Small Scale Life

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

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

A chill is in the air.  The winds have blown the leaves off the trees, and the nights are getting short.  Here in Minnesota, we are getting our first snowfall today!  The garden season is over, and it is time to prepare for winter.  In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to discuss how I will winterize the garden, tools and other gardening gear for winter. Fall in Minnesota We have been having a gorgeous fall here in Minnesota.  The temperatures have been perfect, and the leaves on the trees have been fantastic.  One comment on the leaves before we jump into the main topic: the progression of fall colors seems to have been sporadic this year.  If there was a stand of trees, we would get one tree changing, and then another.  It wasn’t like other years where they all changed at once.  I would say that the peak colors in the Twin Cities happened around October 15th, and I took a lot of pictures of trees this fall.  Julie and I will be traveling down the Mississippi River this weekend, so hopefully we will find some good views and fall color downstream! First Snow in Minnesota We are getting our first snow in Minnesota - 10/27/17 As I mentioned at the start of the podcast, the local news media has been sounding the alarms all week that we would be getting our first snowfall today (Friday).  While the local weather forecasters are usually wrong about the size of these events, they were right: it started snowing last night and it is snowing as I speak.  The 2017 garden season is over.  It is time to get ready for the inevitable: winter is here! This podcast and corresponding post are essential a To Do Checklist for me (and perhaps for you as well) before we get an accumulation of white stuff and the ground freezes.  Once the ground freezes, it is all over here in Minnesota.  It really does turn into permafrost, and if you have any dead plants in the ground, they will be stuck there until the spring thaw.  Trust me: it has happened to me before with my wicking beds. As I look at the current state of my garden and garden area, I realize I have a lot to do before that happens!  As of today, I have not pulled any of my plants.  I had tomatoes and peppers on the plants last night. In fact, the basil is still sprouting new leaves and there are buds on the tomatoes and peppers, even though we got our first frost on October 10, which was exactly on the National Weather Service’s average frost date for this area. So, let’s get down to what needs to be done, shall we? 7 Steps to Winterize Your Garden Harvest remaining vegetables and herbs You worked hard to grow those plants, so you should reap the rewards! Don’t let frost, snow and the deep freeze take that from you! I was looking at the forecast yesterday as the front moved in, and I saw that temperatures were going to plummet. Last night I got home and started harvesting tomatoes and peppers by flashlight.  Yeah, that isn’t too sexy, especially when I dumped the container and had tomatoes all over the ground, but it worked.  I am glad I harvested those last night!  Now, what to do with a pile of green tomatoes? Remove Plants from the Garden If any plants have signs of blight, remove plants and dispose of them. Do not throw them into your compost pile!  If you throw infected plants into your compost pile, you could be infecting your compost with blight spores.  Get rid of the plants with blight! If there are no signs of blight, throw the plants into your compost pile. Remove Trellis String and Tomato Cages Unwrap and untie trellis string from the around the plants and conduit. If any of the trellis string wrapped around plants with signs of blight, dispose of the string. You don’t want to infect next year’s plants with blight. Otherwise, coil up the strings and use twisty ties to keep them organized. That way you won’t have a Christmas Vacation-like snarl of strings in the spring.  Organization goes a long way, and it does help. Remove any tomato cages and throw them away. I am serious.  I am still not a fan of tomato cages. Prepare your Beds for the Spring If it was earlier in the fall, I would recommend planting an over-winter crop such as garlic, onions or carrots. These plants can get a start growing in the warm soil and fading fall sun and will start growing during the spring thaw.  As a gardener, there is something magical about seeing a green onion shoot or garlic shoot popping up in April after a long, hard winter.  I am not planting any over-winter crops this year due to changes I am going to make next spring. If it was earlier in the season, planting a cover crop is a great way to add nutrients to your soil. I purposely planted sugar snap peas and bush beans because we eat both vegetables and they add nitrogen to the soil.  That is why farmers have a planting cycle between corn (which takes a ton of nutrients to grow) and beans.  The beans naturally replace nutrients to the soil!   For other ideas about cover crops, check out Old World Garden Farms articles on the subject here: https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2017/09/28/no-till-garden-cover-crops/ https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2016/09/09/fall-cover-crop/ Mulch your beds. As seen in the pictures and accompanying video, we have an abundance of leaves here in Minneapolis. I use the push mower to shred the leaves, and I add a thick layer of shredded leaves and grass to the beds.  The snow and ice compress the leaf layer, and in the spring, I work the wet leaves into the soil.  The leaves break down fairly quickly, adding to the richness of the soil.  You will notice the earthworms and night crawlers love it too! Winterize and Store Hoses and Rain Barrels You will want to empty your rain barrel! Water expands by about 9% when it freezes, and that is why containers that have a lid and water in them break when frozen.  At the same time, water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon, so our full 40 gallon water barrel will weight over 330 pounds!  Yeah, you want to empty that rain barrel out before moving it. I will also need to change the downspout. I replaced the standard downspout with a short one so that rain water would be directed into the rain barrel.  Once I remove the rain barrel, I want that water to be directed away from the foundation of the house.  We don’t want a wet and moldy basement!  It is a quick and easy project: I just have to change a couple screws. Like the rain barrel, it is time to empty your hoses and drain the outside hose connection. Remember, water expands by about 9% when it freezes, so if you have water freezing in your hoses and your outside hose connection, you can run the risk of broken pipes in the middle of winter.  That could create a REAL disaster inside your house!  Take the time and disconnect your hoses and drain everything.  Spending a few minutes now can save thousands of dollars later! Clean and Sterilize Tools and Containers With blight infected some of my tomato plants, I want to clean and sterilize my tools and containers. I don’t want next year’s plants to come in contact with any blight!  I will use Lysol or a solution of 90% water to 10% bleach. It is important to dry metal tools after cleaning, so they do not corrode. Organize and Store Containers, Soil and Materials I will be organizing and storing the various bins, containers, soil, buckets and other odds and ends I have acquired as part of my gardening efforts. After the move, I stored them along the house near the garden bench, but I have to admit that the stack of materials does not look great. I also will be shoveling the walkway, and those materials are going to be in my way.  I need to move those materials into the garage and store them there.  Of course, that will kick off a garage organization and storage project as well! BONUS: Cover Chairs and Tables We will be covering our wood patio furniture (swing and Adirondack chairs with tarps). Weather (sun, rain, snow and ice) are hard on wood furniture, and we have found this helps preserve these wood pieces. Julie has talked about spray painting the chairs before the snow hits; we’ll see if that happens. BONUS: Drain and Store Lawn Equipment We will be draining all lawn equipment in the near future. It isn’t good for the lawn mower, blower or weed whip to leave old gas in them. I usually run the equipment until they run out of gas.  Using old gas and an old spark plug are typically the reasons why your lawn equipment won’t start in the spring. Can you tell we are going to be over the next few days? These are pretty quick projects, and you can get them done in a day or so. Take the time; it is worth getting organized and ready for winter.  You will find that being organized and having clean tools and containers will lead to a strong start this winter when you start seedlings and gear up for the new year!  After all, we will be starting tomato and pepper plants in February, which is right around the corner.  Do the work now, and set yourself up for success. Next Steps and Your Turn The final harvest of 2017! Thank you for tuning into this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast.  Please help the podcast and blog grow.  How do you do that?  Subscribe on iTunes, leave a rating and share this podcast with others.  Share this post and podcast; maybe they will get moving before those first snowflakes hit the ground.  You probably know someone who might need a little help getting organized and ready for the winter season.  Help them out!  The snow is starting to fly….winter is coming! If you have any comments on the show, feel free to leave them on the contact us page or as a comment under this blog post.  Reach out.  Engage.  Become part of the community in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. Thank you again for tuning in and reading this article on Small Scale Life.  Remember to grow, explore and be healthy!  This is Tom from the Small Scale Life Podcast, and we’ll see you really soon!

Welcome to Small Scale Life!  This is Season 2 Episode 25, and in this episode, I am completing my interview with Michael Bell from Dallas, Texas.  Michael is a husband, dad, teacher, small business owner, body builder, trainer, and urban farmer.  In Season 2 Episode 24, Michael and I discussed his urban farm called Half Acre Farm, but that is only one of Michael's businesses.  Michael is also a body builder and fitness trainer, and I had to get his Healthy Lifestyle Advice for those of us just starting out on our journey.  What is interesting is that Michael's advice is similar to what he heard from Kevin Michael Geary in HELP Episode 7.  That tells me that these two guys are ON to something.... For all of my homesteader, market gardener and urban farmer friends, you will want to hang through this podcast.  In fine Tomres' fashion (that isn't a spelling error, by the way...I guess I have a nickname), I swerve the discussion back to his urban farming operation and talk about lessons learned and the future of the Half Acre Farm. Thank you Michael Bell for spending the time with me and our listeners at Small Scale Life!  You are always welcome back to our show, and I am sure we will be talking with you in the near future. Topics Hammered quads this morning! Heaviest Ive gone in leg press in a few weeks, I've been doing supersets and rest pause so it was nice to get that heavy weight feeling back in the quads. This was the 5th and final set so I went to failure and got 24 reps. Now I have 6 meals to get in to complete a successful day! #gamedaypreworkout A post shared by Michael Bell (@mbell971) on May 24, 2017 at 5:27am PDT In this podcast, Michael Bell and I discussed the following: Body Building How did Michael get into Body Building?  What is your story? Training others (developing a practice and using technology) As a body builder, what do you eat? What is Michael's healthy lifestyle advice for people just starting on their journey? Urban Farming Lessons Learned in Body Building that translate to Urban Farming Future projects and ideas; expansion? In Part 1 of this interview, we discussed his experience starting and developing his urban farm.  Check it out! Links for Michael Bell Had a freaking awesome bi's and calves training session at home this morning! Hoping to train tri's for the first time in 6 week next week. A post shared by Michael Bell (@mbell971) on Mar 24, 2017 at 8:01am PDT You can find Michael Bell with the following links: Michael Bell on Instagram Dallas Half Acre Farm on Instagram Michael Bell on Facebook Small Scale Life Podcast - Urban Farming in Dallas with Michael Bell - S2E24 Small Scale Life Facebook Group Friends of Small Scale Life Photo courtesy of Aussie Flame Weeder Introducing Aussie Flame Weeders, a new friend of Small Scale Life! Aussie Flame Weeders makes stainless steel flame weeder manifolds.  They are making manifold set available this month, and they expect to start shipping them all by the start of November.  The manifold set up will contain: Custom manifold to suit 30-inch bed list text hereFive stainless steel German made burners that can removed to be cleaned, changed or replaced list text hereLPG equipment to suit a standard propane bottle list text hereFlint lighter To help promote this deal, Aussie Flame Weeders are offering all customers who purchase a custom manifold the chance to win Coolbot!  These are perfect tools for your urban farm! To be in the competition all you have to do is: Order a manifold before the October 31, 2017 Like the Aussie Flame Weeders Facebook page or share the page with fellow urban farming friends. Help by providing feedback in a short survey they will email to you if you agree to participating To find out more: Check Aussie Flame Weeder out using the following links: Aussie Flame Weeder website is www.aussieflameweeders.com Aussie Flame Weeder on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/aussieflameweeders/?ref=bookmarks A FREE short e-book about flame weeding is available at the website if you sign up to the email list! Small Scale Life Facebook Group  – This group will get you a backstage pass and access to other members of the Small Scale Life Community.  We will discuss gardening, healthy lifestyle, frugal living and having adventures along the way! This is also your chance to see what is coming up on Small Scale Life, see some content not shared on the blog, and ask questions of future guests.  Join the Small Scale Life Facebook Community today! Ways to Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher YouTube Player FM Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please subscribe to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel!  If you are a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel, please provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it is not necessary. Again, thank you for listening, subscribing and leaving your review!

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

This is Season 2, Episode 23 of the Small Scale Life Podcast, and today we are going to talk about the Fall Garden. How are things going? What is happening with the new seedlings? If you follow Small Scale Life on Instagram or Facebook, you already have a clue on what has been going on in the garden. As a gardener, I have to tell you: it isn’t always smooth sailing. In this episode, I will be talk about the new seedlings and some serious garden pests who have made a mess of the Fall Garden. In case you are new to Small Scale Life, we are dedicated to intentional living through learning, doing and growing. We are focused on: • Gardening, • Healthy living, and • Having adventures along the way. Welcome to October! We have gotten over two inches of rain here. The rain barrel is completely full, and the garden has absorbed the water. Beyond this rain, I have also been fighting pests in the garden as well (as a spoiler alert: I just picked off two dozen slugs off plants and from the garden beds). Even with these challenges, plants are still growing and producing. So, as the harvest moon rises in the east, I thought that it was time for another Fall Garden Update! In this episode, I am going to talk about going on Pest Patrol. Grab your rubber boots, your flashlights and follow me out into the garden. Fall Crops Two weeks ago (and as I discussed in Season 2 Episode 21), I took the seedlings growing in the trays and planted them into the Square Foot Garden Beds. I planted almost all of the sugar snap peas into the Western Bed. I put the seedlings in two rows across the entire length of the bed. I figured I would install a simple trellis system consisting of two 2"x4" posts, two 3/4" conduits, some fencing and zip ties. Once the sugar snap peas got a little taller and sent out more tendrils, I would install the trellis. Unfortunately, that plan has been delayed a bit due to some unwelcome visitors to the garden. More on that in a minute. Like the sugar snap peas, I took the green bush beans and planted them into the Eastern Bed. They completely filled out the open area in front of the compost tomatoes. Two weeks later, they are look pretty good; however, there is some leaf damage from some pests. Finally, I do have some reserve Fall Crops that have not been planted in the garden beds yet. I have lettuce, spinach and a few sugar snap peas growing happily in the seed trays. In addition, I pre-soaked some sugar snap pea seeds (soak them in water overnight), and I planted 3/4 of a tray this week. I figure if we have a mild Fall, I might get some new seedlings down in the beds and perhaps can get some sugar snap peas before the hard freeze. Time will tell if it works out or not. Rabbit Terminators In previous garden updates, I mentioned that there are a number of rabbits in this neighborhood. These furry terminators seem to have an insatiable hunger. So much so that they chewed through the flimsy plastic Walmart fencing that ring each of the garden beds. Seriously. They ate through the plastic fencing! Earlier in the season, I repaired the holes by using chicken wire and zip ties. These rabbits would not be denied: they chewed new holes and got into the beds. While it really wasn't a big deal to lose a couple pepper leaves, it WAS a big deal for the rabbits eating down the sugar snap peas. In a course of a week, they grazed over the peas every night, and my two healthy rows of peas turned into a few plants on the edges of the West Garden Bed. I had peas every 2"-3", and now I don't have many plants in the middle of the bed. I now have pea stubble, and I had to do something. I wanted to salvage some peas this fall, so I went ahead and pulled out the flimsy plastic fencing on Garden Bed West. I was going to beef up the stakes that support the fencing, but I needed to get the new fencing up before nightfall. I replaced the flimsy fencing with good old fashioned chicken wire, and I affixed the fence to the stakes with zip ties. The chicken wire is taller than the cheap plastic fencing, and it should provide some protection from the furry menace. Sluggish Menace The light was fading as I was working on the fencing. I slowly unrolled the fencing around the garden and attached the fencing to the wooden stakes. As the sun started to set, I began to notice creatures slowly slinking out from dark areas near the stakes. I actually bent down and looked closely, and then it hit me. I had a slug problem! Slugs will feed on leaves of plants and ripening fruit. I had noticed some damage on the basil leaves, tomatoes and a couple of the peppers, but I just kept doing my thing. Having DEALT with slugs in my gardens before, I should have known the signs and done something earlier. When I finished with the fence project, I threw the plastic fencing away and went back to the garden. I drabbed a red solo cup and began picking off the slugs one at a time. Once I had collected about 20 slugs, I drowned them (and my sorrows) in beer. The slugs did not last long. The battle is not over, however. I was out before I completed this article and pulled over 24 slugs off the garden beds (sides of the beds and soil). I also pulled them off the sugar snap peas and green beans. Disgusting balls of slime met a similar fate as their brothers and sisters a few days ago! Garden Beds The mature plants in the garden beds continue to produce fruit. The Early Treat Tomato Plants are loaded with new tomatoes, and the Cherry Tomato Plants continue to produce fruit as well. I am very pleased with the red and green bell peppers, particularly the red bell peppers. They are getting massive and there are quite a few of them. The basil has really grown since I last harvested the leaves. It is time to harvest more! The compost plants are chugging along. The tomatoes are showing buds, and we'll see if they bear fruit before the frost. I have my doubts. The melon plants are showing some buds, and one melon has started on one of the vines. Again, I have my doubts on this one maturing to anything substantial. Next Steps In the last Garden Update Podcast, I talked about building a wicking bed. Given the remaining two weeks before the first frost, I am actually going to put this project on hold until the spring. I am going to plant the seedlings I have, and I will get a container for the lettuce and spinach. There just isn't time to build the wicking bed, particularly with most of my tools in storage. Don't worry! I will build this project; we will just have to wait a bit longer. I do need to replace the fence around Garden Bed East, and I need to install a trellis for Garden Bed West. These are projects I can still complete given my limited power tools and equipment here. In addition, I have to get to the Farmer's Market to pick up supplies to make salsa and some other goodies. The season is almost over! It is time to get these last projects done! Your Turn How about you? What is left to do this season? Are you harvesting anything from your garden? Please share this podcast with others, and feel free to leave a review on iTunes. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them to me through the Contact Us form on Smallscalelife.com or leave them as comments to this episode. Thank you again for tuning into Small Scale Life. We do appreciate each and every one of you. This is Tom from Small Scale Life. Remember to learn, do and grow. See you really soon!

This is Season 2, Episode 22 of the Small Scale Life Podcast, and today we are going to check back in and provide a healthy lifestyle progress report. I will be summarizing my work and progress, celebrating the wins and adjusting the plan to address the failures. I am not striving for perfection. After all, I am trying to move from a zero to a two, and then from a two to a four….all on my way to becoming an eight out of ten! Before we begin.... In case you are new to Small Scale Life, we are dedicated to intentional living through learning, doing and growing. We are focused on: • Gardening, • Healthy living, and • Having adventures along the way. Focus Areas and the Plan In Season 2, Episode 20 of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I discussed my four point plan for getting on track with developing a healthy lifestyle. The four main points of the plan are the following: Eating Real Food for every meal with emphasis on planning and preparation Getting great sleep every night with focusing on budgeting and using time wisely Getting mentally strong by journaling and podcasting Working out regularly I thought I would circle back in this episode and give you an update on how things are going. After all, it is all fine and good to talk about these things, but it helps to document the work and progress, celebrate the wins and adjust to address the failures. Let’s get into each point and go through them one-by-one and as part of this healthy lifestyle progress report. Eating Real Food for Every Meal -> Planning and Preparation • I am going to achieve this is by planning and preparing breakfast and lunch ahead of time. • For dinner, I will need to choose the right foods and eat enough to last until morning. This is one area that I need to continue to focus on moving forward. We did a great job planning dinners, but I need to work on breakfast and lunch. I think I was taking on a lot with my goals, so I am going to dial it back a bit. I am going to focus on lunch and reboot that meal. Breakfast at times gets sketchy (meaning sometimes I don’t eat at breakfast), but I do eat lunch most days. I am really going to focus on eating real food at lunch and cutting out any snacks. I am going to reread the Rebooted Body information on eating Real Food, and I am going to focus on lunches for the next week. Once I have that under control, I will work on other meals. My action item going forward is rereading the Rebooted Body information on eating Real Food, and I focusing on eat real food at lunches for the next week. Getting Great Sleep Every Night -> Budgeting and Using Time Wisely I have been keeping track of my sleep during the Rebooted Body Walk Challenge. Looking at the data, I have been getting a little over 7.5 hours of sleep per night. It helps when you have a device monitoring your sleep and the quality of sleep. I need to continue getting over 7 hours of quality sleep each night, and I need to get to bed earlier so I can get workouts completed before work. That is the sweet spot because: • We are usually too tired after a long day at work to workout • Our lives get busy after work and nights seem to get short • Days are getting shorter and it is getting dark earlier If I can adjust my schedule, I can get the workouts done early and have the evening to complete other tasks or hang out with my family and friends without guilt or regrets. My Sleep Action Item is going to bed earlier, getting up earlier and getting an average of 7 hours of sleep per night. Getting Mentally Strong ->Journaling and Podcasting I like listening to podcasts and audio books. I find it is a great way to get a lot of good information while I travel around for my job or do other projects like walking, canning or gardening. That said, there were a couple of podcasts that I was listening to that weren’t that great for various reasons, and I have gone ahead and dropped them. They were just adding to the noise. Instead, I have been using my Audible subscription to listen to a book by Greg McKeown called “Essentialism.” It is over six hours, and I am trying to really listen closely to this one and take some notes. I would like to complete a review of this one once I am complete. Also part of getting mentally strong was journaling. In the past, I found that it helps to write something daily because it helped me focus and write what I am thinking and feeling. Over the past week, I just didn’t start writing, so I need to get going on that this week My action item for this week is that I will journal 5 times over the next week. Working Out Regularly - >Planning, Developing Stronger Whys and Choosing to do the Work Over the past 11 days, I have been participating in the Rebooted Body 14-Day Walk Challenge. There were three categories for the Walk Challenge: • 1-mile per day • 3-miles per day • 5-miles per day I have been having some knee pain, so I decided to choose the 1-mile per day category. I figured if I could get at least a mile done a day, I would be doing better than I was now. Plus, I figured I could get some momentum as the weather is getting colder (winter is coming) and the snow will keep us indoors for six months. I have tried to walk every day, and I used Map My Walk on my iPhone to track my mileage and my times. If you have been watching the Small Scale Life Instagram account or Small Scale Life Facebook page, you have seen my healthy lifestyle progress report. Stacking it all up, you can see some real progress: • Day 1 – 2.6 miles; 50 minutes, 38 seconds (9/15/17) • Day 2 – 1.3 miles; 20 minutes, 14 seconds (9/16/17) • Day 3 – 1 mile; 19 minutes, 9 seconds (9/17/17) • Day 4 – 2.6 miles; 49 minutes, 5 seconds (9/18/17) • Day 5 – 2.6 miles; 52 minutes, 18 seconds (9/19/17) • Day 6 – 3 miles; 63 minutes, 9 seconds (9/20/17) • Day 7 – Rest (9/21/17) • Day 8 – Rest (9/22/17) • Day 9 - 1 mile; 21 minutes, 22 seconds (9/23/17) • Day 10 – 2.2 miles; 41 minutes, 8 seconds (9/24/17) • Day 11 – 3 miles; 60 minutes (9/25/17) • Day 12 – 1 mile; 21 minutes, 57 seconds (9/26/17) • Day 13 - Presentations on my feet for 3 hours • Day 14 - Rail Safety Station Blitz - on my feet for 4 hours Total mileage to date: 20.3 miles Walking over 20 miles in 12 days is a pretty cool stat! In addition, I was looking at the historical workout information, and I have improved my walk times. On 9/11/17, I logged 2.6 miles in 55 minutes, 17 seconds. So, even though I have been having a lot of knee pain due to arthritis, my time per mile has decreased over the past 12 days. The Walk Challenge has been good for me to get some momentum and get moving again, even with some significant knee pain. The challenge will end on Friday. After the Walk Challenge is complete, I want to get back into the pool and start swimming laps. This will be easier on my joints while I get a great full body workout. I will also try to get some biking in as well. My action item this week is to keep moving by getting on bikes or getting in the pool and swimming laps for at least 5 days next week. Going Forward - Healthy Lifestyle Progress Report In summary, I am going to be completing the following Action Items over the next week and providing another healthy lifestyle progress report: My Eating Action Item going forward is rereading the Rebooted Body information on eating Real Food, and I focusing on eat real food at lunches for the next week. My Sleep Action Item is going to bed earlier, getting up earlier and getting an average of 7 hours of sleep per night. My Mind Action Item for this week is that I will journal 5 times over the next week. My Movement Action Item this week is to keep moving by getting on bikes or getting in the pool and swimming laps for at least 5 days next week. The bottom line is that I have made some progress on the four parts of the plan, but I am not perfect. In fact, PERFECTION is not the goal. PERFECTION is actually the enemy. When we strive to be perfect, we are setting ourselves up for frustration and failure. Kevin Michael Geary talks a lot about perfectionism at Rebooted Body, and this is a topic for a future podcast! I guess we’ll have to wait for that one. How is that for a podcast tease? The bottom line is that I want to thank Kevin Michael Geary and Zack Franke at Rebooted Body for organizing and facilitating the 14-Day Walk Challenge. Even though my knee has been pretty sore, this has been a great way to get momentum towards developing the healthy lifestyle. The key now is to keep that momentum going and actually do the work. As Kevin said so eloquently in a livestream to the Walk Challenge Facebook Group: [tweetthis]“The only thing that will change your life is execution.” – Kevin Michael Geary[/tweetthis] We can learn and read and think all we want, but it really does come down to execution. We need use that knowledge and do the work. We need to get our offense on the field and execute! I hope this podcast and healthy lifestyle progress report will inspire you to eat real food, move every day and get better sleep. I hope you will be inspired to do a little bit each day and go for the long haul. I hope you will join me on our journey for a healthier life. The road ahead is not easy (if it was easy, everyone would do it), but we need to start with a single step. Put enough of those steps together, and we will start to get some momentum. Did I think I would walk over 20 miles in two weeks? No, I did not, especially with a sore knee. Guess what? I did it, and I will keep going. Why not join me? I will do some thinking about where we go from here. Maybe we run a fitness challenge this fall to help keep everyone motivated. Maybe we run micro-challenges. I’ll have to think about it a bit and talk to folks in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. If you want to provide some input into what comes next, join the conversation there. Remember: you are stronger when you work with a team and a group, so you should join us in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. This is where we will end the healthy lifestyle progress report this week. Stay tuned to Small Scale Life for more updates on the Fall Garden, for interesting interviews and more information as we head into Fall. Please share this podcast with others, and feel free to leave a review on iTunes. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them to me through the Contact Us form on Smallscalelife.com or leave them as comments to this episode. Thank you again for tuning into Small Scale Life. We do appreciate each and every one of you. This is Tom from Small Scale Life. Remember to learn, do and grow. See you really soon!

Yaaaarrrrrr! This is Captain Tom from the Small Scale Life! Time to walk the plank, maties! It's National Talk like a Pirate Day this week at Small Scale Life, and it's time to tell ye landlubbers a tale about the garden that will feed me crew. Yes, me maties, this is what ye call...a thing! Tis true that dead men tell no tales, but tis is a good one, eh? So, take a seat on yonder stool and grab a pint of grog as I give ye a fall garden update for the week. Yes, dear friends, National Talk like a Pirate Day was this week, and in case you missed it (for some reason), you are getting a little dose of fun here on Small Scale Life. I am posting a Fall Garden Update Podcast in addition to a couple of videos showing how the garden is doing this late in the season. Keep in mind that the first day of Fall is Friday, September 22, and at this point, we are watching the forecast for the first frost. I will have more Fall Garden Updates before the end of the season since there is plenty of gardening left before the snow flies! Fall Crops A few weeks ago, I pulled out and dusted off the seedling trays that had been shoved into a lonely corner of the North Minneapolis garage. Considering I am in Zone 4B and that our first frost could be as early as October 10th, I was planting a couple weeks late. There is a good chance that I would not get much from these plants, especially if we get an early frost. Regardless, I wanted to get some fall plants growing. I purposely selected quick-growing crops that could handle colder temperatures. I focused on lettuce, spinach, sugar snap peas and green beans. Using my existing seed trays and cells, I added dirt and then planted the seeds. In all, I loaded 144 cells with ProMix Potting Soil (a winner from the Potting Soil Challenge) and seeds. As an experiment, I also planted some sugar snap peas directly into Garden Bed West. I wanted to see how the seed trays germinated vs. direct sowing. After two weeks of growing, here is how the seeds germinated: • Lettuce - One of the three cells germinated well. The other two trays had little germination and will be reseeded if needed (late crop of lettuce). I am planning to put these plants in the wicking bed. • Spinach - Excellent germination in the one cell planted. I am planning to put these plants in the wicking bed. • Green Bush Beans - Excellent germination in the four cells planted. These will be planted in Garden Bed East. • Sugar Snap Peas (Tray) - Excellent germination in the 72 cell-tray. These will be planted in Garden Bed West and the wicking bed. Trellis systems need to be installed for these plants in both garden bed systems. • Sugar Snap Peas (Direct) - Mediocre germination; about have the seeds did not germinate. These plants are in Garden Bed West, and I need to trellis them. These plants need to be planted this week! The next Fall Garden Update will show how these plants are doing and what I used for a trellis system Square Foot Garden Bed West In Garden Bed West, I planted the following plants: • Burpee Hybrid Slicer Tomatoes • Burpee Early Treat Tomatoes • Red Bell Peppers • Chives I have already harvested tomatoes from both plants, and I thought I might not get much from either plant for the rest of the season. Lo and behold, I was wrong! We have had some tremendous bee activity in this bed due to the flowering chive plants, and the bees also hit both tomato plants. I have a bunch of new tomatoes growing! That makes me really happy! At one point this season, Julie told me that she felt sad that I wouldn't get any peppers this year. I actually chuckled at her and showed her the small peppers that were growing. In addition to those initial peppers, the Red Bell Pepper plants also benefitted from the bees working on the chive plants. I have a bunch of peppers coming, and I am waiting for them to get to the right size and turn red. One has to be patient with these pepper plants, but fortunately, I am a patient man. The chive plant is done flowering, but it is loaded with seeds. I will harvest those seeds and store them for future use. No need spreading chive plants all over these small gardens! If you are looking for chive seeds, send me a message through our Contact Us page, and we'll figure something out. Square Foot Garden Bed East Garden Bed East has more of a variety of plants (by design and by accident). I have the following plants growing in this bed: • Cherry Tomatoes • Green Bell Peppers • Compost "Cucumbers" • Compost Tomato Plants • Basil Plants The tomato plants are growing well. The cherry tomato plants are loaded with tomatoes, and the one Hybrid Slicer has a good sized tomato on it. The compost tomatoes are growing, but they will run out of season before they get too tall. I am not worried: they have buds on the plants. Given the bee activity in the garden, my fingers are crossed that we'll see some new tomatoes soon! The green peppers are bearing fruit, even though they are smaller than the red pepper plants in Garden Bed West. That could be due to the soil conditions in this bed. I simply did not treat this bed like Garden Bed West before I planted in June. Regardless, I am pleased to see some peppers coming, and these plants benefitted from the bee activity as well. The compost "cucumbers" turned out to be the surprise of the garden this year. I salvaged these plants from the compost pile, and I found out recently that these "cucumbers" were actually melons! I guess Julie's dad threw some melons into the pile and they sprouted. I have two melons growing now, and I can't wait to see if more fruit develops and how big they get. Compost plants are like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get! The basil plants are doing VERY well. I harvested basil a couple weeks ago, and the new branches have sprouted where I made the cuts. Again, it is a little counter-intuitive, but if you want more basil, harvest some from your plants! The basil plants will sprout more branches and leaves. Next Steps I will be harvesting the ripe cherry tomatoes and planting the fall crops this week. It is time to get everything in the ground! There simply is not much time left before the first frost (less than a month), and if this cool weather is any indication, we'll have frost before you know it. With this many seedlings, I am going to need more space for plants. This means I need to build a planter! I have teased you long enough; I am going to build a wicking bed planter for the fall crops this weekend. More on that in the near future, but I want to use this wicking bed planter as a template for my future gardens. I am pretty excited about it, so stay tuned for the next Fall Garden Update! In addition, I need to develop a better trellis system for sugar snap peas. I have tried the single wire line system (like I used for tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and peppers), but it doesn't work quite as well for sugar snap peas. I have some ideas, and you will see how that plays out in the next Fall Garden Update. Your Turn How is your fall garden doing? I would love to hear a Fall Garden Update from you! Feel free to post a comment here or on the videos! Better yet, you can join the Small Scale Life Facebook Group and share your Fall Garden Update with us there. I would love to see how your garden and fall crops are doing! If you want to be on the Small Scale Life Podcast, send me a message on the new Contact Us form on smallscalelife.com, or send me an e-mail at realsmallscalelife@ gmail.com. Thank you for tuning in to the Small Scale Life Podcast. This is Tom signing off. Remember to learn, do and grow as you develop an intentional, sustainable Small Scale Life. Now, me hearties, bring me that horizon! Yo Ho!

This is Season 2, Episode 20 of the Small Scale Life Podcast, and today I am fresh out of the pool and dusting off the microphone to record a healthy lifestyle podcast! (EDIT: This should have been posted last night, but the hotel internet was not cooperating with me.  Oh well!  Here we go!)  It has been awhile since the last episode where I talked about my journey towards losing weight, getting fit and developing long lasting, healthy habits.  I have intentionally not talked about this for various reasons, but it is time to lift the cone of silence and reboot, refresh and get things rolling again!   Topics Discussed for Planning a Healthy Lifestyle During this episode, I discussed the following topics: Failure to Restart My Engine Potential for Success Focus Areas and The Plan Going Forward What's Next?   Links for Planning a Healthy Lifestyle During the podcast, I discussed the following links: Restarting My Engine - HELP 9 Rebooted Body with Kevin Geary - HELP 7 Rebooted Body Website 14-Day Walk Challenge on the Rebooted Body Site   Friends of Small Scale Life Small Scale Life Facebook Group  – This group will get you a backstage pass and access to other members of the Small Scale Life Community.  We will discuss gardening, healthy lifestyle, frugal living and having adventures along the way! This is also your chance to see what is coming up on Small Scale Life, see some content not shared on the blog, and ask questions of future guests.  Join the Small Scale Life Facebook Group today! Aaron Clarey's Poor Richard's Retirement: Retirement for Everyday Americans Special thanks to Austin Quinn from Vlog Vibes for the closing music on the podcast.  If you are looking for music for your video blog or podcast, check out Vlog Vibes on YouTube! Ways to Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher YouTube Player FM   Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please subscribe to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel!  If you are a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel, please provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated). You can also write a longer review, though it is not necessary. Again, thank you for listening, subscribing and leaving your review!

Many people are looking for ways to ditch the commutes, stress, grind, cube farm life and endless meetings of the corporate world.  We would rather develop intentional, self-sufficient and sustainable lives.  Even though we want to be more self-sufficient, the reality is that we need to have money to pay the bills and squirrel money away for a rainy day.  Starting your own small business is one way to escape the corporate world.  I recently had Michael Jordan from A Bee Friendly Company on Small Scale Life to discuss the various business opportunities with beekeeping.  As I learned in this conversation, beekeeping is a billion dollar business if done right! Who is Michael Jordan?  Michael is a husband, father, teacher, bee whisperer and entrepreneur, and he is a MVP of beekeeping and award-winning mead maker.  To find out more about Michael Jordan and how he got into mead and beekeeping, check out the following Small Scale Life episodes: Michael Jordan's Beekeeping Journey - Small Scale Life Season 2, Episode 16 Michael Jordan: Beekeeping Questions and Answers - Small Scale Life Season 2 Episode 18 Billion Dollar Show Topics In this episode, Michael Jordan and I discuss the following topics: Basic Beekeeping Costs and Revenue Getting Started Developing Skills Selling Packages Meads Honey Co-Ops Thinking Bigger Farmer's Markets Granola Companies Breweries Other Business Ideas Soaps Wax Meads Packages Using Resources Wisely Remember: [tweetthis]"The object is to do the job you love, but do it minimally so you can enjoy your life" - Michael Jordan[/tweetthis] Michael Jordan's Links Michael Jordan is a bee whisperer, mead-maker extraordinaire and a great teacher.  If you want to learn more about beekeeping and mead-making, check out the following links: Permaethos Class on Beekeeping A Bee Friendly Company Facebook Page The Undergound Meadery Facebook Page - Must be over 21 years old Michael Jordan's YouTube Video Small Scale Life Podcast - Michael Jordan's Beekeeping Journey - S2E16 Small Scale Life Podcast - Michael Jordan Beekeeping Questions and Answers - S2E18 The Survival Podcast Expert Panel - Fridays on The Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko The Sample Hour Podcast - A special thank you to my friend Drew Sample for connecting me with Michael Jordan!  Check out the Michael Jordan on The Sample Hour: Episode 119 - The Bee Whisperer - Michael Jordan Episode 125 - Hogtoberfest 2016 Episode 138 - Getting Started with Beekeeping - Michael Jordan Episode 151 - Spring Beekeeping - Michael Jordan Episode 152 - Spring Beekeeping Continued - Michael Jordan Special thanks to Austin Quinn from Vlog Vibes for the closing music on the podcast.  If you are looking for music for your video blog or podcast, check out Vlog Vibes on YouTube! Friends of Small Scale Life Small Scale Life Facebook Group  – This group will get you a backstage pass and access to other members of the Small Scale Life Community.  We will discuss gardening, healthy lifestyle, frugal living and having adventures along the way! This is also your chance to see what is coming up on Small Scale Life, see some content not shared on the blog, and ask questions of future guests.  Join the Small Scale Life Facebook Community today!   Ways to Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher YouTube   Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please subscribe to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel!  If you are a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel, please provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it is not necessary. Again, thank you for listening, subscribing and leaving your review!

I recently had Michael Jordan from A Bee Friendly Company on the Small Scale Life to discuss bees, beekeeping, small business and mead.  Michael was kind enough to take beekeeping questions from the Small Scale Life audience and followers. Who is Michael Jordan?  Michael is a husband, father, teacher, bee whisperer and entrepreneur, and he is a MVP of beekeeping and award-winning mead maker.  Find out more about Michael Jordan and how he got into mead and beekeeping in Small Scale Life Season 2, Episode 16. Beekeeping Questions for Michael Jordan [caption id="attachment_2092" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Bees hard at work in the yard in St. Louis Park, MN in June 2017[/caption] The following beekeeping questions were asked from the Small Scale Life audience: From Jay in Virginia: What are the basic requirements in terms of money and space for starting a small bee operation? The “small bee operation” is defined as enough to serve the purposes of your homestead. Honey, maybe some to sell, pollination to encourage growth of vegetables and flowers. EDIT: Some of this question is answered in Small Scale Life Season 2, Episode 16, but Michael talks about this question some more in this episode. From Nikki in Wisconsin: Do you recommend for new beekeepers to have a mentor for the first year? From Danielle in Minnesota: What is your preferred bear exclusion fencing system? Do you have a brand and volts recommendation?  EDIT: Michael had some REALLY interesting ideas for this! From Nikki in Wisconsin: I'm working in the school garden with elementary age kids. Can you give some resources for bee activities, worksheets or honey cooking that I can teach the kids. (I took a bee keeping class at the University of Minnesota, and I am working with a bee mentor that had about 12 hives up in northern Wisconsin. I love listening to MJ and he inspires me to be kind.)  EDIT: See the link below for A Bee Friendly Company! From John in Wisconsin: What's his advice for helping a spouse and a child overcome their fear of bees? I'd love to start, but I can't due to their fear. From Captain Lumbersquatch Greg Burns in Ohio: What is MJ's favorite method for making splits? From Dustin in Ohio: You posted a picture of red honeycomb in a recent post on Facebook. What made it red? My question: You were recently out in Arizona, and you made a video about bees needing water. Can you tell the audience about that and give us some suggestions for providing water for bees? My question: Some of the audience won’t become beekeepers, yet they are concerned about the bees and have gardens that need pollination. What are some tips for attracting bees to your yard and gardens? Michael Jordan's Links [caption id="attachment_1984" align="aligncenter" width="754"] Live a little; love a lot! Learn to make meads from the Bee Whisperer. I can't wait to share a drink with this guy at Hogtoberfest 2017[/caption] Michael Jordan is a bee whisperer, mead-maker extraordinaire and a great teacher.  If you want to learn more about beekeeping and mead-making, check out the following links: Permaethos Class on Beekeeping A Bee Friendly Company Facebook Page The Undergound Meadery Facebook Page - Must be over 21 years old Michael Jordan's YouTube Video Small Scale Life Podcast - Michael Jordan's Beekeeping Journey - S2E16 The Survival Podcast Expert Panel - Fridays on The Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko The Sample Hour Podcast - A special thank you to my friend Drew Sample for connecting me with Michael Jordan!  Check out the Michael Jordan on The Sample Hour: Episode 119 - The Bee Whisperer - Michael Jordan Episode 125 - Hogtoberfest 2016 Episode 138 - Getting Started with Beekeeping - Michael Jordan Episode 151 - Spring Beekeeping - Michael Jordan Episode 152 - Spring Beekeeping Continued - Michael Jordan Special thanks to Austin Quinn from Vlog Vibes for the closing music on the podcast.  If you are looking for music for your video blog or podcast, check out Vlog Vibes on YouTube! Friends of Small Scale Life Small Scale Life Facebook Group  – This group will get you a backstage pass and access to other members of the Small Scale Life Community.  We will discuss gardening, healthy lifestyle, frugal living and having adventures along the way! This is also your chance to see what is coming up on Small Scale Life, see some content not shared on the blog, and ask questions of future guests.  Join the Small Scale Life Facebook Community today!   Ways to Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher YouTube   Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please subscribe to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel!  If you are a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel, please provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it is not necessary. Again, thank you for listening, subscribing and leaving your review!  

Gratitude for Small Victories - S2E17 Welcome to August! Today in Season 2 Episode 17 of Small Scale Life, we are going to be talking about small victories, and I am truly grateful to have them. This is the first time since the end of June that I am posting up a new podcast. It was a CRAZY July, and we got a ton of work done. Between Danny’s birthday on the 4th and Julie’s birthday on the 24th, we packed up our house, moved out of the St. Louis Park house and moved in to the Minneapolis house. Since that chaos wasn’t enough, I then moved the podcast to a new hosting site and made big changes to the Small Scale Life Facebook Group. With all that stuff going on, it is time to take a minute, take a breath, take a look back at what happened last month and express my gratitude for the small victories that are indications that we are moving in the right direction!   Podcast Show Notes [caption id="attachment_2080" align="aligncenter" width="960"] I didn't think the badly damaged cucumber plant would make it. Now I have to come up with Plan B so they can both grow! 8/2017[/caption] In this podcast, I discuss small victories in the following places: Rebranding Small Scale Life  Garden - Peppers Adjustments to the Small Scale Life Facebook Group Changes to the Small Scale Life Podcast Going Forward   Friends of Small Scale Life Small Scale Life Facebook Group  – This group will get you a backstage pass and access to other members of the Small Scale Life Community.  We will discuss gardening, healthy lifestyle, frugal living and having adventures along the way! This is also your chance to see what is coming up on Small Scale Life, see some content not shared on the blog, and ask questions of future guests.  Join the Small Scale Life Facebook Group today and become an Insider.   Ways to Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher YouTube Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please subscribe to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel!  If you are a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel, please provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it is not necessary. Again, thank you for listening, subscribing and leaving your review.

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

LIVE FROM MINNEAPOLIS! This is the Small Scale Life Podcast, and I am your host Tom Domres. Since we are Livestreaming on YouTube, I would like to welcome all of our listeners and viewers there. Thank you for tuning in, and welcome to the show! Today, we are going to discuss one topic that hangs around like a bad skunk smell: debt. We haven’t done a show completely focused on debt before, but it folds right in with our Frugal Living focus here at Small Scale Life. A lot of us have debt, and you might be wondering how to get rid of it. Well, Julie and I have been working on our debt for a long time, and we took one big step closer to becoming debt free yesterday. It is REALLY exciting, so we are going to discuss that on Season 2, Episode 15 or the Small Scale Life Podcast! In case you are new to Small Scale Life, this is a blog and podcast dedicated to developing a sustainable life through • Gardening • Healthy Living • Frugal Living and • Having Adventures along the way! At Small Scale Life, we are always dedicated to learning, doing and growing. This podcast is brought to you by Small Scale Life Facebook Group and the Small Scale Gardening Facebook Group. We’ll hear about both of those groups later in the show. New Tech and Podcast Hosting As we start the show today, I wanted to let you all know that we are making some changes to the way the podcast is hosted and delivered to you. We are leaving the host Blubrry and going to a new host called Fireside. Why does this matter? Well, just to provide a peak behind the curtain, Blubrry and other hosting sites like Libsyn have a limit on the amount of material uploaded on their site per month. I paid a $20 fee, and I was able to upload 250 MB of shows onto their server. That’s a lot of data in a month! The trouble I was having was that hour-long shows are typically getting into the 100 MB range (using my current processing methods). That equates to two 1 hour shows and maybe a shorter show during the month on Blubrry. As we grow and improve our systems, I would like to do more interviews and other shows that might take more time. I needed a better solution. Fortunately, my coach Kevin Michael Geary was also bumping into issues with his Rebooted Body Podcast and Bite Sized Wellness Podcast. He decided to transfer everything to Fireside. He liked the service and analytics, so I decided to move over there as well! The good thing is that those first 6 episodes of the show that were orphaned on Soundcloud have been pulled over, as have the last 10 episodes. I will be pulling the rest over this week. Hopefully there will be no interruptions and this will be a smooth transition! Please let me know if you experience any problems listening to and downloading the podcast. On the Road Again This has been an incredibly busy and chaotic summer (once again)! I am hoping it slows down at some point, and Julie assures me that it will. We have been traveling over the past week again, and we had some really fun trips. I shouldn’t complain! Lake Mills, Wisconsin Julie, Ryan and I went down to Lake Mills, Wisconsin, for a graduation party, and it was great seeing the extended family down there. We reconnected with everyone, and I was able to schedule a family guy’s only event in late August. That should be a lot of fun. So, if you are part of our guy’s group, we will be camping on my land on the weekend of August 26-27. That should be a lot of fun. We stayed in a mom and pop-style resort in Lake Mills, and we had some time on Saturday to enjoy the beach and the lake. Staying at that resort really took me back to the Wa-Chee-Lah Resort my grandparent’s operated in Central Wisconsin near the Dells. There are no tvs; there is sketchy phone service. These places are great for relaxing and getting away from it all. The vintage cabins, the smells, the decoration…it brought me back to my childhood. The one drawback to the weekend came from swimming in the Lake. I got “The Itch.” I had welts on my skin that itched like crazy, and talking with my sister-in-law about her weekend in northern Wisconsin, my nieces and nephews got a case of that as well. It causes discomfort, and I will have more information on that. Winona, Minnesota Last Wednesday, Julie, Ryan and I traveled to Winona, Minnesota. He is going to attend Winona State University in August, so we had to make the journey to get him registered for school. Even with the rain, I have to say that the Winona State is a beautiful campus a few blocks west of the Mississippi River. We had a great, but very short, trip there. We are all excited that Ryan will start a new adventure there, and I know he will like the college. One of the presentations that really caught our attention was from the Financial Aid Office. They walked through all of the various pages on their website that dealt with costs and paying for school. It is stunning that a state school like Winona State University costs about $18,000 per year. That includes tuition, fees, laptop, and housing (plus a meal plan). Books, supplies and the beer money (ahem) are extra. That is A LOT of money, and if you haven’t built a war chest of cash to pay for college, you will be taking out a lot of loans. That equates to $72,000 for four years for tuition, fees, the laptop and housing. Let that sink in for a minute……$72,000. Yikes! So, my message for you other parents and students: get saving OR explore other options like the trades or like Aaron Clarey says, “Become a Reconnaissance Man” and explore the world for a year. All in all, it was a good trip, and we are excited for Ryan to begin this next phase of his life. Ok, we are going to take a little break and hear from the sponsors of today’s episode of Small Scale Life, and then we will be right back to get into becoming debt free! All right, welcome back to the Small Scale Life Podcast. As I mentioned early in the show, having a pile of debt is like a bad skunk smell: it just lingers around and makes you very uncomfortable over time. Having debt is just one of those things that people expect to have in modern America: we wake up in mortgaged homes, drive leased cars or cars with loans, drive on financed roads, put that morning Starbucks or lunch on the credit card, and go back to that mortgaged home to start it all over again. We Americans are FAR too comfortable with having debt. I figured we would have learned our lesson with the Crash of 2008. According to the New York Times, we have not. According to the linked May 17th article, “Americans have now borrowed more money than they had at the height of the credit bubble in 2008 just as the global financial system began to collapse.” In May, household debt had climbed to 12.7 TRILLION dollars, and while politicians, bankers and other might celebrate because our spending on consumer goods, education and housing have increased, this is a horrible signal that we have learned nothing from the last economic downturn. Let me correct that: we learned our lesson FOR A BIT. Household debt actually decreased for 19 quarters starting in 2008. However, by 2013, we started to pile on that debt once again. I guess everyone thought we were in the clear! Our debt consists of the following: • Mortgage – 8.6 Trillion dollars which 68% of our debt • Student Loans – 1.3 Trillion dollars • Cars – 1.1 Trillion dollars • Credit Card Debt – 797 billion dollars (529 billion – carrying a balance) We already talked a little about student loan debt, and we will be coming back to that topic in a separate podcast. It really is a big issue that needs to be addressed because so many people are overwhelmed with student loan debt. Today, we are focusing on credit card debt. Looking at another source of information about credit cards called Magnify Money, author Hannah Mounds has posted a number of interesting statistics about Credit Card Debt including: • As of December 2016, households with credit card debt owed an average of $8,448 (actually down 20 percent from the Crash of 2008) • 195 million Americans have credit cards • Average number of credit cards per consumer is 2.3 • 122 million Americans carry a credit card balance • Average credit card debt per person is $4,354 • Average credit card debt per household is $8,448 • 31% of households carry a balance all year Businesses and Credit Card Companies have invested A LOT of time and money to understand consumers and our buying patterns and habits. Dave Ramsey from Ramsey Solutions talks about this all the time. He tells us that: • A study of credit card use at McDonald’s found that people spent 47% more when using credit instead of cash. • You will spend more if you use credit cards; you don’t feel the pain of handing over those green bills you worked hard to earn. • Even by paying the bills on time, you are not beating the system due to fees and interest charged by the lenders! But most families don't pay on time. Why do we borrow money? Beekeeper extraordinaire Michael Jordan and I recently talked about the why in our recent interview. I am going to play that brief conversation for you. Wages are and have been stagnant. We are taking on too much debt to keep up appearances and buy more worthless stuff. Is it worth it? Julie and I have been there and done that! Since getting married in college, we have worked hard at surviving and keeping the lights on and food on the table. We borrowed money: • To buy our first car and our first computer • So I could complete college. • Buy our houses I also got my first credit card in college. We racked up debt throughout our marriage, and we have been working to eliminate it since the Crash of 2008 (sometimes being more successful at eliminating debt than others). I have learned that debt limits your freedom. Borrowing money eliminates your options about where you live, what you can buy, and even where you work and what your career options are. For example, we had a high mortgage for our house in Illinois. We also carried some credit card debt. When the Crash of 2008 happened, I had clients stopping projects and walking away from our company in order to keep their own employees working. Our company management was looking to reduce staff, and I had to lay off employees. There were times when I thought I was going to be laid off. At the same time, the small company that Julie was working for was struggling. No one was doing construction projects, so there were mass layoffs across the construction industry and trades. The odds for survival were not in this company’s favor. There was no way that we could pay our bills if we were laid off. The debt we had assumed was WAY too high. We had to make some tough decisions about where we were working, where we were living and how we were spending our money. We had to make changes. Let me say that again: WE HAD TO MAKE CHANGES. That is the real reason for creating this podcast today. I have some EXCELLENT and exciting news. As of yesterday, Julie made one final payment to the bank. This morning, we checked the balance to confirm it, but we have paid off our only credit card! We are one step closer to being debt free. In a couple weeks, we will be back on the air to talk about truly being debt free, and that will be a REALLY fun podcast. I will even have Julie on the air for that one. We’ll do our own Debt Free Scream for all of you! Becoming debt free is a process. Like losing weight, it can be hard and take a long time. You need to keep the end in sight. If you want to start changing your life and your family’s financial path, you need to start today. To help you, there are some good resources out there to get you on the right track. • Julie and I have been HUGE fans of Dave Ramsey. Check out his site at daveramsey.com. He has a radio show, podcast, YouTube channel and all kinds of resources for you to help you. It is REALLY worth it, but like anything, it is on you to do the work and help yourself. • If you don’t like Dave or other aspects of his program, there are other resources like Crown Financial Ministries. • If you don’t care for a Christian perspective and want something a little more…irreverent, you can always check out Aaron Clarey’s books like Bachelor Pad Economics, Worthless, Reconnaisance Man and Poor Richard’s Retirement. He discusses some of the same principles from a bachelor’s perspective. There is a ton to discuss about becoming debt free. There is no better feeling than the freedom of not having any payments. It is possible; you can do it. We will discuss this in more detail in the future, and Julie and I can help you. Stay tuned for more about becoming debt free. I will be back tomorrow with a GREAT interview with Michael Jordan, so come back for that. We talk small businesses and bees. He was AWESOME! Thank you for tuning in to this episode! We appreciate you. Get out there and try something new this week. Remember to always learn, do and grow; this is Tom from the Small Scale Life Podcast. See you soon!

The Land of 10000 Downloads – S2E14   Is the world on fire right now?  It seems like everything is coming apart at the seams.  After a busy couple weeks, I was feeling pretty down this morning.  As I opened my computer, I saw something that REALLY brightened my day, and I have to share some great news with you.  This is Season 2, Episode 14, and in this episode we are celebrating 10000 downloads of the Small Scale Life Podcast!  It is a great way to kick off the weekend, and it is a great accomplishment. Special Thanks I have to thank so many great guests I have had over the past year and a half including Greg Burns, Drew Sample, Kevin Michael Geary, Scott Herbert, Todd Ehrhardt, Charles Hugh Smith, Khaled Majouji (The Plant Charmer), Travis Swanson, Bren Haas and of course my good friend Jay Dolan.  I would also like to thank Austin Quinn at Vlog Vibes for creating some great tunes for the podcast.  These folks are all part of this story and the development and growth of the podcast. Most of all, I have to thank all of you for listening and encouraging me to keep going.  There are times when you are recording these episodes where you wonder if anyone is listening, if this is making any sense or if any of it matters.  Looking at the analytics, answering questions and interacting with you, I know it is making a difference.  As long as we are making a difference in someone’s life, we will keep going. The Next 10000 Downloads As I told someone once, I will change the world one garden and one person at a time!  We might not be able to change things in City Hall, State Capitol, DC or some far off land, but we can start right in our backyards.  Start small, keep going and keep pushing.  Reaching 10000 downloads is a great achievement for me, and I can hardly wait to get to the next 10000 downloads.  Let’s do this and continue to learn, do and grow together! Podcast Topics In this podcast, I discuss the following: On the Road Again Forestville-Mystery Cave State Park Kansas City Move Update 10000 Downloads – Past, Present and Future Special Update on a Great Future Guest Friends of Small Scale Life Join the Small Scale Life Facebook Community today! Small Scale Life Facebook Group  – This group will get you a backstage pass and access to other members of the Small Scale Life Community.  We will discuss gardening, healthy lifestyle, frugal living and having adventures along the way! This is also your chance to see what is coming up on Small Scale Life, see some content not shared on the blog, and ask questions of future guests If you like to garden, join the Small Scale Gardening Group! Small Scale Gardening Facebook Group – Share your gardening stories, questions and ideas with over 200 fellow gardeners!  Join today! Subscribe and Rate on iTunes Please consider becoming a subscriber to the Small Scale Life iTunes Channel.  Subscribers and ratings from listeners help us grow the podcast and the blog.  As you know, people look at subscribers and reviews before they listen.  Few subscribers and few reviews mean that no one cares to listen or rate the podcast.  Please click subscribe, and you will get notices when a new podcast is available. If you provide a review for the podcast, consider giving a few stars (not going to lie: I want five stars) for the Podcast.  I really appreciate you as a listener and your feedback. To leave a review, simply follow these simple steps: Click on this link or the image above. Go to ratings and reviews. Click on the number stars (five would be awesome) Subscribe to the podcast (optional, but appreciated)! You can also write a quick review or some words of encouragement (optional, but appreciated) You can also write a longer review, though it’s not necessary.  Again, thank you for listening and your review! Listen We have several options for you to listen to the Small Scale Life Podcast.  You may listen in the following locations: iTunes Stitcher Blubrry YouTube   The post The Land of 10000 Downloads – S2E14 appeared first on Small Scale Life.