In today’s post, I am trying something new here on Small Scale Life. This is the start of a weekly post titled “News from Around the Bend” that will give you information from blogs and podcasts that I find interesting. As Julie and I have said before: we don’t know everything, and we are continuing our journey to learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday. Part of that journey is learning from others who are doing good things.
At the same time, this is a opportunity for other content producers to get an all important back link and get exposed to the Small Scale Life audience. For the Small Scale Life audience, this is an opportunity expand your universe as you continue to build a life you love.
Win-Win-Win!
Why do this?
When I started blogging at Small Scale Gardening in 2014, I wanted to provide a library of gardening news, how to’s, information and ideas to followers, fans and my family. I wanted people to understand the experiments I was conducting in my backyard and on my driveway.
I grew up hating gardening and canning (there was too much weeding and other things I wanted to do). When I was ready to learn, do and grow, my mentors (grandparents and dad) had all passed away, taking that knowledge with them. I had to learn on my own, and I wanted to document those experiences and that journey so others would not have to start from scratch like I did.
My original concept was to have a gardening news post called “The Garden Trellis.” For one reason or another, I never wrote and published any of those posts on Small Scale Gardening, and I put the idea on ice while I was building Small Scale Life.
Building Community
As Julie and I have moved forward in our journey to build a life we love, we have realized how important Building Community is in our lives. At the same time, the Small Scale Life Podcast has opened the world to us and introduced us to so many talented and great people. As I worked through Operation Outreach in 2018, I connected with some great folks who are doing really cool things. I want to give them a nod and share their work, and maybe improve what we are doing here at Small Scale Life as well.
We are going to focus on Building Community in 2019, and that goes beyond this post and this connecting with people on the internet. Julie and I are starting to connect with people in “meat space,” or face-to-face. While you can make friendships online, meeting that person in the flesh brings that relationship to a whole new level.
If you are reading this post and a content creator, hit me up at realsmallscalelife [at] gmail [dot] com or on the Contact Us page at Small Scale Life. We can have a conversation and build that connection!
News from Around the Bend – 2/8/19
We have a full deck this week, just in time for the weekend! The following are this week’s News from Around the Bend:
Episode 15 – Practical Medical with Jason the Paramedic
Glen Tate and Shelby Gallagher – Prepping 2.0
My friend Mr. Tactical Jay was recently on the Prepping 2.0 Show with Glen Tate (author of 299 Days books) and Shelby Gallagher (author of The Great State books) to talk about Practical Medical to help treat people when needed. This is not just about treating people after a societal collapse, but also helping people in everyday life (i.e., an accident on the road or illness in your family). This includes trauma, immediate medical emergencies or long term medical issues.
Mr. Tactical has an affiliate with MyMedicCode, and you can get a 10% discount on legit medical supplies if you use the code “medicjay”.
Working For The Harvest
Terrance Leyhew – Intellectual Agrarian
My friend Terrance Leyhew has a high quality podcast and blog called the Intellectual Agrarian. He has interviewed some knowledgeable and fun guests like Michael Bell and your truly! I am interviewing Terrance Leyhew for the Small Scale Life Podcast tomorrow morning, and we will have a lot of fun.
Terrance released a podcast recently titled “Working for the Harvest.” The podcast is based on an article he wrote for Medium, and he discusses a trap that many (business owners, farmers and other folks) find themselves in: being “busy” but not actually accomplishing those things that get us closer to our ultimate goals and success. Here is an excellent excerpt from that podcast and post:
“On a farm it can be easy to slip into one of two holes: Product fascination, or process fascination. In the first case you become convinced that every type of seed or plant could be something people want, spending time an energy raising food the no one actually wants to eat. The second, Process Fascination, is when you obsessively spend your time looking at the different processes to raise produce and sell it, without actually raising and selling anything.
Terrance Leyhew – “Working for the Harvest”
We think that because we’re “busy” we must be working hard, too often that’s not the case. Just like getting a box of Organic goldfish as a “healthy” snack, we are spending our time on what we think will make a difference when we’re eating the wrong thing entirely.”
Check out the podcast or the post. The concepts are worth thinking about this weekend (especially for yours truly).
Building Your Own Organic Garden Oasis With Guest Jackie Beyer
Harold Thornbro – Small Town Homestead
My friend Harold Thornbro has a great podcast and site over at the Small Town Homestead. He also has a free forum for folks to exchange ideas and Build Community. I am a moderator on that forum, and now that the Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart has settled down, I will be posting and being more active on that forum going forward.
This week, Harold published an interview he had with Jackie Beyer from the Organic Gardener Podcast. Jackie lives in Montana with her husband Mike, and they have a been building an organic oasis on their homestead.
Jackie also hosts the Organic Gardener Podcast, which she started in 2015. She has interviewed over 260 gardeners, including me! I was on her show in 2016, and you can listen to those three episodes:
Episode 136 – Small Scale Life | Tom Domres | Minneapolis, MN
Episode 136 – Small Scale Life | Salsa Contest | Tom Domres | Minneapolis, MN | Part 2
Bonus podcasting chat | Small Scale Life and the Organic Gardener Podcast
Check out Small Town Homestead, the podcast and the free forum! I have had a peak into the membership site, and it definitely is worth the cost. Harold has been putting together some members only classes, podcasts and chats that have been VERY informative. I will have links added to the Resources Page here at Small Scale Life. Check it out!
Episode 7 – Treatment Free & My Dead Bees
Contrary Beekeeper Show
The boys are back in town again! Captain Lumbersquatch Greg Burns, Daniel Bokros and James Blask have another episode talking about their adventures as new beekeepers in Ohio. In this episode, the guys talk about treating their bees for pests and the hard lessons learned from NOT treating their bees. Unfortunately, not treating their bees resulted in some tragic results. To find out more, take a listen.
In case you want to get into beekeeping, Captain Lumbersquatch is bringing up bees from Don The Fat Bee Man in Georgia! To order package bees and nucs visit http://www.naturesimagefarm.com/product-category/bees/
52 Meads in a Year #5 The Stoned Pyment Melomel
Michael Jordan – A Bee Friendly Company
Bee expert and award winning mead maker Michael Jordan is making 52 Meads in a Year. What is Mead? It is essentially delicious honey wine! In this video, MJ is making Stoned Pyment Melomel.
For those of you who are scratching your head about “Stone Pyment Melomel” (as I was), I’ll quote directly from MJ:
- Melomel is made from honey and any fruit. Depending on the fruit base used, certain melomels may also be known by more specific names. A contemporary pyment is a melomel made from the fermentation of a blend of grapes and honey and can be considered either a grape mead or honeyed wine.
- Pyment made with white grapes is sometimes called “white mead”.
- “Stone Fruit Mead” is an entry category for melomels made with stone fruit, such as cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, and mangoes. Stone fruit are fleshy fruit with a single large pit or stone.
Whatever it is, I know from my own experience that MJ’s meads are fantastic, so check this one out.
Apocalypse Gardening with Tactical Redneck Episode 132
Nicole Sauce at Living Free in Tennessee Podcast
From the Homestead Holler in Tennessee, Nicole Sauce is podcasting and roasting Holler Roast Coffee! Julie and I enjoy Nicole’s podcast about homesteading, prepping and small business, and we will have Nicole on the podcast in the near future.
In this episode, Nicole interviews the Tactical Redneck about gardening in difficult conditions including poor soils. This is an important issue because we find ourselves in places that have less than ideal soil (sandy, clay or polluted). How do you make something out of difficult conditions?
Nicole published this podcast about 2 minutes after I published this article! I am listening to the podcast as I edit the article, so I might have more to add after listening.
How I got my first customer (and all the rest after that) | The Grind 368
Scott Hebert at Flavourful Farms
Early in 2018, Scott Hebert announced that he would be starting his daily vlog (video blog) on Small Scale Life. Over one year later, he has 369 episodes on his channel! That is VERY impressive, and if you haven’t watched his videos, you really should. He is very thoughtful and has a lot of useful information about farming and life.
In this episode, Scott talks about how he got his first customer selling microgreens and his strategy for increasing sales over time. By using small successes to build his credibility, he was able to show “social proof” that allowed him to go from restaurants to grocery stores. It is a sound strategy that anyone can deploy to grow their business.
Overcoming Self-Sabotage with Danny Domres
Tom Domres – Small Scale Life Podcast
Of course, I have to plug the Small Scale Life Podcast! I recently interviewed ultra-marathoner and my son Danny Domres about overcoming self sabotage and food addiction. Danny has never been on a podcast before, but he did a great job (if I do say so myself)!
We discussed self sabotage, food addiction and tips for overcoming both. This was an eye-opening post and podcast for me because I have struggled with this issue for years. Check it out!
Putting It All Together
Remember: the opposite of addiction is connection. The is the entire point of this post is connecting you to some really great people in my Small Scale Life!
I hope you enjoy these different content creators, and make sure you come back to Small Scale Life. We are going to be ramping up our 2019 Gardening Season, continue our discussions for the Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart, and start talking about Financial Freedom. I think you won’t want to miss any of that content.
Always learn, do, grow and be a little better everyday! Go get em, Lifers!