No Signal

Five years ago I stood at the starting line of Ironman Coeur d'Alene. 140.6 miles. 105 degrees. A record heat wave moving through the West. I wanted to finish sub-12 hours. I finished at 15:58. This is what happened in between and why it was still one of the best days of my life. No Signal,  Life happens when you put the phone down.

Last week we butchered one of our lambs. My two boys sat in the dirt and watched the whole thing. I'm not going to show you any of it. No blood, nothing. This isn't that kind of episode. But I am going to be honest about what the day actually was. I believe if you can't kill what you eat, you shouldn't be eating meat. I think it's wrong to hand that off to someone else and then look down on the pe...

My grandpa kept this tractor running for years with a pair of vice grips clamped to the battery terminal. It worked, until I went to fix it the right way and the whole connector broke off in my hand. This is the tractor that moves the chicken tractor and mows the fields. When it went down, the farm went with it. So I spent the afternoon working backward through it, a spliced starter wire with no n...

I came over to work on the siding. I left having torn out the whole outdoor kitchen behind my grandparents' garage. It had been rotting for years. My grandma wanted it gone. My grandpa didn't. He came out, no hearing aids in, not in a good mood, told me to do whatever I wanted, and walked off. So I started anyway. The thing was pulp underneath; you could see why it had to go. Then he came back out...

My plan was siding. My grandparents had a different plan. A neighbor down the street lost her husband. She gave my grandparents his hammock. Their number one priority that Tuesday was getting it hung up. My grandpa is 85. He didn't put it up for himself. He put it up for the great grandkids. This episode is about what happens when someone else's priorities become yours — and what that teaches you...

I grew up thinking Starbucks was good coffee. For a long time it was all I knew. Then I started roasting my own. Green beans from Sweet Maria's, a Whirlipopper on the stove, and a process that takes about 20 minutes from raw to ready. One cup a week. That's it. This episode is about what happens when you slow down around one thing. I gave up coffee for Lent this year and my anxiety dropped noticea...

We were in Hawaii for a week. Three families, my parents' generosity, real rest. While we were gone a chicken died, my grandpa got worse, and a ewe lambed that nobody expected. She was moved out of the ram pen on December 5th. If you do the timing she was bred December 3rd. The flock didn't wait for anyone's permission. I came home to a full week of work, a garden that needed attention, and a prop...

Before you can go anywhere, the animals still need feeding. This week I loaded 49 bags of feed, mowed my grandparents' lawn, moved the chickens, and made sure everything was set before three families headed to Hawaii. While I was unloading feed my grandpa told me he thinks a lot of what he's done has been pointless. I told him about the podcast. I told him about Ernie. I told him people in Japan a...

This morning I walked to my neighbor's property with my bow. Decoy out, tom fan, box call, gobble call. Just me under an oak tree waiting. The first two turkeys this season went to my boys. This one was mine. While I was sitting there I kept thinking about how I got here. Brad Gunter handed me my hunting license at 11 years old in Roseville. His son Nate officiated my wedding. My dad hunted ducks...

This week I built a chicken tractor. 50 Freedom Rangers needed a real home and something had to get built. I walk through the design, what went wrong, what Joel Salatin taught me about moving animals across the land, and why I chose to build it myself instead of buying one. The chicks are in. The predators are out. And the future plan is bigger than one tractor. This is No Signal, life happens whe...

This week I walked across the field on shearing day. My grandma and I moved the sheep into their pens before the shearer arrived, wool has to stay dry. Standing in that barn got me thinking about Ernest Peter Brodersen. My great grandfather. Lifelong Petaluma resident, maintenance mechanic, 4-H leader for 30 years. He founded the California Columbia Sheep Breeders Association and served as Preside...

This week on the farm  feeding Berkshire piglets, checking on 50 Freedom Rangers, chainsaw work with my grandparents, and a conversation about taxes that turned into something more. Life happens when you put the phone down. (00:00) - 30 Second Intro (00:30) - Main (03:00) - 30 Second Outro