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Today I’m fired up from the Spring Workshop and a pretty fantastic concert we had yesterday with my choir in Cookeville, tn. We will share the stories, the people, the late-night brainstorms, the amazing food, and yes… the sea sponges. If you’ve never been to one, this episode will be a fun listen and if you have – I hope you enjoy the journey through LFTN25.
Featured Event: Wild Foraging Walk with Strong Roots Resources – May 10, strongrootsresources.com
Sponsor 1: EMP Shield – Protect your home, car, and gear from lightning strikes and power surges. empshield.com — Use coupon code LFTN for a $50 discount.
Sponsor 2: Discount Mylar Bags – Long-term food storage doesn’t have to break the bank. Quality mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and more. discountmylarbags.com
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
– The prepper pantry is finally usable and mostly organized—still clearing out the last of the Spring Workshop aftermath
– Pulling road food from the freezers: steaks travel well, plus premade chili, soup, scotch eggs, and dried salami
– May is audit month for leftover canned goods
– Planting a much smaller garden this year since we moved it—but still planting
– Also, I GOT BROCCOLI.
Weekly Shopping Report
I made a trip on Tuesday to Food City for a couple of bags of flour and a 22 lb. bag of Meow Mix (that our cats ask for by name); and Walgreens for the goop I put in my eye at night (“Stye”) so it doesn’t dry out. Only the first Tuesday in the month is Walgreens’ “senior day,” when Grumpy Old Men (and women) get a discount.
For our usual trip, the weather gave us a clear stretch amidst the bands of heavy rain on Thursday. Most people must have decided to wait, as there was little traffic.
Dollar Tree was first. They’re finally out of the big non-carbonated Monsters I was getting, but there were plenty of other choices. Stock levels throughout the store looked good. Sonia has been able to find some craft items in there lately.
We also went to Hobby Lobby for some acrylic paint. We didn’t walk around the whole store looking at other stock, but I didn’t see empty sections or anything else odd. Things may change with the tariffs on Dragon Country, but not yet. They were “normal-busy” with a short wait to check out.
The online price of a 2x4x8 stud at Home Depot is still $3.85.
Aldi was last. We found everything we wanted. Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): $1.39; eggs: $4.97; whole milk: $2.92; heavy cream: $5.29; OJ: $4.09; butter: $3.49 (-); bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.39; sugar: $2.99; flour: $2.35; and 80% ground beef: $4.59.
Untainted regular gasoline at Weigels is still $3.59/gallon.
Operation Independence
I had a great conversation with John Pugliano this week that’s helping bring clarity to the next big project here at the Holler. I’m still sorting out the details, but it’s one of those moments where a few things click into place, and you realize what really needs to happen next. Hint: It starts with some RV spots.
Main Topic: Behind the Scenes at the LFTN Spring Workshop
Today I want to pull back the curtain on what really makes the Spring Workshop special—not the agenda, not the official sessions, but the stuff that makes it unforgettable.
Glenn’s Rum – He always shows up with something we’ve never tried. This year? It was memorable. Let’s just leave it at that.
Carnivore Scotch Duck Eggs – Y’all, the food. This isn’t your standard workshop fare. It’s duck eggs. It’s bacon. It’s food that fuels you for real work.
Alan Booker measuring brix – Alan showed me how to measure brix in my plants, gave me a compliment, then called my leaves “aphid food.” And you know what? He was right.
Patrick Roehrman’s precision strike – My one-of-a-kind MT Knives kitchen knife got used to slice a carpenter bee out of the air. No, really. While it was flying.
Emily Zanotti Skyles and the plantain spit war – She left fired up about wild edibles. Her kids? They took that knowledge and turned it into backyard ammo.
The greenhouse swim spa debate – We planned to function-stack a greenhouse over the swim spa… and ended up realizing Nicole just needs to bury her electrical lines already.
Ian’s moment – On his way home, Ian stopped by his family land and decided: it’s time. That’s the kind of clarity these weekends bring.
John Pugliano and Meshtastic – He helped all of us finally understand how Meshtastic works—and why it matters.
Leos’ pop-up blacksmithing – Did I mention we had a surprise forge session? Because of course we did.
Glenn’s hamburgers – Day one. Fire. Flavor. No notes.
Gavin and the birds – Gavin wandered through the holler like a nature monk with binoculars, pointing out the birds we miss every day.
Jack Spirko’s bioreactor breakthrough – Sometimes the right fencing and weed cloth are all it takes to spark a better compost design.
Community eggs – Between scotch eggs, scrambles, and three separate egg suppliers, we fed the holler crew with ease—and had leftovers.
Late-night wrestling matches – You know who you are. I won’t name names… this time.
Pocket door rescues – Multiple saves were made, but one prepper decided to handle it solo. Mad respect.
The sea sponges – If you know, you know.
And finally—YOU – The participants. Every single person showed up not just to learn, but to help each other figure out their next chapter.
So why haven’t you taken your shot? Is it the money? The time? The fear of people? Or do you just think you’re not good enough? If it is that last one, take a good hard look at that because you are. You are good enough. You deserve to build your dream. And you can do it – it may look different when you get there than you thought it would, but you can go further – but it takes hard work, strong community and it takes being a DOER.
Make it a great week,
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
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