Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Today we talk about five uses for an abundance of cucumbers. Everyone else around me who got their gardens started on time are drowning in cucumbers! I even got a text from a long time friend asking me how to make pickles this week. And SHE doesn't do canning ---- yet. So if I am drowning in cucumbers without even having mine even begin to develop yet, then other people who were more responsible a...

I have a special one for you today. Remember the lady who bought the acreage in the Ozarks with multiple dilapidated cabins and a cave with a restaurant built into it? That's right, I had a chance to catch up with Dori a few weeks ago and find out how her winter went, where she has made progress and what her past 9 months or so have been like. Yes, today you get to hear about her walk toward indep...

I had an inspiration, a breakthrough. It was really just a simple thought, but that doesn't sound as cool as a breakthrough. And it came to me at the oddest time. It came at a time when all was quiet, I wasn't thinking about grey water, or canning, or growing Holler Roast Coffee, or the paper or anything else. It came to me in a moment of silence, when I was kicking back observing the world around...

Today we will talk to Vin Armani about declaring independence. What struck me about his talk at Liberty Forum was that it was not a tired lecture on the the historical relevance of our Declaration of Independence here, it was an evaluation of what sparks people to choose to be free, and what character elements one needs to have to do it. We also have a crypto tip from our friend Kurt. Show Resourc...

Today we talk about animals on the homestead, and more particularly training animals on the homestead. This is not the all-successful animal trainer's view of getting your animals in line telling you how to achieve impossible results with just one week of practice when they have spent a lifetime learning. This will be a discussion of the benefits of training your livestock and some ideas on how to...

Today, we walk through all the endeavors here at the Holler Homestead and assess if we are in track, where to focus and how to move forward. Assessing your progress along the year is important to developing the lifestyle you want, building independence and stability and staying focused. What Mother Nature is providing Poke Weed Elderflower Fritters Watercress is done until it cools down Seeing unr...

Today, I want to circle back on community, self-reliance, and side hustles. You see, we had a great Spring Workshop here in late April, and some pretty cool relationships came from that. And not just the - oh hey I met you at a workshop kind, but some real relationships. My next door neighbor has worked two days at another participant's farm, there is another gathering coming up this weekend that...

Today, we explore why adding creative pursuits into your life helps you succeed in other areas, even if you are not the best in show in whatever creative thing you choose to learn. You may be wondering what this has to do with designing a successful and happy life, homesteading, freedom, or side hustles. Here's the thing. It's hard to justify it in a pithy soundbite. But creative pursuits result i...

Today, I want to share with you a beginner's perspective on Aquaponics. At the LFTN Spring Workshop, two awesome guys installed an Aquaponics system here, so I got to witness first hand how to install something right the first time, AND we have been using it for a week now. One of the things that has kept me from doing aquaponics here has been how hard it sounds to set something up, so having this...

Today, we review the good, the bad, the ugly from the Living Free in Tennessee Spring Workshop with The Tactical Redneck, one of our participants. All in all, things went well, folks got to learn from each other about homesteading things, a surprise session on how to capture bee swarms happened, and we even got to be intimately involved with a real aquaponics installation. It was a good time, and...

Today we talk through 7 steps to take to deescalate tense situations, talk about bees and bee swarms, and share stores of what has gone on at the Holler Homestead over the past week or so. This spring has run away and we had snowflakes this morning, as well as some fun goaty antics.

Today we talk about 10 tips for coordinating a workshop on your own property. Want to know why? Well, selfishly, this is in part because ALL I am thinking about right now is workshop details. And also because I know lots of you are on your own side hustle or entrepreneurial adventure. It is so cool when you send me emails about what you are up to. And you guys have neat skills that not everyone ha...

It's been awhile since we explored a freedom topic, and as most of you know, the ability to live life as freely as possible is one reason that Mark and I have chosen to go on this homesteading journey. So today, I thought that it might be fun to examine something about freedom that most people don't talk much about: building the ability to know what is none of your business. You've all heard the t...

A friend asked me, while looking at a carcass to cut up on his butchering table, how I would butcher a lamb if I had one here for Mark and me. So today, we will talk about how to process your spring lamb - or goat - for two.  What mother nature is providing Watercress season is here Wild mustard flowers - as usual in time for Easter Dead nettle and chickweed Dandelion greens and flowers Tales from...

Today, we are going to talk about some fun projects we did over the last week here at the Holler Homestead. There were some changes that needed to be done because of the pig, some fun wild plants popping up, goat hijinks and more. And yes, as usual, nothing went as planned but a bunch of stuff got done. This really makes me think the most important skill you can develop if you plan to integrate ho...

How are you doing moving toward your goals? These past few weeks have had me thinking pretty hard about how simple it is to set a set of priorities in your life and family, then use them as a filter through which to make choices. It is so simple, in fact, that it is hard. Then I got to reading a book I was helping someone right and one of their chapter titles was "Organized people who are wrong be...

We are going to talk about life and more importantly life today, not yesterday, and not tomorrow. You hear people say all the time to live in the now but that seems kind of weird, right? I mean, if I just do what I want every day to be in the now, then when tomorrow comes, I will have used up all my cash and will end up out on the street. Well, maybe living in the now but being aware of the future...

Today  we have a great interview with Chef Brett Corrieri, the instructor from Cider Hollow Farm's pork processing class. Brett walks us through the process to dry cure a ham, and describes why you would want to eat it a little too well. Also today, we have a roundup of sweet potato recipes from you, the listener.  Goat Video Sweet Potato Recipes Oven baked sweet potato fries (or cubes) Peel and c...

Today, we've got a good one with an exploration of how well goats work for weed control, as well as some tactics we have learned about over the past "almost year" of having these playful little devils -- and they are devils -- on our land. What mother nature is providing Shagbark Hickory Update Deadnettle is starting to spring up Bees legs are full of pollen Watercress may be big enough this week...

Today, we are going to talk about something that several of you have brought up recently: How to navigate a big move. I have moved across the country several times, as well as overseas for a year and learned a thing or two along the way. As it turns out, some of you see your path toward standing on your own in another place from where you are. Places with lower property taxes, or no income tax, or...

Today, I am going to talk with you about opportunity and simplification. Simplification is the top of people's minds for so many right now as they declutter their closets, re-examine their priorities and see opportunities come to fruition. And opportunity is the name of the game. Here at the Holler Homestead, we have been on 18 months of growing side hustles as I transitioned to a different way of...

Today, I am going to talk with you about how to cure ham. This topic is robust enough that we could do several shows on it in fact. I even reached out to my buddy, Chef Brett, to get his take on the dry curing method alongside my brining approach to this conundrum. He and I will have a curing interview later this week.

Today, I've got a whole bunch of stull lined up for you, some of which I meant to tell you last week, but ran out of time. We are going to go through some lessons learned on budgeting for the homestead - Ive collected them from various sources, most of whom are not natural budgeters and we will talk about something I learned this week: How to square a pole barn with a measuring tape, stakes and st...

Today I am joined by Brian Norton of Food Forest Farms as he talks about his trials and tribulations along the road toward starting a micro roasting business, breaking out of corporate America, and more! References: Food Forest Farms Brian's Kickstarter

Today, we talk about what we did to deal with the unusually  long cold spell in Tennessee this year. This includes strategies for dealing with cold when your housing isn't built for it. We also announce the Spring workshop registration process and go over the membership portal.