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Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Homesteading, food, freedom and fun!
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Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce
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Now displaying: Category: Homesteading
Oct 2, 2023

Today, we talk about the definition of Homesteading and cover some principles that will help you build it into your life.

Featured Event: Midwest Preparedness Project Festival going on right now in Slough Creek West-G2 Group Camp Site, Dr b, Ozawkie, KS 66070, USA

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com

Sponsor 2: Strong Roots Resources, StrongRootsResources.com

Livestream Schedule

Tuesday Live with Jack Spirko and John Willis, 9:30am CT Tuesday.
LFTN YT: https://www.youtube.com/@lftn/streams

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Not planning to do the “in-person”  Autumn resupply until after SRF as a matter of tidiness
  • Dawn Gorham’s Tomatoes sparked an idea
  • Managed to get more dried tea
  • Zooming Out - A story from the network

    I don’t know how I missed this, but it autoplayed on the perfect day. Because of timing, I’m not the person that “has a failed rabbitry and I know who I am” because in August I hadn’t yet let myself acknowledge that I have a failed rabbitry. I didn’t know I was that person yet, so Nicole couldn’t have been talking right to me. Could she? 😬

    My mushroom gig has been On Point! But one of these pictures is not like the others.

    The reality of the gorgeous golden oysters with perfect Renaissance lighting is that I took the picture at midnight and that was the only clean spot on the counter.. correction, only clean surface in the kitchen.. further correction, only clean surface on the first floor of my house. >>>Zoom Out Wednesday

     

  • Crockpot chicken stew with backs and legs

Frugality Tip from Margot

Don't you hate it when you reach for that tube of glue and it all hardened and you can't squeeze any out, then you pop it with a pin and glue your fingers together. Yeah me too!!

 I now buy multi packs of small tubes of crazy glue (cheapest is the 4 pack at the dollar tree) or e6000 for ceramics and glass (cheapest I've seen this 4 pack is on Amazon, unless you got to JoAnn or Michaels with a coupon). The multi packs are usually the same price and you don't really cry when one of the little ones is hardened up, because you you have extra tubes.

Operation Independence

  • Got top-quality, organic hay for the sheep at $5 a bale
  • Final Hipcamper of the season

Main topic of the Show: Defining Homesteading

You know what is outrageous? People telling other people that they are not “real” homesteaders for stupid reasons. Reasons like they do not have enough land. Or their barn is not cool enough. Or they don’t raise ALL their food from their land. Or they outsource butchering. Or they use electricity and are not off grid. 

There are many reasons WHY people attack fellow homesteaders for not being PURE. 

And it bleeds. It bleeds into the psyche. 

I have heard from some of the baddest assedest homesteaders that they “feel” like they are not really homesteading. I mean, we are talking people from whom I have learned to make sourdough, or a better way to compost. People who have GIFTED me seeds they saved.

People you probably follow.

THEY are starting to doubt if they are homesteady enough.

What is behind all this, anyway? I started digging through some comments that I found online about “real” homesteading and, not surprisingly, I found a bunch of accounts with few to no followers, no content, and probably run by the same person or small group of people. 

Guys, some people are just better and the best thing you can do for your future is learn to step around bitter people. And this means NOT taking on any emotional baggage from some rando on the internet telling you how you must define “real” homesteading.

It’s hard enough to keep all these heartbeats going without worrying about wether or not what we are doing is real.

So what is REAL homesteading - some things that have tapped into the homesteader’s spirit in the last 150 ish years? 

  • The Homestead Act perspective, 1862
  • Back to the land 1
  • Hobby farming
  • The slow march corporatization of food and farming makes small, family farms rarer
  • Small scale farming and back to the land 2 and 3
  • Backyard chickens, hippies, and organic food hipsters

The question is NOT are you or are you not a “REAL homesteader, but rather how are you tapping into the homesteading spirit?

  1. Do you work for your home or does your home work for you?
    1. Gain value from your environment while living in harmony with it
  2. Heritage SkillsGardens, food livestock, etc

 

Suburban Lot

Apartment

Small acreage

Larger acreage 

>>>Seasonal<<<<

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

 

Sep 29, 2023

Being gone every single day, forward momentum, jerky roosters, preparing the homestead for being gone, and last round of harvest.

Feature Event: MWPP

Sponsor 1: HollerRoast.com - Jack’s is Back! https://hollerroast.com/product/bourbon-cooled/

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

Forage

  • Why forage
  • How to make salves

Livestock

  • Even keel
  • Baby lambs are vibrant
  • Looking at adding 2 ewes and selling or processing Cloudy
  • Duck Jail
  • Baby ducks are escape artists - Panic mode and duck gates
  • Rabbit overload

Grow

  • Things slowing for the fall
  • Basil harvest
  • Need to pot up things for inside
  • Willow propagation
  • Banana Tree Process

Harvest meals

  • Pork chops
  • Buying Keto Snacks like it is a teenage road trip/the ICU story

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Packup and the washing machine
  • Seeking help for animal processing
  • The cast iron pipe and my rental

Infrastructure

  • Nothing

Finances

  • Nothing to report

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

 

Sep 28, 2023

Today, I talk with David Hughes about how he built a successful nut tree empire! 

Sponsors John Pugliano and the Wealthsteading Podcast: https://bit.ly/3oPLTmr 

EMP Shield: Empshield.com Coupon Code LFTN 

Featured Event: https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/homestead-medical/

Show Resources

https://rockbridgetrees.com/

Main content of the show

My name is David Hughes, AKA Farmer Dave. I have been a market grower for 25 plus years and nurseryman for 14 plus years. I own and operate Rock Bridge Trees on 8 1/2 acres in Bethpage, TN, selling to customers all over the country. We specialize in Pecans, Hazelnuts, Hickories and other nut producing trees and would love to teach the small-space homesteader how to make their property self-sustaining through the power of nut trees and growing slow food.

Why grow nut trees on the homestead?

What kinds can be grown?

Where and how can they be grown?

Do I grow for myself or for a market?

How much work is involved in growing nut trees?

How do nut trees work with livestock?

Make it a great week

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Sep 22, 2023

Lamb husbandry, new life, getting ready for fall, fire ants!

Featured Event: Sunday Speaking Gig at the Spencer MAG - and a message to you!

Sponsor 1: Strong Roots Resources

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

Forage

  • Passions fruit is on the vines
  • Last rounds in the next 2 weeks on: mint, yarrow, passions flower, comfrey, stinging nettle, blackberry leaves, lemon balm
  • Marking the jerusalem artichokes 

Livestock

  • Chickens in holler roost need their wings clipped (Or processing)
  • REALLY need to process rabbits
  • New Baby Sheep: Lamb Chop (Rack and Rib)
  • Sheep Decisions/Sheep husbandry
  • Baby Ducks are free to the yard as of yesterday (Playing it by ear on when to combine)
  • Fire ants in the garden

Homestead Meals

  • Last? Round of salsa from Holler Hot peppers
  • Crockpot Lamb Ribs
  • Garden Saute - Malabar spinach

Grow

  • Closing down areas: How we do it
  • Lettuce looks good
  • Late squash harvest

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Ride share to the MAG
  • Saturday Night Holler Neighbor Dinner

Infrastructure

  • $60 to hard fence a tough area (context: reels are about 150 each w braided wire we use)

Finances

  • 5 bags of food a month for babies: $100 for September

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Sep 15, 2023

Leaves are starting to turn on the trees that turn the earliest. It is the time to pay attention to cherry leaf drop. Indeed, fall is not here, but the weather has turned a corner in Tennessee to cooler nights and mornings. AC is off more than on. Fresh air in the house makes everything fee better. Animals are friskier and garden plants are doing a last push.

Strategically, we are reducing time needed on the homestead to care for things so that one person can more easily manage it.

Featured Event: Homestead Advanced Wound Care with Chuck Peoples: https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/homestead-medical/?aff=nicolesauce

Sponsor 1: Freesteading.com: https://bit.ly/3o2BcMR

Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com: https://bit.ly/3hDFWpa

Forage

  • Missed my tree shaking
  • Goldenrod is everywhere
  • Nettles are ready for harvest
  • Mints, etc still harvestable
  • Grabbing Yarrow
  • Echinacea Seed collection to start additional patches
  • Chicken of the woods this week

Livestock

  • Baby sheep playing this morning
  • Really close to another round of babies
  • Timing rotation so that the sheep are easy to get to for SRF
  • Starting to rotate goats again when fencing is simplified
  • Deer season is nigh and there are many in the area
  • Time to process rabbits
  • Picking up a rooster or two (Need leg bands to mark them)
  • Time to put on ear tags for the new lambs

Grow

  • Lettuce is up and needs thinning - transplant to the AP system
  • May have enough peppers to do another round of salsa
  • Getting ready to prepare beds for spring planting
  • Preparing bed for garlic
  • Last brussels sprout harvest this weekend
  • Flowers did great this year

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • SRF Stage Assistance
  • Filling in when we are gone
  • The roaster repair

Infrastructure

  • Semi permanent electric fencing to make life easier (Making straight shots)
  • Building a new rabbitry - need to put pine tar on the structural wood (Making a big mess under Tajmaholler

Finances

  • Expensive chicken eggs are night - Today is the earliest day for eggs
  • Tracking system is working well
  • Andy has sheep shares 

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Sep 8, 2023

Today we talk about Managing the homestead while down one person, new infrastructure for the animals, impending birth and more!

  • Featured event: Homesteaders Meetup Sat at 4:30 here - info at LivingFreeinTennessee.com
  • Sponsor 1: StrongRootsReources.com: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ
  • Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com: https://bit.ly/3hDFWpa

Forage

  • Paw paw time

Livestock

  • Bruny is getting close - her udder is growing
  • Time to process another round of rabbits
  • Where to look when the sheep go missing
  • Almost time to integrate smallest ducks which makes management easier

Grow

  • Having trouble getting harvest in while working in Nashville on my duplex
  • Lettuce is germinated just need to keep it going through times of no rain while the plants are small
  • Fall beets look horrible
  • Peppers are slow
  • Storing basil in the kitchen
  • Ginger is up

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Meetup for our local freedom cell on Saturday at 4:30
  • Played a new game - world without Rule of Law

Infrastructure

  • New chicken waterer - Cement tray with water - then put in a 5 gallon bucket, drilled a hole in the side to fill with a hose then turn it upside down. Easier to clean all the parts
  • Installing semi permanent fence through the tree lines in the secondary property. If it works, will do more sections to make rotation easier. _Aluminum wire that will be charged when in us

Finances

  • Tracking is on point - 
  • Focus on rental and home sale

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

 

Sep 1, 2023

Winter is coming even though it is not fall. T is stressed out right now. Time to audit infrastructure, water, firewood, feed hay for the sheep and goats, wood chips and more.

Featured event October 16 Chicken Processing: https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/poultry-processing-october-16/

Sponsor 1: HollerRoast.com: https://bit.ly/3oq04OO

Sponsor 2: EMPShield.com: https://bit.ly/3MBBELx COUPON CODE LFTN

Forage

  • Shake the Paw Paw Tree
  • Watercress is back
  • Mullein Seeds
  • Oyster mushrooms
  • MInt and other herbs are still with us but the time is soon that a frost will come

Livestock

  • Pregnant Ewe
  • Male sheep are settled here - trying to eat bark of fodder trees
  • Baby Ducks going outside of the chicken tractor for the first time today 
  • Chicken Eggs should start soon
  • Max fd around and found out
  • About time to breed rabbits

Harvest Meals

  • Saute with wild mushrooms
  • Holler Stew 
  • The Pork Tenderloin thing

Grow

  • Lettuce has germinated
  • Fall beets look sad
  • Still getting beans and tomatoes off the garden but they are slowing down
  • First brussels sprouts harvest ever
  • Time to start prepping the garlic patch for the year
  • Peppers are very slow, unlike former years
  • Tomato horn works and other caterpillars have arrived (WHy and what we are doing about it)
  • Planning to just maintain the lettuce patch into the fall as things get super busy here

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Tested a prepper game: WROL
  • Traded coffee for eggs

Infrastructure

  • Getting ready to work in Nashville on drywall next week we could not find anyone to do work there so it is up to us
  • Staining tajmaholler
  • Rabbit redo starting

Finances

  • Started the new tracking system: meeting post errand run as a policy, spreadsheet, immediate reimbursements. 

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Aug 29, 2023

Today Nicole Sauce and John Willis welcome Joel Ryals to talk about building on your passion, the rumors of coming shut downs, and more.

Featured Event: SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsor 1: StrongRootsResources.com: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

Show Resources

Special Operations Equipment

Living Free in Tennessee

FortressK9.com

Main content of the show

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Aug 25, 2023

AC is my friend this week. We finally had a set of days above 100 and Autofab reminded me that this happens every year between mid August and Mid September. 

Winter is coming.

Featured Event: Girl Gun Weekend: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/girl-gun-weekend-2023/

FUNDRISER: https://www.kalebhouse.org/

One Million Downloads Reminder: 

Forage

  • Elderberries are ripe
  • There are weeds dying because it is hot 🙂
  • Pasture is much better than last year

Livestock

  • Helping animals with heat
  • Male sheep ate the bark off the fodder trees
  • Baby ducks are out of the brooder (2 weeks old)
  • Time to process more rabbits plus the stray we found

Grow

  • Deep harvested peppers andmade salsa
  • Post Mysterious Trip Harvest
  • Tomatoes not liking 100 degree days, a lesson
  • Beets germinating so struggling to keep the baby plants alive through this three day period
  • Adding lettuce seeds Saturday or sunday
  • Water automation is a god send
  • Harvesting brussels sprouts tonight

Harvest Meals

  • Holler Stew
  • Devilled Eggs

Holler Neighbors/Community

Infrastructure

  • Moving a garden gate
  • Wiring still isnt done
  • Moving the chimney in the main house, getting parts for that
  • Waiting to hear from Signature Solar about electrical issues with our cinder block wall giving us a shock.

Finances

  • Getting more feed which will serve as the foundational trip for our more in-depth financial tracking system

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Aug 21, 2023

Today, we will talk about the content creating homesteaders that are kicking butt and taking names, and what that feels like.

Featured Event: August 24 at 6pm: Spokane Washington Meetup: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/spokane-washington-meetup-2/

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

Sponsor 2: Freesteading.com: https://bit.ly/3o2BcMR

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • 1st Cheddar is aging
  • Focused un using all the bits and bobs from the freezer that have long been there
  • 7 gallons of tomatoes in the freezer ready to process
  • No canning was completed this week, instead we fed the neighbors for a Holler Neighbor Campfire Night
  • New Green Bean Recipe - Grumpy Acres Calls The Cowboy Green Beans

Weekly Shopping Report from Joe

Our main shopping trip was Sunday rather than Saturday, as on Saturday one of the trips included a gun show at the Knoxville Expo Center. There, I found a few items, including a tourniquet, some small freedom seeds, and a garden implement for planting them.

Dollar Tree was a usual stop. The cooler containing the Venom I prefer is still down, so my drink was room temperature; oh well. Stock levels in the other coolers are still mostly good, with all at least half full, and some full. There were a lot of drinks on the shelves as well.

Home Depot had at least two visits. The price of a 2x4x8 has taken a pretty big jump, back up to $3.68.

As usual we got our groceries at Aldi. They do not have any of the 70% chocolate I prefer, nor the 85% alternative. Staple prices were:

Eggs: $1.06; whole milk: $2.86; heavy cream: $4.69; butter: $3.19; bacon (1 lb. low sodium): $3.99; OJ: $3.19; sugar: $3.69; flour: $2.19.

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.899.

Frugality Tip: Send yours in

Operation Independence

  • Subpanel is moved for the Cabin Solar so that final automation can be completed
  • Heating water with the sun
  • Starting Sept 1, changing how we track homestead finances

Main topic of the Show: Failing Homesteaders From The Internet

The world of content creation has been rapidly growing in the homesteader and hobby farm sectors. You notice that?

Over the past few weeks, I noticed something interesting about fellow homesteaders on the Internet who are kicking butt. Most of the don’t realize it.

You see, there is this constant feeling that things are undone on a homestead and that is amplified when you are also working a job, or doing content creation which is like a whole other job.

That said, there are lots of homesteaders who are just plain showing the world that they are kicking ass. But when you get to know them, they are worried about the same things.

Then there are the homesteaders who are making great films but not actually doing the work. We’ve seen a few scandals in that regard of “Off Grid” folks living in the city but filing on their off grid locations.

So why am I bringing this up? It is because someone embarrassed me the other day. They said nice things about my homestead and what we are able together done here, while also making this podcast and shooting some video. All I could think of what hose cluttered my living room is right now, how behind I am on the remodel, and how crappy the quality of my videos is. I aspire to make these cool tutorials, then end up just shooting something as fast as I can and getting it out there so that SOMETHING is done. 

Then I spoke with another friend who is newer to homesteading who was feeling like he hadn’t reached his stride yet because after a year, he had only done the following things <Insert an impressive list of stuff here>. He could not see how much he HAD DONE.

I started reaching out to other content creators who I know who seem to be doing awesome things and started hearing similar perspectives. They see what other homesteaders are doing, race to take care of everything while creating content that they feel is  not good enough, constantly behind, etc.

<CHEESE STORY>

Guys, what gives? What if we are the problem? What if we are undermining ourselves with these perspectives?

* You are the story you tell yourself, so make it a good one

* Maybe people like to see real content that may to be top quality editing

* Let’s face it, You don’t make much money as a content creator - Youtube is definitely NOT paying the bills so we all have to get creative on that front

* Every time we waste a thought on feeling inadequate, we miss an opportunity to show someone how to do something they did not now how to do. Homesteading is a never-ending learning experience, you know more than you think you know

* Most homesteaders are in fact bad asses. Bas asses who will jump in to save a hurt chicken or lamb. Bad asses who will hand pick cabbage worms off their plants to avoid insecticide. Bad asses who have figured out how to look at a pile of produce from the garden and pit it together into a tasty meal. Bad asses who can make 14000 egg dished because there is always a time when you have too mane. Bad asses who have had to look at remorse and feel the guilt when an animal in your care died because of you either not knowing what to do, or accidentally creating a situation that was unsafe for the animal, or it just died and you somehow think it is your fault. 

* We are fearless.

* We are not afraid to start something we know nothing about

* We are relentless and don’t give up

* We jump into things that other folks would never do and are more resilient because of it

But most of all, we have something most of the world does not: a true connection to nature, the cycles of life, and to God - however you define God. We are living in a way that is more grounded in the world and nature than most in modern society and because of this, we feel humble.

And I think this is why, when folks say something nice about what we do, we stammer, look around guiltily, and feel like they should be talking to someone else.

But what will change if we instead do this - say Thank you! I’ve worked hard to get where I am and often feel like I have not done enough and it is really nice to hear someone say that to me.

And what if we start telling each other more proactively when we see some homesteading kickassery?

What would that feel like? How could that change our worlds?

Just food for thought as we go into this hot week in August.

Make it a Great Week

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Today, we will talk about the content creating homesteaders that are kicking butt and taking names, and what that feels like.

Featured Event: August 24 at 6pm: Spokane Washington Meetup: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/spokane-washington-meetup-2/

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

Sponsor 2: Freesteading.com: https://bit.ly/3o2BcMR

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • 1st Cheddar is aging
  • Focused un using all the bits and bobs from the freezer that have long been there
  • 7 gallons of tomatoes in the freezer ready to process
  • No canning was completed this week, instead we fed the neighbors for a Holler Neighbor Campfire Night
  • New Green Bean Recipe - Grumpy Acres Calls The Cowboy Green Beans

Weekly Shopping Report from Joe

Our main shopping trip was Sunday rather than Saturday, as on Saturday one of the trips included a gun show at the Knoxville Expo Center. There, I found a few items, including a tourniquet, some small freedom seeds, and a garden implement for planting them.

Dollar Tree was a usual stop. The cooler containing the Venom I prefer is still down, so my drink was room temperature; oh well. Stock levels in the other coolers are still mostly good, with all at least half full, and some full. There were a lot of drinks on the shelves as well.

Home Depot had at least two visits. The price of a 2x4x8 has taken a pretty big jump, back up to $3.68.

As usual we got our groceries at Aldi. They do not have any of the 70% chocolate I prefer, nor the 85% alternative. Staple prices were:

Eggs: $1.06; whole milk: $2.86; heavy cream: $4.69; butter: $3.19; bacon (1 lb. low sodium): $3.99; OJ: $3.19; sugar: $3.69; flour: $2.19.

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.899.

Frugality Tip: Send yours in

Operation Independence

  • Subpanel is moved for the Cabin Solar so that final automation can be completed
  • Heating water with the sun
  • Starting Sept 1, changing how we track homestead finances

Main topic of the Show: Failing Homesteaders From The Internet

The world of content creation has been rapidly growing in the homesteader and hobby farm sectors. You notice that?

Over the past few weeks, I noticed something interesting about fellow homesteaders on the Internet who are kicking butt. Most of the don’t realize it.

You see, there is this constant feeling that things are undone on a homestead and that is amplified when you are also working a job, or doing content creation which is like a whole other job.

That said, there are lots of homesteaders who are just plain showing the world that they are kicking ass. But when you get to know them, they are worried about the same things.

Then there are the homesteaders who are making great films but not actually doing the work. We’ve seen a few scandals in that regard of “Off Grid” folks living in the city but filing on their off grid locations.

So why am I bringing this up? It is because someone embarrassed me the other day. They said nice things about my homestead and what we are able together done here, while also making this podcast and shooting some video. All I could think of what hose cluttered my living room is right now, how behind I am on the remodel, and how crappy the quality of my videos is. I aspire to make these cool tutorials, then end up just shooting something as fast as I can and getting it out there so that SOMETHING is done. 

Then I spoke with another friend who is newer to homesteading who was feeling like he hadn’t reached his stride yet because after a year, he had only done the following things <Insert an impressive list of stuff here>. He could not see how much he HAD DONE.

I started reaching out to other content creators who I know who seem to be doing awesome things and started hearing similar perspectives. They see what other homesteaders are doing, race to take care of everything while creating content that they feel is  not good enough, constantly behind, etc.

<CHEESE STORY>

Guys, what gives? What if we are the problem? What if we are undermining ourselves with these perspectives?

* You are the story you tell yourself, so make it a good one

* Maybe people like to see real content that may to be top quality editing

* Let’s face it, You don’t make much money as a content creator - Youtube is definitely NOT paying the bills so we all have to get creative on that front

* Every time we waste a thought on feeling inadequate, we miss an opportunity to show someone how to do something they did not now how to do. Homesteading is a never-ending learning experience, you know more than you think you know

* Most homesteaders are in fact bad asses. Bas asses who will jump in to save a hurt chicken or lamb. Bad asses who will hand pick cabbage worms off their plants to avoid insecticide. Bad asses who have figured out how to look at a pile of produce from the garden and pit it together into a tasty meal. Bad asses who can make 14000 egg dished because there is always a time when you have too mane. Bad asses who have had to look at remorse and feel the guilt when an animal in your care died because of you either not knowing what to do, or accidentally creating a situation that was unsafe for the animal, or it just died and you somehow think it is your fault. 

* We are fearless.

* We are not afraid to start something we know nothing about

* We are relentless and don’t give up

* We jump into things that other folks would never do and are more resilient because of it

But most of all, we have something most of the world does not: a true connection to nature, the cycles of life, and to God - however you define God. We are living in a way that is more grounded in the world and nature than most in modern society and because of this, we feel humble.

And I think this is why, when folks say something nice about what we do, we stammer, look around guiltily, and feel like they should be talking to someone else.

But what will change if we instead do this - say Thank you! I’ve worked hard to get where I am and often feel like I have not done enough and it is really nice to hear someone say that to me.

And what if we start telling each other more proactively when we see some homesteading kickassery?

What would that feel like? How could that change our worlds?

Just food for thought as we go into this hot week in August.

Make it a Great Week

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Aug 19, 2023

Today, we return to our interview show series with a chat with the Renegade Butcher. Josh joins us from his overly hot studio, in the heat of summer, in Texas to talk about what he has been working on, AI, Nostr, Butchering meat and more.

1 Million Download Celebration Reminder: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/2023/08/14/one-million-downloads-celebration/

Featured Event: Girl Gun Weekend, Last Call!
https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/girl-gun-weekend-2023/

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

Sponsor 2: Freesteading.com: https://bit.ly/3o2BcMR

Show Resources

RenegadeButcher.com

Main content of the show

Josh grew up in the midwest with an ever-growing passion for cooking and food in general. Making his way to Texas nearly a decade ago, he added craft butchery and charcuterie as well as Texas style barbecue to his list of culinary obsessions. Eventually starting his own series of small businesses in an effort to help ease the pressure on small processors caused by the events in 2020. Not only has he been working to teach small ranchers and homesteaders how to process their own livestock in person, he runs a video/audio podcast, has built an active online community and has launched a much anticipated line of seasoning blends based on his own personal recipes. His blends have been well received by his wild game customers, and his sausage products are in demand every fall with local hunters.

Make it a great week

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Aug 18, 2023

Today we talk about the great duck reset of 2023, a new way to do green curry, community fun and more.

Featured Event: Midwest Preparedness Project: https://www.midwestpreparednessproject.com/ 

Sponsor 1: StrongRootsReources.com: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ

Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com: https://bit.ly/3hDFWpa

Weather has been awesome - nice and cool relatively speaking.

Forage

  • Elderberries are ripe

Livestock

  • New baby ducks
  • The hatches are all meat birds
  • Teenagers are integrated with old flock and the other babies are learning to
  • Need to check sheep for work pressure - flokie’s ears are hanging down
  • Sheep love box elder

Harvest meals

  • Green curry turkey - roasted the leg quarter first and it tasted good
  • Tomato, cucumber, basil mozzarella salad

Grow

  • Ts peppers are coming on
  • Swimming in tomatoes
  • Green beans, harvest 3 this week
  • Reseeding beets, top watering each day
  • Swiss chard looks sad
  • Malabar spinach and forever spinach doing very well
  • Deciding if I feel like direct seeding lettuces, etc before my secret trip next week

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Island Mt Pat is back in town, bonfire with the whole neighborhood this weekend

Infrastructure

  • Shocking gutter
  • Seconds away from all cabin wiring being complete
  • Getting ready to fix the rest of my home joist problem

Finances

  • Sending another round to the auction

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

 

Aug 11, 2023

Best baked wings recipe, funny new "found" livestock and more.

Featured Event: Midwest Preparedness Festival

Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com

Sponsor 2: Harvest Right: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1095.html  

Forage

  • Watercress is back
  • Pawpaws are about three weeks out
  • Creek mint
  • Yard mint
  • Echinacea seed

Livestock

  • Found Pet Rabbit
  • Strays I have found: cats, dogs, a pig, and this rabbit
  • Moved the boys from the girls (tell the story)
  • Girls are more outgoing without the rams around
  • Feed needs through the seasons

Grow

  • Did not get the beet seeds in before I left, hope to today
  • Tomatoes are coming on fast
  • Time to harvest the brussels sprouts - no really this time
  • Fall garden transition
  • Baby ducks are ready to integrate when we are ready to integrate them
  • No egg season is here (Typical timing for ducks)
  • Need a “hard” harvest today
  • There was a peach and we did not know it

Harvest Meals

  • New Wings Recipe

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Steve oversaw the installation of fiber here because they were about 4 hours late
  • Neighbor Pat is back in town the helicopters have also returned
  • Meetup update

Infrastructure

  • Gate is in for the chicken area - thank goodness
  • Still working on perimeter fence, a lesson

Finances

  • Making salsa from our tomatoes and Rick’s tomatoes he dropped off t the meetup

Membership Plug

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

 

Aug 8, 2023

Today we talk about public policy in the US, what motivates police from an arresting and ticketing standpoint, why girls should do gun training, and more with Dana McLendon and John Willis.

Featured Event: Girl Gun Weekend: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/girl-gun-weekend-2023/

Sponsor 1: StrongRootsReources.com: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ

Sponsor 2:   EMPShield.com: https://bit.ly/3MBBELx coupon code LFTN

Show Resources

Special Operations Equipment

Living Free in Tennessee

DanaMcLendonLaw.com

 

Main content of the show

 

Make it a great week!

 

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

 

Community

Resources

  •  
Aug 7, 2023

Today we talk about real estate, AI, community gardens and more with Davian McKnight and John Willis.

Featured Event: Wednesday, August 9 - Meetup in Medford, Oregon at 6 pm. RSVP Online to let me know you will be there. We will meet at 6pm at Bricktown Brewery!

Sponsor 1: John Pugliano and the Wealthsteading Podcast

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

Show Resources

Special Operations Equipment

Living Free in Tennessee

Top Notch Community Gardens Youtube

Davian McKnight’s Tiktok: @weightsandrealestate

Main content of the show

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Aug 4, 2023

Today, we talk about surprise baby rabbits, baby ducks in training, garden abundance, food preservation, ruining cheese, and more.

Featured Event: Girl Gun Weekend, Last Chance: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/girl-gun-weekend-2023/

Forage

  • Goldenrod
  • Red Clover
  • Paw Paws in about a month
  • Comfrey
  • Mullein flower

Livestock

  • New baby rabbits
  • Not breeding until september
  • Baby ducks did all ducks go to bed successfully
  • Time to separate the ewes from males
  • Ducks are integrating
  • Sheep have a second grounding rod and the fence shock is improved

Grow

  • Tomatoes are coming on
  • Direct seeding fall garden plants (Weather looks favorable)
  • Japanese beetle attack and wood vinegar
  • Observation about which plants got targeted 
  • Last round of summer squash is up - have gotten two zucchini off of 6 plants (SVB)
  • Covered up in cucumbers
  • Peppers starting to come on
  • Trying to root willow - aquaponics works best

Harvest Meals

  • Cheese class yielded ALL THE CHEESE: Chevre, mozzarella, cream cheese, cheese dip
  • Making cheddar after my Oregon trip

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • The stray dog
  • Weekend Meetup

Infrastructure

  • The gate to Holler Roost is up
  • Another round of hard fencing is in process
  • Still wiring

Finances

  • Hip camp

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Jul 28, 2023

Today we talk about proper tire selection, the oven turning on, getting ready for fall, and the race to make salsa.

Event: Chicken Processing with Joel Salatin

Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

Email feedback to nicole@livingfreeintennessee.com

Homesteader Alliance and Freedom Cell Meetup Aug 5 at 4:30 in the Holler

Forage

  • Goldenrod
  • Red clover is needing to be picked now
  • Surprise sunflower
  • Root willow cuttings

Livestock

  • 2 dead baby ducks
  • Egg laying desert
  • Teen ducks found pond
  • Teen ducks are trained to go to bed
  • Chickens are all set
  • Ants

Grow

  • Tomatoes are coming on
  • Peppers about to be ready
  • Removed first row of beans
  • Egyptian walking onions seeds
  • Tactical cant identify basil in Nicole’s garden
  • Shade cloth needed
  • Propagating comfrey
  • Fall garden starts in 2 weeks

Homegrown Cooking

  • Ham hock roasted
  • Cucumber Recipe of the week

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Zello and emergencies
  • Hipcamp dog

Infrastructure

  • Cabin electrical
  • Fencing 3.0

Finances

  • Hipcamp income

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Jul 24, 2023

Today, I am going to talk about being ready for first aid needs on the homestead.

Event: Girl Gun Weekend: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/girl-gun-weekend-2023/

Sponsor 1: Strong Roots Resources: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ

Sponsor 2: Freesteading.com: https://bit.ly/3o2BcMR

Homestead Advanced Wound Care Class. https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/homestead-medical/

Livestream Schedule: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-PX-bHfC3AEOUPWgJ5d40g

  • Tuesday 12:30pm CT Live with Toolman Tim Cook: Build Your Empire
  • Thursday 7pm CT Live for SRF
  • Friday 8am CT Homestead Happenings

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • More Green Beans to put up
  • Sioux Vide Venison Roast
  • Drying more mint for winter teas
  • Redoing the prepper pantry since we wont be remodeling it this year
  • Kitchen Remodel Update

Weekly Shopping Report

Our trip was a little abbreviated this week. Not needing anything there, we skipped Home Depot; I figured to check the price of a 2x4x8 online, but it's not clear which product I've been viewing; it might be $3.67, but it may have dropped a lot, to $2.98. I'll have to actually go inside next time.

The first stop, as usual, was Dollar Tree. No big changes were evident. The shelves all look pretty well stocked, although there is some duplication.

Aldi was next and last. We found everything we wanted, which for some reason was a short list this week; perhaps because the garden is producing. 

Some staple prices are:

Eggs, $1.12; milk: $2.92; heavy cream: $4.69; butter: $3.19; bacon: $3.99; flour: $2.19; sugar (jumped): $3.09. 

Hearing of shortages, I expected to see the 70% chocolate I like going up, but it is still $1.99 (I don't think it has ever changed that I remember); and OJ is $3.19 (that's at least a quart, but I need to recheck to be sure; it's a large glass bottle).

Untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.899/gallon.

Frugality Tip: Nothing in this week

Operation Independence

  • Around 8 jars of green beans added for “free” this week 

Main topic of the Show: First Aid on the Homestead

Why it is important: Often the hospital is far away, things go wrong on the homestead quickly. It becomes up to you to handle things.

  • Chuck People's Class at SRF on Wound Care got me thinking
  • Clean, Covered to protect from dirt, Observe
  • The Zello Message
  • What we did: Pressure, Cleaning, Etc – but the hair
  • Sewing scissors (Have a sharp pair of scissors on hand)

Butterfly, steri strips, etc, Good quality clippers

  • Some things to audit:
    • Bandages, supplies, guaze etc
    • Bentadine vs alcohol
    • Stop Bleed, Wound Care, Signs of a concussion, etc
    • Ointments and meds
    • Organization - we moved things around and did not communicate well about it (oops)
    • COMMS

Turns out the animal first aid kit was more together for today’s incident than my generalist human one so that got used.

What to do to prepare

  • Stop the bleed class
  • Wound care class
  • Learn how to handle snake bites and bee stings gone wrong
  • Learn about dealing with illness and herbal remedies

Homesteading can look like all baby goats and garden abundance, but it is a very physical lifestyle. This means that you are exposed to getting hurt, and responsible one it does happen.

Membership Plug

MeWe reminder

Make it a great week!

Song:

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

 

Jul 21, 2023

Today we talk about the overall gardening season

 

Featured event: Foraging Walk by Kerry Brown

On Saturday August 12th, around 10 am at Solomon Park in Wartburg, TN I'll be holding a foraging walk as a guest of the Morgan County, TN Homesteaders Group. They have a group on Facebook if you search that particular title. Location: Wartburg Civic Center- Solomon Park 132 Carter Street Wartburg, TN 37887



Sponsor 1: John Pugliano of The Wealthsteading Podcast

Sponsor 2: Agoristtaxadvice.com

 

Forage

  • Wine berries

  • Watercress is coming back

  • Mint is all over the place

  • Yarrow

 

Livestock

  • Trapped!

  • Baby ducks got free

  • Compost area is built for chickens

  • Rabbits are moving to grass next week - took us a long time to get that set up because of sheep being added (talk about adding too much at once)

  • Separating the boys from the girls (why)

 

Grow

  • Overall season update

  • Last seeding of summer things and rotation into fall

  • Processing garlic

  • More on the onion harvest

  • Green beans and shade cloth

 

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Update on Jenni

  • Meat curing class

 

Infrastructure

  • Rain assists with analyzing hydrology of the land

  • Solar and power outages

 

Finances

  • $15 for 16 jars of homemade relish

 

Membership Plug

 

Make it a great week!

 

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

 

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

 

Jul 17, 2023

Today, we talk about learning new things and how that fits in with a happy and productive life. I also highlight a new side hustle that one of our community has launched, and review the results of a recent survey that came from the weekly mail.

Have you signed up for the weekly mail? Do so here.

Featured Event: Early Bird Prices are about to be a thing of the past for Self Reliance Festival

Sponsor 1: TheHomesteadConsultant.com: https://bit.ly/43aLbid

Sponsor 2: EMPShield.com: https://bit.ly/3MBBELx

Livestream Schedule

  • Tuesday Live with Davian McNight, 2:30 PM Central
  • Friday Homestead Happenings, 10:30 Central Time 

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Getting ready for the canning webinar: Bone in chicken
  • Failed to notice a rotting butternut squash “What’s that smell?”
  • Spicy Pickle relish (thoughts on condiments)
  • Return of the Dinner for One concept
  • Quick Cube Steak Recipe
  • Send me pictures of 4% vinegar if you find them at your store (And how to react to information like that)

Side Hustle Feature: BovineBits

Operation Independence

  • New Round of Items for Auction
  • Chicken Composting System is Beginning to Work
  • Holler Roast Update

Main topic of the Show: Learn New Things or Die

Evocative headline, no?

They say if you are not growing, you are failing in business - the same goes for building your life. If you are not learning something new, you are dying.

  • 75hard, one more day (LEARN new things)
  • Spinning Wheel Community Story
  • Setting it up: attempt | Learning | Attempt | Learning | ATTEMPT | jury rigged part filed | Ordered new part
    • Youtube university
    • Revisited the drop spindle
  • So now yall are going to her for the next few months all about me learning how to spin wool - and this is a good thing
  • Chicken Processing Story (LEARN new things)
  • When things become habitual they seem easy, yet for a first timer, they can be quite hard
  • Are you cruising right now? Or pushing yourself?
  • LEARN new things
  • What is that one thing you have been avoiding because you do not know how to do it? (LEARN new things)

Weekly Mail Survey Results:

  • Community Update, Events, Recipes and Tips (Avoiding the greater reset)

Social connection: Medford Oregon Meetup on August 9 - RSVP Here.

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

 

Jul 14, 2023

Today we give a midsummer update on the homestead, talk about community, and celebrate some things that have made life a little easier this year.

Featured event: Pressure Canning Class Wednesday at 5pm Central

DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

StrongRootsReources.com: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ

LAST CALL: Paul Wheaton’s Permaculture Adventure Bundle, $35

Holler Roost Plans on Etsy

Rainy year is good

Schedule based on weather: Early morning, midday break, later afternoon (Lots of breaks)

Forage

  • Paw paw update
  • Red clover, mullein, echinacea, chocolate mint
  • Creek mint
  • Lambs quarter (final round)
  • Mullain seed
  • Elderberries acting differently this year
  • Yarrow 

Livestock

  • Baby rabbits
  • Feeding dogs raw is a challenge
  • 8 baby ducks - all girls again
  • Go to bed training
  • Working with automation and the chickens
  • Sheep pregnancy assessment
  • Getting ready to move boys to my place
  • Goat is foraging

Grow

  • Tomato blight experiment
  • T has pet projects for food
  • Reset mottled shade bed for thorny berries
  • Green beans are banging
  • 1st zucchini
  • Brussels sprouts still not ready (Under seeding with squash)
  • Beets sucked this year
  • Onion update
  • Potato update
  • Chard is a perfect balance
  • Cucumber update: volunteer versus planted
  • Malabar spinach and forever spinach doing well
  • Pigs planted squash

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Holler Neighbor Dinner
  • Spinning Wheel Story

Infrastructure

  • Maintain or make forward progress when Nicole is gone, hammering hard when Nicole is here
  • Disturbing ground so that things can grow back before winter
  • Collecting supplies for a subpanel project for the solar system
  • Setting plans for a mini solar system for the main house that will run the oven and some lights
  • 4wd 4 wheeler, game changer

Finances

  • No new income at the moment

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Jul 10, 2023

Join me as we explore what seven years of podcasting has taught me about getting started, gear, monetizing and more.

Featured Event: Self Reliance Festival: https://selfreliancefestival.com/?aff=nicolesauce

Sponsor 1: The Wealthsteading Podcast: https://bit.ly/3oPLTmr

Sponsor 2: Senior Chief Electric: https://bit.ly/3MKKbuu

Livestream Schedule:

  • Tuesday, 9:30M CT, Live with Jack Spirko and John Willis
  • Thursday, 7AM CT, Self Reliance Festival Livestream
  • Friday, 10:30AM CT, Homestead Happenings

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Moved and inventoried last year’s canned goods
  • Herb Garden Pick Me Up Tea
  • 21 jars of green beans are put up for 2023/24
  • Beets did poorly this year :(
  • Got to use the All American Canner that was gifted to me last fall and LOVED IT. Will be selling the Presto Canners I have (⅔)
  • Wednesday at 5pm CT, Preserve It! Overview and  Waterbath Canning: https://nicolesauce.podia.com/waterbath-canning

Frugality Tip: Cherry Pitter

DIY Quick, inexpensive, easy way to pit cherries!

 

Operation Independence

  • “Fast” food
  • $50 Travel Spend

Main topic of the Show: Lessons from 7 Years of Podcasting

From Micah

How about podcasting?

Equipment, guest form, interview tips, how it fits in with a business, how it incorporates with other areas of life, etc.

Software, workflow

Podcast lessons:

  • The how it happens matters less than the actual happening
  • Consistency and predictability
  • Developing categories or segments helps keep focus (Also scripting vs outlines vs winging it)
  • Committing to a co host can get you in trouble
  • Streamlining the process:
    • The Guest Form (From Jack Spirko)
    • Audio Editing for Mistakes
    • Prepopulating the website and social posts, etc.
  • Community, Network, Keeping Things Growing
  • The Money: webinars, books, events, coffee, podcasting 2.0 and fountain, social capital
  • how it fits in with a business, how it incorporates with other areas of life, etc.
  • Successful Interviewing: (Research, Do not be afraid to ask, have things you can bring up ready to go if things lag. Only interview people you think are interesting, THE FORM)
  • Ok, I will talk about gear and software: Scarlett solo box, Rhode NT 1, Alesis studio mixing set, Lighting, Garage Band, Levelator, iMovie, Canva – other options!!!
  • It doesn’t matter - just start recording, create your rss feed, and register on itunes – from there you will find other places that require registration or adjustment and add them as people complain that you are not on one platform or another.

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Jul 1, 2023

Today we talk about the heat of summer, interesting new forge things I have discovered here, chicken nuggets, baby ducklings, and processing garlic.

Featured Event: Sunday at 4pm Central, A live Auction for Jenni

Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QisNMJGOETA

Come tell your Jenni Story: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/2023/06/28/share-your-jenni-story-live-this-sunday/

Sponsors:

Heat and livestock on the homestead: A brainstorm.

Forage

  • Mullein is tall with flowers
  • Yarrow
  • Wood Sorrel (Just learning about this one)
  • Last of the day lilies
  • Gooseberries
  • All the mints and herbs!

Livestock

  • Rabbit Is due
  • Eggs hatching in the next week
  • LGD vet appointment
  • Chicken compost yard is set up
  • Baby ducks first time swimming
  • Integrating two duck flocks
  • Goats are out and grazing

Grow

  • Green beans are ready
  • First tomato usually happens this week - we will see
  • Planting last round of cucumber, squash, bean seeds (shade cloth)
  • Brussels sprouts are about to be ready - hope they make it through the 100 degree days
  • Swiss chard is still going strong
  • Peas are done
  • About time to harvest onions
  • REALLY need to get the garlic out of the ground before I go to Montana
  • weeds

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Stomach flu with community
  • Chick class update (Oxy and Holler Neighbors)
  • Jenni’s fundraiser

Infrastructure

  • Nothing new this week

Finances

  • Chicken class: $480 profit (Did not cover chicken costs, which is fine)

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Jun 26, 2023

Today we talk about we talk about one of the most important things you can do to opt out of having your life lived for you, and beginning to build the life you choose yon your terms: Decide.

Livestream Schedule

  • Tuesday: 12:30PM CT Live with John Willis and Bear Independent
  • Friday: 9:00AM CT Homestead Happenings

Featured Event: Permaculture Technology Jambouree starts next week and you can still BOGO! https://wheaton-labs.com/permaculture-tech/?f=495

(Spokane Meetup July 6)

Sponsor 1: The Wealthsteading Podcast: https://bit.ly/3oPLTmr

Sponsor 2: EMPShield.com: https://bit.ly/3MBBELx

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Chickens in the freezer in parts this year (why we did this)
  • Dehydrated Oregano in volume
  • Preparing to be gone for 5 days - Meatloaf, crockpot meal, reheatable meals
  • Time to resupply paper goods
  • Been buying keto road snacks: pork rinds, meat sticks, egg wraps
  • Fried fish with pork rinds
  • Working on amounts for the salisbury steak recipe from the spring workshop

Weekly Shopping Report from Joe

We made our usual three stops this Saturday, however I have added some more useful information I hope to continue.

Dollar Tree was first. They are well-stocked, although the coolers are filled with mostly name-brand drinks, not the ones I prefer. Oh well. I think they may have hired another person, as the lone woman at the registers was able to call for assistance when her line got long.

Home Depot was next. A 2x4x8 remains at $3.35. It's rather a shame we didn't need any lumber, as the cull cart had a lot of good long pieces on it. The battery carrels up front remain mostly full, although there's very little lithium AA or AAA; I think just some 2-packs.

Aldi was last. Here, I've added some staple prices, and will try to update them:

Milk: $3.06

Eggs: $1.23 (up a little)

Heavy cream (32 oz): $4.69

All-purpose flour: $2.19

Sugar (4 lbs): $2.68

Butter (1 lb): $3.18

We found everything we wanted except pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds, which I've been having as a snack at work). I did find out that the one muzzled clerk is not waiting for bite training, but is the primary caregiver for her Mom, a cancer survivor; she would therefor likely be muzzled anyway.

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.899.

Frugality Tip

  • None this week

Operation Independence

  • Replaced the pressure tank for our water system - they go bad about every 5 years - ($350 in labor last time I did this)
  • Started feeding the chickens household scraps

Main topic of the Show: Decide

I’ve got a newsflash for you: Not deciding is deciding. Usually this doest get you where you want to be.

  • Indecision is a luxury that comes from gentle consequences
  • It is kinder to rip off the bandaid than to remove it gently - same goes for saying no
  • Being overwhelmed gets worse when you do not decide and makes a terrible excuse

What does it mean to decide

  • Prioritizing communication
  • Clarity of priority - (Story of today’s to do list)
  • Accepting responsibility for outcomes (consequences)
  • Knowing what you can’t or won’t do

Shiny object syndrome and deciding

You stand at a crossroad each day where your first decision is this: Do you want to be better, or do you want to keep your unhealthy identity? (the Alcoholic example) Will you put on your oxygen mask first then help others, or will you bury yourself in indecision to mute the pain of knowing you did not decide, and therefore things were decided for you.

  • Emotional attachment to bad identities

Living the life that others chose for you - vs living your life starts each morning (Job story) - boils down to one thing: Decide. Decide to do something. Decide you will never do something. Decide to let go of the crap. Decide you want to be crap. Decide to grow. Decide no. J

Just go out and decide - because when you decide, you change the metric by which your minutes, hours and days are measured. You bring it back to the things you can control. And you stop stagnating in apathy.

Decide

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

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Jun 23, 2023

Today we talk about the busy season of the homestead, canning update, garden abundance, weeds, chicken graduation weekend and more.

Featured event: October Chicken Processing with Joel Salatin, Oct 16

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com: https://bit.ly/43r4dkx

Sponsor 2: Freesteading.com: https://bit.ly/3o2BcMR

Forage

  • Elderflower
  • Mullein flower soon to be hee
  • Wild Raspberry
  • Gooseberry
  • Stinging nettle
  • Might have found butternut
  • Sassafrass leaves
  • Willow and comfrey cuttings 

Livestock

  • Chicken graduation weekend
  • Rabbit graduation weekend
  • New baby rabbits on the way
  • Bresse chickens have figured out how to go in an out of Holler Roost
  • Ducklings are also starting to learn the Holler Roost ramp (took 5 days)
  • Setting up compost area in the chicken yard
  • Weird sheep behavior
  • Low eggs from old duck flock - usual for July

Grow

  • Harvest fodder trees
  • Broccoli 2.0 harvest
  • First cabbages for the year and ever
  • Tomato wall update
  • Peas ending
  • Greenbeans will be ready this week
  • Planting more cucumbers
  • Pulling pepper flowers to let the plants grow
  • Lettuce is finished
  • Reconfiguring the rockwall gardens
  • Betts looking a bit sad this year - may try a special bed next week

Holler Neighbors/Community

  • Processing the communal birds: Set up tonight
  • Thank you to the community for all your support these past weeks

Infrastructure

  • Working on final fencing for the Holler Roost
  • Updating the rock wall behind my house
  • Replacing spring pump

Finances

  • THE FEED: meat birds, goats, bresse chickens are getting feed - compost will reduce this
  • Sheep do not require much and free range ducks do not require much

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

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