Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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Reader Tim J. spotted this fascinating video, filmed in eastern Washington: Special Operations vet commutes by Flying Car from rural off-grid home. Here is a link to the ultralight maker’s website: Pivotal. JWR’s Comment: Sadly, if heavier batteries are installed to allow longer range, this shifts this novel aircraft from the unlicensed Ultralight category to one of the licensed categories.
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Lily informed me of this news: Microsoft will end Skype in May, leaving some users upset. JWR’s Comments: Count me among the “upset” crowd about Skype going dark. I’m surprised that owners of Skype didn’t find a few better ways to monetize it. I have been using Skype with the majority of my consulting clients and family members for many years. I suppose that I’ll just switch to using Zoom, even though it is less secure. But I should mention that I also have a Wire subscription. Wire is a much more secure videoconferencing system, provided by a company in Switzerland. But that security comes with a fairly hefty annual subscription cost. ($280 per year, for a four-seat license.) I use Wire with several of my High Net Worth Individual consulting clients, as well as with a few family members.
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
“It’s been incredibly hectic here. I rescued a couple of Great Pyrenees dogs thinking they would fit in with my existing pack, but they didn’t. That required building a large dog run and separate housing for them. While I had the help, I also had the chicken run fencing replaced – making it the Fort Knox of chicken fortresses to protect my remaining chickens from the coyote problem we have here.
I had to gut the garage and thoroughly clean it with bleach. My garage is where the animal feed and supplies are stored since I don’t have a separate storage building. Plus I have one refrigerator for all the milk, and three freezers for the beef, chicken, pork, frozen vegetables, cheese, etc. The barn cats had made a home in the garage during our repeated arctic blasts and they left their mark on everything. The barns were cleaned out and organized.
20 raised beds were built for the garden and I’ve started the process of filling them. I went through my stash of garden seeds and only had to order a few packets of seeds. I put together a “planting schedule”, knowing that weather and other responsibilities will interfere. Planting begins here mid-April.
One of my cows is about to calve so getting ready for milking season and all that entails. I spend time every day training the new dogs, training the heifers, and bringing the pregnant cows in for a head-to-toe check, starting them slowly on supplemental grain, and extra minerals to prevent milk fever, etc. It doesn’t matter how many calves are born, I still get the jitters about safe calving.
I inherited a good farm truck, and that along with a used livestock trailer I purchased for a really good price, will enable me to haul my own animals. I need to do a few repairs before using them, but nothing major. I am very grateful and thankful for all the help I am able to obtain locally. I absolutely could not do this without neighbors and friends.
The good news about being busy on a farm is there is precious little time to engage in frivolous pursuits, gossip, or politics. I have made time every morning to “read through the Bible in one year”. I’ve attempted this many times and always fail midway through. I figure, if there’s time for coffee in the morning, there is time for Bible Study. It’s interesting to watch myself prioritize my time, but “this time” I’m facing the fact that there is never “enough time”. There is only Time and what I do with it matters. It definitely sets the tone each day.”
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Joel Salatin: The Truth About Mass Killing of Poultry, Avian Flu, and Restoring Sanity to Farming.
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Reader L.E. wrote:
“Apparently SNAP/EBT food cards can be used to purchase seeds and plant starts as long as they are food-related. Seeds for corn, beets, sugar snap peas, carrots, radishes, etc, and plant starts for tomatoes, peppers, strawberries etc. The local Walmart is usually the only place set up to process these sales.
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Reader D.S.V. sent this news: Utah Set to Become First State to End Water Fluoridation for All Residents.
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Lastly, some news from across the pond: No Farmers, No Food: Farmers Rally Outside UK Parliament over Labour’s Death Tax Grab.
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Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR. or AVL. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.