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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Europe, Ukraine prepare 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war [1].
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Taliban and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after days of deadly clashes [2].
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Where Does the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Stand? Amid Accusations of Violations, Here’s What to Know [3].
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“AppComms” — one of our recent writing contest prize winners — wrote:
“Jennifer Rader’s books have been delivered, and they are amazing. The information provided is well-thought-out and delivered in a very understandable way. I highly recommend these to my prepping neighbors and associates. Thank you, Jennifer, and to James Rawles for hosting the writing contest.”
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
“I think all of my cows are bred back via artificial insemination, finally. I know it sounds like I’m repeating myself, and I am! I started the process in May and it’s October. It’s a huge relief to be done with it. Well, almost. One more cow to confirm pregnant.
The Fall garden has been neglected and we’ve had a dry spell. Despite my neglect, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and some volunteer potato plants are growing.
I put out the first round bale of hay for the cows, due to the grass dying off. Here in Tennessee, at my location, the grass is plentiful April through most of October. That is a huge blessing. Going into winter, I’m happy that all the cows are in excellent condition, as they can lose condition over winter. I have one cow who is still in milk (7 months into her lactation) and she is feeding the family and a bottle calf. I was feeding 2 bottle calves, but recently weaned one of the calves. She is what we call a “persistent milker”. Her last lactation was 18 months as she was difficult to get bred back. Her milking capacity is 10-12 gallons a day, so managing her production and slowly decreasing it over time, while keeping her in good condition and taking care not to trigger mastitis, is tricky. She is now giving 4 gallons a day and I’m pretty sure she is finally pregnant. I hope to dry her off in December or January, wean the second calf, and take a break for a few months before calving season begins in the Spring.
Normally, you would want to give a lactating dairy cow a 2-3 month “dry” period before calving, but for this particular cow, I give her a longer dry period. High-producing dairy cows can lose a lot of weight when heavy in milk, so I give her more time to recoup than the other cows. Last year, I gave her a 4 month dry period and she regained all the weight over winter and calved beautifully in March of this year.
My family visited recently, and I sent them home with lots of farm goodies: fresh milk, sweet corn that I had processed and frozen the same day it was picked, potatoes, fresh eggs, and lots of beef. What a blessing!
The winter forecast has me concerned – tons of snow and biting wind. As I assessed each part of the farm, I determined that I am as prepared as one can be.”
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I turned my Starlink Mini into a near-perfect off-grid Internet solution. Here’s how [4].
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Our friend Commander Zero recently posted: The Harsh Reality of Gun Logistics [5], describing the hazards of choosing uncommon firearms, without a good supply chain of spare parts, especially if the firearms/parts are from a single source, such as the FN SCAR series.
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5 Off-Road Campers And RVs Built For The Backcountry [6].
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Reader J.M. wrote to suggest:
“I was hoping someone could write a piece sometime about a good proper shortwave receiver to have, an adequate antenna and maybe a list of current frequencies to monitor for when things go sideways.
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Of interest to both overlanders and off-grid retreat owners: Prepping the Unimog for Next Adventure: DIY Starlink Mini Roof Mount, Maintenance & Mor [7]e
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Bob Vila: These Are the Best Wood Stove Brands and Manufacturers Today [8].
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Frugal Living – Extremely Frugal Tips and Tricks [9].
Please Send Us Your Snippets!
Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR [10]. or AVL [10]. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact [11] form.