Eggs! Let's talk about egg prices. A lot of people are upset that eggs cost $5 a dozen. I think people should be more upset that we're raising chickens in a way that allows eggs to usually cost $2 or less. Cheap food is only cheap because
One Tomato? I have some exciting details on the challenge. I have put a lot of thought into how to structure the challenge to make it beneficial to you. Tonight, I think I can make a strong case for engaging with the now-named One Tomato Challenge. Before we dive in, a word
Who is holding your lever? Yesterday I proposed a 28 day challenge for the month of February and promised details today. I spent all day working on this idea (and setting up the 1,000,000 trees organization). I know that I have suggested a lot of projects over the past two months. I know
Let's Make Magic Happen Yes, there were times - I'm sure you knew - when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. Today I'd like to convince you to participate in an adventure
Ordering Trees Greetings everyone! I'm sharing an email that I sent to a silvopasture design group we're a part of in Western PA about ordering trees. The orders are going in tomorrow, so please let me know if you are interested in any of these trees. Planting trees
Is a million trees too big? Tim Ferriss has a philosophy that setting big goals counterintuitively makes it more likely that you succeed in getting something done. One reason for this is energy. If you aim low, mustering up the energy to do something is harder because you aren't excited. If you aim somewhere
Screen Time A recurring theme that I've been writing about is taking back control of your attention from screens. One of the reasons that I write about this a lot is the fact that this is an issue that I struggle with. I love learning. I love stories. It is
Simple. Simplicity is the art of making more from less. Feeling good with less... Eliminating all the unnecessary... Creating more value with less inputs... Not wasting... Consuming less and experiencing more... I value simplicity. Simplicity makes me happy. My actions don't always reflect this. I often try to make
The Alignment Problem I have a confession that won't be surprising to anyone who has been around me in person. I've been getting distracted by AI lately. I can't tell if thinking about AI is Resistance or critically important. Right now, I'm thinking it'
Even though we disagree, please don't make me wrong. Hello there! Let's take a short break from tree talk. I have been getting a lot of great feedback about the idea of planting a million trees. I'm excited by how many people want to participate. Right now, I'd like to take a step
Tree Talk, Vol. 3: Let's Plant Some Trees We covered some important ideas over the past couple days. One is that we need to shift our worldview to accept our role of stewards of the natural world and co-creators in something far bigger than we are. Another is that our food systems are an important place to direct
Tree Talk, Vol. 2: Beating the Drum I believe that trees are important. I believe that humans have an impact on the world around us and that the world around us has an impact on us. We are interconnected. We are a part of a greater whole. If you find yourself emotionally charged on this issue one
Tree Talk, Vol. 1 I think it is time for tree talk. As we dive into this subject, there is something to keep in mind. I am biased. I have to be up front that I have loved forests since I was little. I loved trees and animals and the woods long before I
You Get What You Pay For I'd like to tell you a story about how a friend and farmer I know got ripped off. I'd like to tell you this story because you are also getting ripped off. I met this friend because I was looking for a source of beef that
Always, perpetually, forever figuring it out... I hear you loud and clear. I need to explain what we are doing here. These posts have been jumping around from farming to rewilding to decluttering a home. I've been getting good feedback on all of it, but a question does naturally come up... How does it
Leveraging Spare Capacity Last week, I discussed how we are applying a combination of the Getting Things Done and Kon Mari methods in order to organize both our mental and physical spaces. Both of these systems encourage you to start with full collection and to ignore the urge to process as you go.
Defend Those That Are Absent I was planning on writing about some experiments that we'll be running on the farm this year. Instead, I'm dwelling on a phrase that I read in 7 Habits inside an example of someone's personal mission statement. Defend those that are absent. I first
It's not my fault. Here's something I would like to work on. I would like to stop justifying bad behaviour. When you rationalize or justify bad behavior, you empower that bad behaviour in the future. You give yourself a pass to continue acting that way. I mean bad behaviour loosely here. Bad
Robbing Our Kids Blind Today we made time to review a concept called "The 8 Forms of Capital". This is a concept that comes up regularly within the permaculture and holistic management communities, but I haven't seen it much outside of these contexts. I learned about it through a course
Digging for treasure. On Monday afternoon, I was in a bit of a rush. I was behind on some important chores - especially moving the pigs - and there was a family dinner starting at 4. I barged outside with the mindset that I was going to stay focused and just get everything
Life is good. I want to talk to you about something that I think is more important than anything else we've discussed so far. Everything else pales in comparison to this subject. This is not hyperbole. I want to talk about something important and difficult to talk about. I'm
Getting Things Done "Time is that quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working." Things are going very well on the farm. We are approaching a state that I've only caught glimpses of in the past. We&
Keep the Bull$h!t in the field! Quick update: This project is evolving quickly. Mark has introduced me to a new tool called Obsidian that is helping me organize my thoughts better. I'm also excited about better ways to publish and distribute content than what I'm currently doing. All the pieces are coming
Begin With the End in Mind Have you heard me talk about Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book yet? If you haven't, you haven't known me long. I read a lot of books, and I put this book in an elite tier. I have also met many
The log in your eye... If you are going to spend your time thinking about something, you ought to go deep. I think you ought to invest the time to understand an issue and the people involved. I think understanding other people and their ideas takes time. More time than most people invest before jumping