year: we started this livestream, Adam attended a lot of farmer's markets, and I built a new garden. Things are moving along on a number of fronts, and now it is time to take a deep breath and think about this year and what we would like to accomplish in 2025.

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!

~ 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.

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. 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.

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 podcast will be connected to a much more in-depth guide on Small Scale Life titled "How to Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving." 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.

Gatherings and obligations wash over us like the raging gales of November, and if we are not careful and do not plan, we can be dragged down the dark and cold depths like the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. The Gales of November and December are starting to pick up; can you feel them?

It doesn't have to be that way.

It shouldn't be that way.

How can we do better and be better to avoid these storms during the holidays?

The answer is found byy following the advice from my Assistant Scoutmaster days: "Planning and being prepared." As I look back on what was successful during the holidays (and especially at what wasn't), it really comes down to having a plan and executing. It also comes back to being able to laugh, go with flow and not getting wrapped around the axle of agendas, poor planning and endless guilt trips. You do that by not taking yourself too seriously and not having a plan.

We have 20 simple steps, but you never know, we might come up with a few more along the way. I am super excited to talk about Step 16: Establish New Traditions.

For links, show notes and support, check out more at https://smallscalelife.com. Please note: the article has a lot more of my commentary about each of the 20 Steps.

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

The parallels are very obvious and make a lot of sense as he walks us through a story about his fishing experience in the Great White North. After two hard days of fishing, his group found the right spot holding the right fish, used the right bait, and kept at it until they caught some beautiful monster walleyes. It took persistence and the right amount of work to land those big fish, and the same process can be used to land your ideal client.

It isn't easy. Sometimes it is a lot of hard work and isn't fun. The lake is full of other hungry fishermen that are trying to load their stringers with keepers, and it's up to us to read the lake, understand the behavior of the fish, go where they are and keep on casting (or jigging).

For links, support and show notes about the 10 Steps for How to Find Your First Customer and some more of my thoughts on the RFK Fast Food scandal, check out my post at smallscalelife.com.

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

But we are meant for so much more than that.  The world is a big, amazing place that is full of opportunity if we are willing to work for it, but we tell ourselves we can't do better, we couldn't do better and we don't deserve better....so we don't ever try.

Let's try to break that pattern and stinking thinking, shall we?

This week on ANT Live, Tom and Adam are going to talk about Dreams, Goals and How to Manifest Your Future.

Manifesting your future is an exciting and empowering process that combines clarity, intention, action, and belief. While it’s often associated with visualization and the Law of Attraction, the underlying principles of manifesting your dreams and goals are more about aligning your thoughts, emotions, and actions with the future you desire.

I am sure you are saying, "Sure, that sounds good and all, but how do you manifest your future?"

As I have gotten older, I realized from my own experience that it is possible to manifest your future.  You can achieve those dreams and goals, but the keys are aligning your thoughts, you actions and your focused intensity over time.  It is possible, especially when we understand the execute on the 9 steps for Manifesting Your Future.

I am sure Adam has a lot to say from his own experience. After all, he is manifesting his dream with each Farmer's Market and sale!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

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!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

When you are super busy, you don’t have time to let your mind wander and solve problems. You just don’t have capacity. The same can be said when you are holding on for dear life in Survival Mode. Having REGULAR downtime to dream, think and create is just what the doctor ordered, especially if you are stuck.

Think about it: what WAS Sir Isaac Newton doing while sitting under that apple tree? He was bored, and an apple dropped right on his head. VIOLA! Gravity was discovered!

Adam Rick and I will be covering this and a whole lot more on tonight’s show. We must discuss the results of the Halloween on Main Chili Contest in Dousman, WI. Who won? Who lost? What lessons were learned along the way?

OF COURSE, we’ll be THE BEST damn boring Livestream on YouTube you have ever seen.

ANT Live starts at 7:30 PM Central on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel on Monday.

For links and show notes, head over to https://smallscalelife.com.

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

It seems like there is not enough money for the month at times. One way to make resources stretch is through side hustles and the gig economy. We are essentially picking up second jobs to supplement regular incomes.

• If done right, these side hustles can turn into a full time small business.
  
• If done wrong, these side hustles can turn into a low wage, high expense death spiral.
  

We have to be careful and choose our side hustles wisely. Adam and I will talk about our observations and thoughts about side hustles and the gig economy. I got the feeling that Adam had some strong opinions about side hustles and the gig economy simply because he has his own business Modern Frontier Farms.

Take a listen and find out!

As always, remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that, my friends, is a good thing!

~ Tom

This live-stream is brought to you by A Modern Frontier Farms: https://www.amodernfrontier.com

Get all your pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken from A 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://facebook.com/smallscalelife

🌱Small Scale Gardening Group on Facebook:
https://facebook.com/thesmallscalelifepodcast

🌱Small Scale Life Wellness Club Group on Facebook
https://facebook.com/smallscalelifewellnessclub

🌱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.

It is no secret that moving to a farm/homestead was my dream. All you have to do is look back through the archive of Small Scale Life Podcast episodes, and you can see that I was working hard to move out of the city and move to Western Wisconsin. In fact, Julie and I looked at some properties in 2017 before moving from our rental house in St. Louis Park to North Minneapolis, Minnesota. The timing wasn't right until 20.

Eagle's Ridge

We purchased the Eagles Ridge property with a dream to build a house, garden and pole barn there. It was a 2 acre property on the Apple River just north of New Richmond, Wisconsin. We worked hard clearing buckthorn, prickly ash and honey suckle (all invasives) from the property and clearing the top of the ridge so we could see the river. We also cleared down by the water and put in a long switchback path down the 60-foot bluff from the top of the ridge to the river.

COVID, riots, and global shortages pushed the cost of building a home to astronomical heights, and we decided to pivot and go a different direction. Early one morning, Julie and I woke up early, and she convinced me to put Eagle's Ridge on a shelf and start to move on from that fading dream. It was not the right time to build a house.

Driftless Oaks Farm

Julie's brother in Texas was looking at homes and properties for us, and he found Driftless Oaks Farm. We took a look at the property and the price, and we fell in love with it. A major dream had been accomplished, and we couldn't wait to move in as soon as possible!

Not all that glitters is gold, however. We were overwhelmed by the amount of work there, and we also ran into a massive roadblock: the house. We bought the farm with the intention of hosting gatherings there with our family and friends. I even started planning homesteading gatherings at the farm where folks would come and listen to great homesteaders and gardeners talk about things that they were doing on their homesteads. Think Self-Reliance Festival in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin!

The house was small, and we found out that contractors were not keen on working with and adding on to a 1900-era house. The farmhouse was small, and it would have been difficult to add on to the house with the stone foundation in the front and cellar in the back. Contractors recommended bringing in a bulldozer and starting from scratch.

Did we have fading dreams once we did some diligence? Yes, absolutely. It happened fast on the farm, especially after major life events in 2022. After Danny passed away, we decided it was time to sell and move away from the little farm. We did not see how we could improve the farmhouse economically and make it work for us, so it was time to put it on the market and move forward.

This Week's Epiphany

When I stopped by the farm this week and observed it from the neighbor's hill, it suddenly occurred to me that the young man that purchased the property made some significant changes for the better. He had the creativity, audacity, tenacity and the network to make some things happen. I realized after looking at our little farm for a while that our farm life was one of many fading dreams, and it was time for me to turn the page and move on forever.

For links and show notes, head over to the Small Scale Life website at https:///smallscalelife.com.

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.

Both Adam and I went away this weekend. One of us had a get-away with his spouse; the other had a get-away with his son and friends (and their sons) on a fishing trip.

There are a lot of benefits to getting away for the weekend. We’ll talk about those, and maybe we’ll have some funny stories along the way. We'll also talk about Adam's livestock, my garden, maybe pass a recipe and discuss new things, skills or efforts we are trying this week.

As always, remember to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. And that’s a good thing!

~ Tom

LINKS:

This live-stream is brought to you by A Modern Frontier Farms: https://www.amodernfrontier.com

Get all your pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken from A Modern Frontier Farms! Grass Fed; Grass Raised; 100% Delicious!

🌱Small Scale Life Website: https://www.smallscalelife.com

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.

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.

This is intended to be a high level discussion of different fertilizers including Miracle Grow, Mittleider Method Micro-Nutrients, Used Coffee Ground Tea, Epsom Salt Tea, Comfrey Tea, Stinging Nettle Tea, Compost Tea, Worm Casting Tea and Fish Emulsion Tea. Obviously this is just scratching the surface on garden fertilizers, and there are other products and methods that folks have used to successfully grow healthy plants and have excellent harvests. Feel free to add your methods to the conversation by sending an email to him at realsmallscalelife@gmail.com.

For links and "recipes," head on over to the Small Scale Website at https://smallscalelife.com.

For more information about Gardening and Small Scale Life, head over to our website at https://smallscalelife.com!

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.

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!

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!

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.

For show notes and links, head over to smallscalelife.com.

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, 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/

The Small Scale Life Podcast has been silent since April 26, 2023. At that point, we had just announced that we were selling Driftless Oaks Farm, which was our little 10-acre hobby farm in Western Wisconsin. We had a lot of discussions, a lot of soul searching and a lot of work leading up to that point, and what happened afterward was nothing short of a miracle. We had some great offers on the farm, selected an offer, found a new place, got our offer selected and then began the moving process (packing and loading up). At the same time, we kicked off a blitz of projects at the new house.

With real life kicking and a busy job calling, there was no capacity or bandwidth to record, edit, and keep the Small Scale Life Podcast and videos flowing to the audence. Something had to give, and I decided to put this project on a shelf and do the work.

It is a new year, and a new cycle is starting for all of us. Julie has a new business called Willow River Yoga, my son Ryan has things happening and I have charted a new course for Small Scale Life (which really is getting back to my roots of this show if you look back to the first couple blog posts).

For more information about us and links, please head over to the Small Scale Life website. You can sign up for free resources including the 24 Hour Plan, Seed Saving Guide and Budget Bundles on the FREE RESOURCES page.

Also, I discuss the Small Scale Life Wellness Club on Facebook, please head over there for the 24 Hour Plan and to join the conversation.

Tune in to Episode 218 of the Small Scale Life Podcast to find out who, what, when, where and why!

I have to tell you: the bank closures and bank runs remind me so much of the Lehman Brothers collapse of 2008. It made me pause as it reminded me of the anger, despair and hopelessness of the time.

Fortunately, this time is different. I recognized 2008 for what it was: a major life changing event that forever changed my mindset and direction of my life. That collapse set me on a course to where we are today: our jobs, our home in Western Wisconsin and even how I grow vegetables in my garden.

For more information and links, head over to Small Scale Life!

Now, I know many of you are not beekeepers and will never be beekeepers, but I hope you hold on and stay tuned to this episode. Like walking through a garden, each small business story can inspire you to start something of your own or teach you something new. After all, every gardener or homesteader might have an abundance of tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, eggs or milk that you can give the surplus away or sell to a local customer base.

For more about Adam, check out Small Scale Life Podcast Episodes 214 and 215 where we talk about his homesteading journety, gardening and taking care of animals (rabbits, quail, chickens and ducks).

To connect Adam, see the show notes for Episode 216 at https://smallscalelife.com!

If you want to find The Rapier Ranch or High Desert Hives, there are links to Adam and Kathleen's social media and website in the show notes on https://smallscalelife.com. Also, I have some photos of those awesome gardens too, so check them out!

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.

Pressing Forward!

This week's guest is Maria the Intuitive Energy Healer, and we are talking about How to Set Your 2023 Guiding Words and Mantras. We will discuss our Guiding Words from last year and how they served us and how things worked out. Then, we will dive into our 2023 Guiding Words and Mantras. Finally, Maria takes command of the show by telling us How to Set Your 2023 Guiding Words and providing some examples of Guiding Words. Maybe one of those words will resonate with you!

Please head over to https://smallscalelife.com to see links to Maria's website and social media, as well as links to other times Maria has been a guest on the Small Scale Life Podcast.

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.

In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, your host Tom talks about the past three months including losing Danny and the long road since September 11, 2022. Tom reads a beautiful Christmas letter written by Julie. At the end of the episode, Tom discusses future episodes and closes with the Small Scale Life offering.

Remember, friends, during this Christmas season, put down the phone, be present, gather with your family and friends, remember those who crossed over the bridge ahead of us, and enjoy the moment.

We love you, and we thank you for your continued support, love, hugs and messages. We continue to be reminded of the love and goodness out there in this world.

As always, for the show notes including text of the letter and links, please head over to smallscalelife.com.

1. Change is in the Air - Fall and Winter are Coming!
2. The Orchard - Criss Cross Apple Sauce
3. The Land Provides - Sweet Corn and Wild Grapes
4. Canning * Four Tips for Successful Canning * Corn Relish and Cowboy Candy Relish
5. How does my Garden Grow?
6. Project Updates * The BIG To Do List * Operation WW - Drainage Project, Front Gardens, Planting Grass * Removing Fence, Moving the Woodpile and Moving Poop Mountain #1 * Push before the Rains Fall and Snow Flies!
7. Gatherings - Family and Friends at the Farm
8. Connect to the Land - Animal Updates * Flying Young Eagle * Running Skunk * Watching and Counting Down - Oriole and Hummingbird Departures
9. Future Shows and What's Coming Up Next!

For show notes, links and photos, go to https://smallscalelife.com!

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.

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!

1. Removing Fence from the Blue and White Pens
2. Cutting Box Elder Trees
3. Building Wicking Beds out of 55 Gallon Food Grade Barrels
4. Working on Operation WW
5. 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!

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.

1. My Farm Journal
2. Operation WW

My Farm Journal posts, videos and podcast episodes will document our progress and our observations of life at our little Driftless Oaks Farm.

Operation WW is focused on cleaning up the Weeds and Woods at Driftless Oaks Farm, starting with the overgrown flower gardens that surround our Little Farmhouse in the Big Woods.

For more links and show notes, please head over to smallscalelife.com!

I have known Jay for over 10 years, and he and his wonderful wife are experiencing their own Back to the Land Movement as they develop their garden and create a homestead somewhere on the East Coast of the United States.

At the time of this recording, Jay and his wife were on the eve of a massive gardening project. The next morning, they were going to clear and build their dream garden. What is more remarkable is that this garden, like their home, is on the side of a mountain.

We are all trying to live a little like Laura Ingalls Wilder in a confusing, chaotic and rapidly changing world. A path is before us, but it is punctuated by a lot of hard work and on-the-job learning. The path won’t be easy, but it will be worth it in the end.

This is what we are doing. This is the path forward; this is the way.

Join us as Jay and I talk about the Modern Day Back to the Land Movement through our own eyes, experiences and homesteads.

For more links to podcast episodes featuring Mr. Tactical Jay, head over to smallscalelife.com to see show notes and links.

• 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!

Amy Dingmann is from A Farmish Kind of Life 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.

Chicken stock photo by freeimages.com/cholin. Free Image used according to use agrement.

• Maria owns and operates a dog grooming business and her intuitive energy healing business in Lake City, Minnesota.
• Julie operated her own wedding floral design business in Minnesota and Illinois.
  

We discuss a number of topics including the following:

• How to prepare to start the small business and side hustle
• Where do you start? What should you focus on?
• Mindset and narratives that hold you back
• Teamwork makes the dreams work
• Small business ideas (Hell Yeah's vs. Hell No's)
• What do you wish you had during the busiest times of your life?

Hear more of our interviews with Maria and get show notes at smallscalelife.com!

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.

For links to the recent appearances and to learn more about Driftless Oaks Farm, head over to smallscalelife.com .

As a reminder, you can now buy high quality grass fed meat (raised using Regenerative Agriculture protocols and principles) at the following site: https://www.amodernfrontier.com/

Use code SMALL (in all caps) and you will get $25 off and beef, pork or chicken box. That’s right, use code SMALL (in all caps) and get $25 off!

You can chat with Adam on the site if you have any questions, or you can email him at amodernfrontier@gmail.com.

For full disclosure: this is not an affiliate for me or Small Scale Life. I want to help a friend get this business going. I receive no payments or percentages from any sales; I am just helping a friend out.

For links and show notes, head on over to smallscalelife.com

As I mentioned in this Small Scale Life Podcast, you can now buy quality grass fed meat at the following site: https://www.amodernfrontier.com/

Use code SMALL (in all caps) and you will get $25 off and beef, pork or chicken box. That’s right, use code SMALL (in all caps) and get $25 off!

Please note: I get no payments or affiliate income from any purchases or clicks; I am just helping my friend start his business.

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

You can now buy quality grass fed meat (raised using Regenerative Agriculture protocols and principles) at the following site: https://www.amodernfrontier.com/

Use code SMALL (in all caps) and you will get $25 off and beef, pork or chicken box. That’s right, use code SMALL (in all caps) and get $25 off!

You can chat with Adam on the site if you have any questions, or you can email him at amodernfrontier@gmail.com.

For full disclosure: this is not an affiliate for me or Small Scale Life. I want to help a friend get this business going. I receive no payments or percentages from any sales; I am just helping a friend out.

[For links, head over to smallscalife.com!

Special Guest: Adam Rick.

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!

Of course, it is also a special birthday episode for the Small Scale Life Podcast (7 years) and your humble host Tom!

For more information and links, please head over to smallscalelife.com!

1. Take some time and think about what you are truly grateful about.
2. Make a list of people and things and challenges you are grateful for.
3. Keep those lists in a journal (brief bullet points only; don’t write a book – it isn’t sustainable).
4. Let someone on that list know you are grateful.

This week, I am revisiting gratitude and putting it into action. I completed Number 4 on that list. I let two people on my list know that I was very grateful for them: Theresa and Dale. I also had a chance to talk to a member of the Small Scale Life Community that is in a tough place and is finding it hard to find gratitude for that member's situation.

To join the Small Scale Life Community, please go to smallscalelife.com and joint the conversation on the Small Scale Life Newsletter. Sign up today!

What are you thankful for?

“What are you thankful for” is the usual question that people have and expect a response after grace.  How often were we caught of-guard by such a simple question when the piping hot feast is right in front of us?  We typically mumble something about “family and friends,” stop paying attention to other answers once we are done mumbling and dive into the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing!  Am I right?

But did we really think about that question?  Did you pause for a minute and really think about your answer?  Seriously.

In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to talk about starting my gratitude practice a year after writing Practicing Gratitude for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in October 2020.  I’ll finish this episode by discussing

1. How I am going adjust (improve) my daily gratitude practice
2. Describe a small gratitude offering that I recently did in a special place near our Driftless Oaks Farm
3. Giving you 4 Tips for Starting Your own Daily Gratitude Practice

REMEMBER: Snow, ice and subzereo temperatures can hurt you (ie, frostbite).  There are MANY ways to ground, develop a gratitude practice and get a dose of Nature. Get outside, be careful and be safe!

For show notes, links and more information, check out the article titled "Gratitude Practice: How to Start Expressing Gratitude" on smallscalelife.com!

1. Gratitude Practice - Shout Outs and Thank Yous
2. Driftless Oaks Farm a. Outbuildings b. Fruit Trees, Berries, Grapes and Perenials c. Pens/Paddocks d. The Blue Barn e. The Chicken Coop
3. Small Scale Life Podcast
4. "Harvest" by Osi and the Jupiter
5. Final Remarks - Happy Halloween!

For more information and to subscribe to the Small Scale Life Newsletter, go to smallscalelife.com!

Special thanks to Sean at Osi and the Jupiter for writing and recording the song at the end of the podcast episode. You can fiund Osi and the Jupiter on YouTube, Facebook and Bandcamp. I really enjoy his Appalachian/Norse/Folk style.

We can spend a lifetime chasing dollars and cents, yet we don’t have the sense to take care of the Small Scale Life Basic 10 Core Principles. We have become addicted to consumerism, screens, and Modern Western Culture that pumps out garbage at an incredible rate. That is where we get into trouble: too much debt, not enough savings, few prospects, no connection to Nature or people, and living life on the hamster wheel fulfilling someone else’s dreams.

Are you sick and tired of all that yet?

I can see how we need to ramp up and execute them as Julie and I start our new homestead in a rural place where we don’t know many people. It is going to be challenge for us, but I think all of the work we have done is going to pay off. We are starting to see results already, and we have just barely gotten started. Just wait!
Change is coming. We need to go with the flow like a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream.

Go to smallscalelife.com for show notes and links.

April has come and gone, and we had a lot going on gearing up for constructing our Eagles Ridge Barndominium. The machine is MOSTLY in place, and the weather had cooperated; however, we hit a delay. We are in a holding pattering until some things get sorted out, and that gives us time to do other things.

One of those other things was the stairs from the middle of Eagles Ridge to the Apple River. The Ridge is about 60 feet above the river, and we have been working on a stair project from about half way up the ridge to the river. Things were going well last Fall, but we ran into some serious issues in the past two weeks.

We decided to make some drastic changes with the stairs, and I walk you through the project and the 5 Lessons Learned from Our Stair Project. For photos, links, videos and other information, check out the article titled "In a Hole? Stop Digging! 5 Lesson Learned from Our Stair Project" on smallscalelife.com!

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!

• 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.

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 to get all the show notes and links.

For all of our knowledge and understanding, there are things in this world that humans don’t know or have forgotten during our evolution. The fact of the matter is that there are energies and vibrations at work all around us.

In our crazy Western Civilization, modern men and woman are on the go and don’t often stop to contemplate WHY things happen or WHAT they can do to change how they feel, think and act. Instead, they chalk it up to bad luck or blame someone else for their misfortune.

Feelings, thoughts and actions are all tied together. When we have stinking thinking, it is usually the result of problems with our internal energies, our chakras, conditioning and mindset. We have been programmed from a young age to be on the go and move through the normal, chaotic progression of birth, school, college, job, relationships, perhaps kids, rearing children, career, retirement and death. The only constants are death, taxes and never-ending consumption.

Stop, breathe and think for a minute. Turn the lense on yourself and your path. Ask yourself:

• What if you could understand the deeper meaning of our pain, stinking thinking and relationship problems?

• What if we could tap into that energy power deep inside us and begin to work with it rather than against it?

• Do you work with Source, Nature and deep energy to heal your mind, body and soul?
• Do you know how to do that?
• Do you even know what I am talking about?

If you are like me six months ago, I wouldn’t have known what this is all about. I would have thought this was woo woo voodoo and looked at you funny as I hit “block” on my phone. Oh have times, and I, changed!

Our guest this week is a Reike Master and Intuitive Energy Healer Maria Voorhees-Reincke. Julie and I discuss the following topics:

• What is Energy Healing?
• What is the Difference between Healing Touch and Reike?
• Is this just woo-woo or voodoo?
• What is grounding?
• What are sessions like?

We talk about these and a host of other topics on this 186th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast! For liinks and show notes, head over to smallscalelife.com!

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!

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.

Hannah and her husband AJ are fellow travelers in the Homesteading space. Like us, Hannah and AJ are living close to their parents in an urban area. In an effort to live healthier lives and break patterns of the American consumption lifestyle, they started gardening, growing fruit trees and making things from scratch. They have branched off to document their story on The Wisconsin Homestead Podcast and Instagram.

Of course, this has lead to some interesting adventures and entanglements along the way. For example, you might not be a true urban homesteader until the police come to your house to investigate your yard…..

For all of us that long to have a little more land and a lot more freedom, this podcast episode should bring a smile to your face and inspire you to try. It is not too late to start breaking free, and you will hear how tomatoes are indeed the gateway to gardening and freedom!

If you want to start developing your vision for your future, take a listen to our podcast episode titled “How to Dream Big, Set Goals and Take Steps to Achieve Them” on Small Scale Life.com https://www.smallscalelife.com/how-to-dream-big-set-goals/

As always, show notes and links are found at smallscalelife.com

Quaderer Creek is a stream that flows from just north of a small town named Hillsdale towards Barron, Wisconsin. It connects to the Yellow River in downtown Barron.

Before it connects to the Yellow River, Quarderer Creek flows through a Waterfowl Management Project. This is a pond created by a earth and boulder dam near the intersections of 12th Avenue and 13th Street (JUST southwest of Barron, Wisconsin).

The water flows through the dam, and it created an interesting sound. As I always say, each body of water (creek, stream, river and even a lake) has its own song and its own voice, and sometimes that changes depending on the season, flow and part of the body of water you record.

As we step firmly into 2021, take a few minutes to relax and think where you want to go this year and in the future. We have a clean slate, an open book, a clear canvas and open waters ahead. We choose our path forward. Think about it, and move forward with confidence in 2021.

Of course, you can think deeply about these subjects with one of our Water Sounds Meditation episodes on the Small Scale Life Podcast or Water Sounds Meditation Videos on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel.

And now, Relax and Meditate to Water Sounds from Quaderer Creek in Barron, Wisconsin here is the first Small Scale Life Podcast and YouTube Video.

Happy New Year!

Red Dragon Herbs and Teas is a small tea business from Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan and Mary Lewellin started Red Dragon Herb and Teas in 2015, and they have grown the business through word of mouth and at local (and sometimes not so local) farmer’s markets. This is their story of international travel and tea tasting, humble beginnings, government regulations and overcoming.

It’s tea time! Grab your favorite cup of tea, put on your headphones and enjoy the show!

For more information, links and a special DISCOUNT CODE for Red Dragon Herbs and Teas, go to Small Scale Life and find the article titled "Tea Time with Red Dragon Herbs and Teas" (or just click this text to take you there directly).

• Hall of Heroes - Gratitude
• Chaos in the Time of COVID
• Consolidation and Remote Working
• Homeschooling
• Our Crazy 2020
• Discovering Star Prairie, Wisconsin
• "I blame Jules"
• Each river has its own tune and song
• Finding and Buying Eagle's Ridge
• The Universe is Talking to Us and....
• "I blame Jules"
• Our Vision for Eagle's Ridge
• "Let the River take Ya where it takes Ya!"
• Ending with Gratitude

How about You?
Julie asked a question at the end of the show: if you have built a home or homestead from scratch like we are, we would love to hear from your and hear your story! We would love to hear your Lessons Learned, tips, tricks and advice as we begin this journey and build Eagle's Ridge Homestead!

For more links and information, head over to Small Scale Life and click on the "Eagles Ridge: Discovering Our Homestead" post or the Eagles Ridge Homestead Tab!

What is the Tree of Life?

For those of you unfamiliar with the Tree of Life concept and icon, it is a symbol in many world religions. For a quick definition:

• The Tree of Life, connects all forms of creation
• The Tree of Knowledge connects heaven and the underworld

Both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree and are portrayed in various religions and philosophies as the same tree. The Tree of Life is a symbol in many world religions including:

Germanic, Norse and Slavic Religions
Native American Religions
Central and South American Religions
Christianity
Judaism
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Church of Latter Day Saints
Other Ancient Middle Eastern Religions in Iraq and Turkey

While we all might have different beliefs and deities, we all seem to agree on one thing: the Tree of Life is incredibly important.

As I explored Northwestern Wisconsin this fall, I discovered a little island in the middle of the St. Croix River. A tree was growing on the island, and this place seemed really special. The sight of this tree gracefully swaying in the wind and the sound of the clear St. Croix River that surrounded it just spoke to me.

As I think about the Tree of Life, its meaning and its significance, I know some have examples from around the globe. I have seen massive trees in Hawaii, and I know there are huge redwoods in the Pacific Northwest, massive banyan trees in the tropics, towering trees in the rainforest and even sacred trees on the African Plain.

For me, this tree on the island had a lot of meaning. It wasn’t the biggest tree in the woods; it wasn’t the tallest. It has many trunks that split off in many different directions. However, the birds are attracted to it, and if a person or animal wanted to get to this tree on the island, they would have to make a sacrifice to get there. They would have to wade into the cold waters, step over the stones and sand, and climb the bank to get to the tree. Much like Odin, Christ and other gods, a sacrifice must be made to reach that Tree of Life: it does not come easy or free.

At some point, we hope to get what we put into our efforts and relationships, and hopefully you will feel some of that love come back to you for your efforts, hard work and sacrifices this holiday season.

I hope you enjoy this Meditation Podcast Episode and Video titled “Tree of Life,” and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Hey, everyone, this is Tom your host of the Small Scale Life Podcast. I am glad you are here! In this Escape Velocity Series Podcast and Video on Small Scale Life, I have the honor of interviewing Kris Geissler. Kris saw a need to provide driver’s education in her community, and she started the Northfield Area School of Driving to help teach students how to drive safely.

Who is Kris Geissler? Kris is a single mom and has a background in special education. She went from the St. Peter Security Hospital to teaching. She wanted to help students who were struggling in school in an effort to prevent them from going down a dark path. Kris has a passion to help these students succeed in school and life.

Northfield is a community south of the Twin Cities and home to St. Olaf College, Carleton Collage and Malt-O-Meal. It is far enough from the Twin Cities that it is beautiful bedroom community with small town charm, but it is big enough that there are needs for students and people that go unfulfilled.

One of those needs was driver’s education. There were no driver’s education classes available to local students. Kris saw that need and started her school to address that need in the Northfield area, especially when Community Education said "no."

Do You See a Need?

Do you see a need for a product or service?

Maybe this podcast episode is just what you need to hear to make you START. That is the most difficult thing: overcoming your fear and starting. It is my goal to inspire you to take that step forward and begin. Escape Velocity is achieved after you get some momentum and small successes.

The key, however, is to start!

What's holding you back?

Think about it as you listen to Kris Geissler’s story about her Amazing Driver’s Education in Northfield, Minnesota!

In case you don’t know who these esteemed guests are, let me introduce them to you.

• Glen Tate is a lawyer, the author of the 299 Days book series and co-host of the Prepping 2.0 Podcast and syndicated radio show.
• Mr. Tactical Jay is my good friend and frequent guest on the Small Scale Life Podcast. He hails from somewhere on the East Coast where he is involved in healthcare and a firefighter.

We recorded this podcast live on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel on the day after the election. While this is part of a longer hour and a half Live Stream on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel, I ran into some file size limitations with Fireside, which is my podcast hosting service. This was an interesting discussion, and given the interest that some folks that I have been talking to lately, I figured this would be a timely discussion.

You can find the first part of our conversation with Glen Tate and Shelby Gallagher titled “How to Become a Gray Man or Woman” on smallscalelife.com, the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel and podcast apps everywhere!

You can find the links for this show and the 6 (plus one bonus) Key Points to consider when starting a business on smallscalelife.com, so head over there to get more information including notes and links.

In case you don’t know who these guests are, let me introduce them to you.

• Glen Tate is a lawyer, the author of the 299 Days book series and co-host of the Prepping 2.0 Podcast and syndicated radio show.
• Shelby Gallagher is author of the Great State book series and co-host of the Prepping 2.0 Podcast and syndicated radio show.
• Mr. Tactical Jay is my good friend and frequent guest on the Small Scale Life Podcast. He hails from somewhere on the East Coast where he is involved in healthcare and a firefighter.

Becoming the Gray Man or Woman

We live in incredibly uncertain times, and there are threats all around us: in our community, online and on the road. As we look at the current events and what has happened in 2020 to date, it is quite clear that we are entering a new era in the United States.

It isn’t getting easier for people.

I define “Being Resilient” as being able to withstand incredible challenges and adversity while we keep moving towards our goals. Being cancelled or erased clearly is a catastrophic event for many people, so the question is:

How do you become a gray man or woman in uncertain times and in this increasingly technocratic and surveillance-heavy world?

For links and show notes, please see the article titled Becoming a Gray Man or Woman with Glen Tate and Shelby Gallagher on smallscalelife.com.

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.

In case you don’t know who Drew Demler and Michael Bell are, here is a quick introduction:

• Drew Demler is the Director of Horticulture at Big Tex Urban Farms at the State Fair of Texas. While Big Tex is a big hydroponic operation, Drew also grows vegetables at his house along his driveway.
• Michael Bell is the owner and operator of Dallas Half Acre Farms. When not planting thousands of salad greens plugs at 5:00 in the morning, he enjoys scooping rabbit poop in his backyard.

Both gentlemen give some great Gardening Tips and Advice that we can all use to improve our gardens and quality of our plants.

To find out more, check out the post titled "Gardening Tips and Advice with Demler and Bell" on Small Scale Life by clicking on this text for a direct link.

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!

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.

The last time we had Michael on the show, I talked with Michael about the Soup Gardening Concept that I used to plan my garden in 2019. My goal, at the time, was to grow vegetables and herbs needed that would make a hearty vegetable soup. Michael Bell and I came up with the concept, and it was a lot of fun growing those vegetables!

My how times changed since the Spring of 2019!

Since that episode, Michael Bell changed jobs, sold his old house, moved to a new house, sold his old half acre farm and found new farming properties. These new farming properties have provided new challenges and opportunities, and there are some clear take-aways from this conversation if you are starting your own garden or urban farm.

Remember: it always comes back to the three basic elements to grow plants: light, nutrients and water. If you have the right balance of these three elements, you can grow plants anywhere! If you are out of balance, then you have to adapt, adjust and overcome to get back into balance.

Get ready! It’s time for another exciting gardening podcast from Small Scale Life!

*[For the show notes and links to articles and podcast episode, see the article titled "Starting an Urban Farm with Michael Bell" on smallscalelife.com. Click this text for a direct link to that article.
*](https://www.smallscalelife.com/building-an-urban-farm-from-scratch-with-michael-bell)

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!

As things are changing, now is the time to do some thinking and introspection. We need to come up with new ways to do things. Going back to “normal” might not be an option. We need to come up with new ideas to do things: education, business, socializing, finance, etc.

For more on this topic, check out the show notes and links in the article titled Adapting, Adjusting and Overcoming on smallscalelife.com. Click this text to get a direct link to that article.

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!

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:

1. A visit by my friend Greg Burns and Contrary Farmstead Podcast about this platform and our story
2. 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?

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!

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!

You might feel that you have blown your health and fitness resolutions and goals for 2020, but we can always rise and start again.  It is what you have been waiting for:

Welcome to the Health and Fitness Renew You Part 2!

For show notes and important links, please click on this link to go to the article titled "What is Whole30? How to Reset Your Body and Mind" on smallscalelife.com!

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!

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.

*Also make sure to download the FREE Budgeting Bundle on smallscalelife.com as well! Start your journey to becoming financially free today!
*

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?"

You might be asking: what is a Caldera and what can I learn from it? You might be wondering if old Tommy Cakes drank too much or smoked something funny over in Hawaii. Trust me, my friends, I am completely sober and drug-free, and I will explain everything if you stick with me.

In this 160th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to briefly discuss our wonderful trip to Hawaii, define a Caldera, discuss the 12 Unique New Year’s Resolutions from a Caldera, and walk through a practical application of these Resolutions in your own life.

[For show notes and other links, please see the post titled Unique New Year's Resolutions from a Caldera by clicking on this text.](simple living, minimalism, homesteading,)

I have to say: what a year it was!

In this post and podcast, I am going to talk about three major topics of Small Scale Life in 2019: Health and Fitness Renew You, Financial Freedom and Gardening. I will also share 2019 Year in Review: Top 10 Podcast Episodes and Top 10 Blog Posts of 2019. I will finish this post by talking about what is on tap for 2020.

For more links to the podcast episodes and articles on Small Scale Life, check out the show notes on Small Scale Life by clicking this text!

If you want to buy something from a company or vendor, time IS running out, friends! If you have been following Small Scale Life, you know I recently posted an article titled Holiday Gift Ideas from the Small Scale Life Community. This was an opportunity to provide links to folks who we have met through Small Scale Life, and it felt good to give folks from our community the exposure.

So what happens if you miss the shipping cutoff (which is around December 18th or so)? Well, wait no longer! It is time to pull out one or more of these 11 DIY Christmas Gifts for family and friends on your list! We also included 4 Bonus DIY Christmas Gifts that would be excellent, but they take some more time, planning and materials that might not be available with 8 days before the big day.

For the show notes, please go to the article titled "11 DIY Christmas Gifts" at Small Scale Life. Please click the text to go to the show notes.

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

I took a great kombucha class on Saturday from a gentleman who's great tasting kombucha got me interested in making the drink back in late October 2018. Taking the class highlighted the need and importance of mentoring. Often we start projects or efforts and get lost in the complexity and minutia. What if we got a mentor in our area that experienced some of these same challenges? What if we learned from and perhaps improve on that experience? We might save ourselves a lot of money, energy and time by connecting with a mentor, listening to their advice and executing on that advice.

That mentor could be a young person or an old person. Whomever it is, they have been there and done that, and they probably know the right way to do it for your local conditions. They might know a shortcut or two and what pitfalls to avoid.

As you make those connections in your area, make sure you stop talking and listen. The mentor with the knowledge and the experience is there to help you, but you need to be still and hear what they have to say. There is a lot of noise in this world, and chances are we have bumped into a mentor or two in our daily travels. Stop, look and listen means more than just being cautious around railroad tracks, Lifers!

Also part of this podcast, I talk about the most current News from Around the Bend article and some of our picks in that article. I also talk about the most recent posts on Small Scale Life, the Simply Canning School with Sharon Peterson and of course our FREE buget bundle. Get them while they are hot at[** smallscalelife.com**](smallscalelife.com)!

Topics in this podcast episode include the following:

• Introduction
• Thank you for Ratings and November Lifer of the Month
• 10 Kitchen Thrifty Thursday Tips
• Next Steps
• Your Turn: Challenge Yourself

For more information and links, check the show notes in the article titled: https://smallscalelife.com/10-kitchen-thrifty-thursday-tips.

Topics in this podcast episode include the following:

• Introduction

• Thank you, Lifers, and Member of the Month

• It’s Your Life: Do Something Positive

• Examples of People Doing Good Things

• Small Scale Gardening: Growing Skills, Growing People

• Next Steps

• Your Turn: Challenge Yourself

For more information and links, check the show notes in the article titled: smallscalelife.com/do-something-positive.

You can find out more at smallscalelife.com including show notes, pictures, infographics and my previous post titled "Frost is Coming: How to Extend My Garden Season" that is effectively Part 1 of this episode!

I know what you hardened and veteran gardeners are saying: “Don’t stop now; keep growing!”

I know exactly how you feel!  I am feeling that way too!

The problem comes into how I set up the garden this year with vine crops on trellis systems.  Is the juice worth the squeeze for keeping these plants going?

Frost is coming, folks! You can’t stop it; you can just prepare.  I know others are wondering how to extend my garden season, so let’s dig into how we can do just that.

For about methods to extend your gardening season, check out the post on smallscalelife.com!

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."

• Danny and David's Toughest Mudder Race in Dallas, TX;
• Exploring River Falls, WI;
• Canning and preserving the harvest from my garden;
• A very special and powerful lantern lighting ceremony at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN;
• Celebrating the Fall Equinox with a "Domres Special" Dinner;
• Happy Half Hour - Being Positive and Inspiring you to Learn, Do, Grow and Be a Little Better Everyday;
• Canning and Preservation Links on Small Scale Life;
• What's coming next on Small Scale Life!

For all the links and show notes for this podcast, please go to Small Scale Life and see the article posted Happy Fall Equinox 2019 posted there.

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!

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!

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

This is a Just Tom Show while I am on the road from Duluth, MN, to Minneapolis, MN. As I worked on the shores of the great Lake Giche Gume (Lake Superior for everyone not in Minnesota), I had time to reflect on July. We had a great time with family at our house and on the road in Stevens Point, Kimball and northern Wisconsin. It helped that we have a lot of July birthdays; that translates into family celebrations! Family can be hard to love at times, but as my dad said, "Blood is thicker than water." We have been working hard to build up those family relationships.

At the same time, July has been a month of friendship. We are thankful to spend time with our good friends and make some new friends along the way! Friends have invited us over, and we have opened our house to them as well. A great example is this weekend: we are heading north (after I just got home) to our friends' cabin near Hayward, WI. It is going to be a weekend of fun and shenanigans, but that is what it is all about, right? We have to open ourselves up and take the time to connect with others, even those folks in our neighborhood.

For more on this podcast (and the show notes), head over to this article on Small Scale Life!

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!

"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

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/)

We are all going to die someday. It might be today, tomorrow or years in the future. We don’t know when, where or how. We can’t stop it, and it is part of the life cycle. Knowing this, the question is: how are you leaving a legacy for those who come behind you (future generations of your children and grandchildren)?

For the transcript of the article and lots of links, see the show notes in the article titled "Leaving a Legacy - A Tribute to Larry Hall" on smallscalelife.com.

In previous episodes of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Julie and I have told our story about making mistakes and doing stupid with zeros on it. In order to break out of the box and go from Survive to Thrive, we needed to change our habits and our mindset.

To start down this path, you need to get a clear picture of what your net worth looks like. Are you in the red or in the black? Do you know? Julie and I have prepared an inventory worksheet for you, and it is available on the Small Scale Life Resources Page.

Once you complete this exercise, you can begin tracking ALL of your expenses. You can do this by writing it down in a notebook or using apps like mint.com.

For show notes and more information, head on over to the article titled Financial Freedom: Start by Taking Inventory and Tracking Expenses at Small Scale Life.

I discuss the following topics in this episode:

1. Happy Mother's Day 2019!
2. Great Mother's Day Meal
3. About Last Week....Community Building Social Events
4. Garden Update....World War III
5. Lesson of the Week

For more information, check out the post titled "Happy Mother's Day 2019" at https://smallscalelife.com!

It's Western Wisconsin; it's sunny; it was awesome!

At the same time, it was a great week at Small Scale Life. We got a great podcast posted, a newsletter (two actually) sent out and News from Around the Bend posted. What more could you want?

Actually, it was even better than that....Julie and I are up to something good, and you will have to listen to find out what is happening!

For more Small Scale Life, head over to the website for the following articles and links:

• **Sign up for the Small Scale Life Newsletter
• Our Journey Rowards Finacial Freedom - Small Scale Life Podcast
• News from Around the Bend - Earth Day Edition**

For show notes and more resources, check out the article titled Our Journey towards Financial Freedom on Small Scale Life!

• 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.

What is Soup Gardening?

That is the topic of today's show, so stay tuned!

For a lot more information on this podcast, check out the article titled "Soup Gardening with Michael Bell" on Small Scale Life!

Money is a tool, and having enough money can help you develop that life you love. Not having that enough money tends to lead to poor decisions, stress and relationship problems with your significant other.

Americans have had a love affair with debt: we take loans for our houses, our cars, our cell phones, and buy lots of stuff using credit cards. We live in a country that borrows from future generations to build and repair roads, pay for benefits, conquer nations and protect the world. It is amazing that our money says "In God We Trust," yet we put all of our trust in banks and credit card companies.

Getting a hold of our finances and debt is a critical first step in taking control of our lives and starting to develop a life we love. This is a huge realization we had this year, especially with a record-setting Government Shutdown.

As Seth Godin says, “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” ― Dave Ramsey, EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. We completely agree and Julie says this exact words in the podcast (which leads us off the Introduction to Financial Freedom Podcast).

F*or more information on this podcast, check out the article titled "Renew You: Introduction to Financial Freedom."*

Also, sign up for the Small Scale Life Newsletter on the Resources page!

Terrance Layhew from the Intellectual Agrarian Blog and Podcast and I had a chance to sit down and talk about this very subject. Terrance called it "living in the analog," and this whole discussion left me with a lot to think about. In fact, based on this conversation, I re-evaluated some of the things I was posting on Instgram and actually scaled back on some of the content there. I discontinued the Black-and-White Photo Challenge as I thought long and hard about the purpose of this effort and once again thinking about the WHY behind it.

As you will hear in the podcast, Terrance is a fellow people collector, and he has used his networking, communicating and writing skills to become an organic inspector, podcaster, writer and intellectual agrarian. Terrance and I have a great discussion about his journey from inquisitive teenager to organic inspector, living in the analog, some trends happening in the organic farming world and his Intellectual Agrarian Podcast.

Feel free to grab your favorite mug filled with coffee or tea and tune in to Living in the Analog with my friend Terrance Leyhew. As always, for links to the Intellectual Agrarian, head to smallscalelife.com and find all the links and notes for this podcast.

You might be asking: what is an GrowOya?

GrowOyas are a method for watering your gardens using a clay pot that looks like a gourd. The water seeps into your soil and the plants get what they need. It is another method to water your garden without timers, hoses, drip tape or other methods. Michael is lining a tunnel with GrowOyas and experimenting with tomatoes this season, and it is another self-watering system that could be used on any size garden!

To find out more about GrowOyas, check out the links at smallscalelife.com! When you buy some, tell them Michael Bell from Dallas sent you!

For more information, check out the article titled "Growing Easy with GrowOya at Dallas Half Acre Farms" at smallscalelife.com

We have talked about Karen on previous Small Scale Life Podcasts, so in this podcast, we decided to interview her. We talked about the Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart, what she learned, what she is doing and give us some feedback about the Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart.

For more on this topic, go to the article titled "Health and Fitness Renew You with Karen Mangieri" at smallscalelife.com!

To join the Small Scale Life Health and Fitness Renew You in 2019 Kickstart, head over to the dedicated page and sign up today! The Kickstart is free!

At the same time, we talk about breaking free of the corporate cube world to starting small businesses and becoming self-sufficient. What were the tipping points that triggered those journeys and what lessons were learned along the way?

For more information, check out the article titled "Tipping Points with Nicole Sauce" on Small Scale Life.

If you are like many Americans that make New Year's Resolutions, the answer is probably a resounding "no." Statistically speaking, research has shown the following:

• By the end of January, approximately 64 percent of us have dropped our New Years Resolutions.
  
• By March 1st, more than 80 percent of us have dropped those New Year’s Resolutions and goals.
  

Anecdotally, you know it's true because you can see this at the gyms: the crowds that created standing room only and long wait times for equipment have eased up or evaporated completely. The pool is empty, and there is room (once again) for you to roll out your yoga mat (don't worry, grunty-farty guy is still there with you).

So, I'll ask you again:

• Are you keeping your New Year's Resolutions?
  
• Are you still following the steps outlined in our Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart?

For more information, please go to the article titled "Four Tips for Keeping New Year's Resolutions" at Small Scale Life.
Sign up for the 2019 Health and Fitness Renew You at Small Scale Life as well!

For more information on this podcast, please see the following posts:

• How to Prepare for the Polar Vortex
• Winter Driving and Survival Tips – S1E21 * Winter Tips

I have to confess, I have blown up my "dieting" efforts time and time again due to self-sabotage. After all, I have started and failed with 14 different diet programs. You could say I am an expert with self-sabotage because I have done it so much!

I had to do some digging on the interwebs to gather some information. I also talked with my son, Danny Domres, about this subject. Danny is a marathoner, ultra-marathoner and is going to school to become a Drug and Alcohol Counselor. He has done a lot of studying about addictions and self-sabotage, especially to overcome that inner voice that wants him to stop training or running.

For more information, including 7 tips for overcoming self-sabotage and food addiction, head over to Small Scale Life for the show notes and more information!

For more information on this topic, please go to the article titled Leveling Up and Next Steps at Small Scale Life.

You can also join the free 7 day Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart at Small Scale Life.

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
• Day 6: Food Prepping for Success

Feel free to join the Health and Fitness Renew You Campaign on Small Scale Life by clicking the link! Go get em, Lifers!

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.

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!

• What you are going to eat
• How you will exercise
• 3 mediation/prayers
• 3 things you are grateful for
• 3 things you want to get done during that day.
  

We complete a sheet before the day begins (night before or morning of), and we will be intentional about all of these items.

On the bottom of the plan, there is a section where you can review your day and write what worked, what didn't and what you can improve on tomorrow. Remember: don't beat yourself up! Learn from deviations from the plan and recognize patterns and trends. You will be surprised what you will find out the longer you plan and document deviations.

To get the 24 Hour Plan, go to Small Scale Life and download it before listening to this podcast. You can also follow along with the post titled "Day 1: The 24 Hour Plan - Part 1" on Small Scale Life.

Topics Discussed

Julie and I discussed the following topics during this podcast:

• Holiday Update
• Rebranding and the Website Upgrade
• Renew You Kickstart

More Information

To get more in-depth information, please see the post titled "Welcome to 2019: Time to Renew You" on Small Scale Life.

Also, sign up for the Renew You in 2019 Kickstart on Small Scale Life.

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!!!

As we discussed recently with Drew Sample, new opportunities and reality can force change, and you have to be ready to adjust accordingly! 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."

Whether it’s your dreams, your business, your football team or your Army, you need to be ready to change and adapt as the “battlefield” changes in front of you. Some opportunities present themselves, others fade. Are you ready to take advantage of those opportunities?

This is critical for our businesses. We have to start pivoting business strategies to make sure we take advantage of those opportunities.

For more information, please see the post and podcast titled "Pivoting Business Strategies in 614" on Small Scale Life.

Check out the blog at smallscalelife.com for the following recipes:

• A super quick/super good cheesy au gratin potatoes recipe,
• 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!

In this episode, Julie and I discuss how to minimize time commitments while maximizing life. We talk about the following topics:

• Move-Ember
• Upcoming Small Scale Life Health Challenge
• Reviewing the 5 Steps to Building a Simple and Intentional Life
• Time Committments - Introduction
• Dealing with Family Obligations
• 4 Steps to Minimizing Time Committments and Maximizing Life
• Slow down and enjoy the eagles; have your eagle moment

The photo that is the cover for this episode was taken on County Highway A in Burnett County, Wisconsin. We rounded the curve and there they were: a dozen eagles taking flight right in front of us. If we had not taken the time and been in a hurry, we would have never appreciated the eagles and the moment.

For more information and pictures associated with this podcast, go over to the the article titled "Minimizing Time Commitments while Maximizing Life" at Small Scale Life.

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."

For more on this episode and some pictures from this year's pumpkin carving and some pictures of us in haunted house costumes, check out the post titled "Happy Halloween 2018: Memories and Stories" on Small Scale Life!

For more on this story and to see pictures from this podcast, check out the article titles Overcoming October Blues on Small Scale Life!

For more about the first frost, pictures and a video, check out the blog post on Small Scale Life titled "First Frost: End of My 2018 Garden Season."

Exhausting

Last week, a lot happened at work and in the basement that took me away from Small Scale Life. I simply did not have the time or energy to post podcasts, videos or blog posts. Now that I have put some distance between today and Hell Week, I can develop some thoughts about how I will deal with future projects, obligations and events. In retrospect, it was a good reminder that I need to continue to focus on develop methods and systems to help me live a simple life.

For more on my Hell Week and some suggestions to deal with deadlines and obligations, check out the article posted on Small Scale Life!

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!

In January, Terrance interviewed Scott Hebert, and somehow he found me.  He reached out to me, and after working out our schedules in a busy July, we found a way to connect and complete the interview.  In our interview, Terrance and I discussed what lead me to start my small scale life journey, gardening tips and ideas, how and why communities are important and so much more.

For show notes, pictures and more information, head on over to the article titled Starting Small Scale Life - The Intellectual Agrarian Podcast on Small Scale Life!

For show notes, pictures and more information, head on over to the article titled Minnesota Traditions - Labor Day 2018 on Small Scale Life!

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!

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!

If you are new to Small Scale Life or missed Part 1 of the Homesteading for Beginners podcast, 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!

In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am discussing the new weekly post in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group called my "weekend three things."  I also include a summary of the Zac Brown Band Concert in Minneapolis,  Julie's first triathlon and much, much more! 

For more information, pictures and the awesome show notes, head over to Small Scale Life for more on this podcast!

My friend Jay and I can relate to those new homesteaders: we both purchased properties in 2018.  We want to create new homesteads on our respective properties, and we figured it would be great to talk with someone who actually had a homestead and was further down the rabbit hole on this journey.

Fortunately, I know a few people who do some great things due to this little podcast and blog!  I called on my friend Captain Lumbersquatch Greg Burns, and he agreed to bring his contrarian perspective (and jar full of fermented goodness) to the discussion.

For more information, show notes and links to other podcasts and information, check out the post on Small Scale Life!

My questions to you are:

• Do you have some friends that have your back?
• Have you spent some time building community around you?

Unfortunately in modern Western Civilization, the answer is probably no.  I have to admit: I need to work on this as well.  We are going to make some changes to Small Scale Life to help you build community around you, where ever you are. 

For more on that, please head over to Small Scale Life to read the post that has more thoughts, information and links.

By growing and preserving your own food, you will have the satisfaction of knowing just what hands have handled your food and what is in your jars.

To learn more about canning, go to [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com) for more.

“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!

How do you get through that shut down mindset, get things done and achieve some level of success?

To read more, please go to the article on [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com) titled Midweek Motivation Lesson – 3P’s of Success

For more on this podcast and lots of pictures and videos of the garden, head over the [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com) and see more!

Recently, I went to Tomah, Wisconsin, and spent a few days in the area.  I had the opportunity to explore a number of towns in Monroe County.  I had such a great trip to that part of Wisconsin that just recharged my batteries and took me back to my roots.  Driving home, I had time to reflect about the trip, our house in Minneapolis and the future.

For pictures and thougths about my trip to Tomah, please go to the article at Small Scale Life!

• What is a vertical garden?
• Benefits and challenges of a vertical garden planters
• Materials needed to build a vertical garden planters
• Step-by-step guide for building vertical garden planters

What is a Vertical Garden?

Vertical gardens are growing techniques that take advantage of unused vertical space to grow vegetables, herbs or flowers. There are several types of vertical gardening techniques that can be used effectively in any garden:

• Trellises - Making use of trellises for certain plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, sugar snap peas, grapes, squashes and gourds, etc.
• Hanging Planters – Using elevated planters that put plants in the air and specifically grow in used vertical space.

I have used both techniques effectively over the years. I am a huge fan of trellis gardening, and I use trellises exclusively for a number of plants in my garden. I will have another article that discusses my trellis and technique.

Hanging planters are another way to let plants grow in the air and maximize unused space. I discussed vertical gardens before in the following articles and podcasts here on [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com):

Vertical Garden 101: Introduction to Vertical Gardening
Vertical Garden 102: How to Build a Vertical Garden
Vertical Gardening with the Plant Charmer Part 1
Vertical Gardening with the Plant Charmer Part 2_

There has been a lot of change since those articles and podcasts! The Plant Charmer has expanded his farming operation using vertical gardening techniques exclusively, and I have relocated from St. Louis Park to the current homestead in Minneapolis.

For more about How to Build Vertical Garden Planters on Fences including a step-by-step guide and material list for building a vertical garden, check out Small Scale Life!

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 and Vertical Garden 102: 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.

For more information about this episode, please read more on [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com).

Check out more and get more detail on [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com)e!

For those of you don’t know who these gentlemen are, Scott Hebert owns and operates Flavourful Farm in Chilliwack, British Columbia.  Michael Bell owns and operates Half Acre Farm in Dallas, Texas. Both have uniquely different operations, but they are facing some of the same issues.  Both have been great guests on Small Scale Life, and I am thrilled to have them back on the show.

If you are currently an urban farmer or are considering starting a small business, you might want to grab a drink, a pad of paper and a writing utensil.  There is a lot of good information and advice in this podcast.  Michael and Scott have tried a lot of things and found out what does and does not work on their farms and in their markets.

As part of the discussion, Michael Bell, Scott Hebert and I provided some thoughts about a new type of urban farming and marketing recently discussed on Larry Hall's YouTube Channel.  Each of us had some comments (pros and cons) about this kind of small business, and there are some logistical and price point questions that will need to be explored.  As Michael Bell puts it, "It hasn't been done like this before, so why not give it a try?"

You can view the video and get all the show notes on [Small Scale Life](smallscalelife.com)

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 – 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.

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!