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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Blizzard traps nearly 1,000 hikers on slopes of Mount Everest. (The Creative Commons photo above is by Göran Höglund.)
Update: Mount Everest rescuers battle heavy snow with hundreds still stranded — BBC News.
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Reader Richard T. was the first of several readers to mention this video: After 5 Years, I Found The Only Fuel Stabilizer That Works!
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The current precious metals bull market has prompted me to increase our silver coinage divisor at Elk Creek Company to an unprecedented 35.3. So, if you’d like to diversify from one tangible investment into another, this is a great time to make your purchases from your stockpile of pre-1965 U.S. “junk” silver coins. At checkout, you will see the message: “Do you want to pay in Pre-1965 silver coinage? If so, then divide the price by 35.3.” Just select “cash or check” at checkout and then send me an e-mail, telling me that you will be paying with 90% silver dimes, quarters, or half-dollars. You may round down to the nearest 10 cents. Here is an example: Say that the total (with postage) for your order is $280. Divide that by 35.3 and you get $7.93. Rounding down, you would mail just $7.90 face value in pre-1965 U.S. silver coins, in a small, well-padded rattle-free package. It is quite simple to do. – JWR
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My e-mail inbox is often populated with the same sorts of questions from newbie preppers. Most of those are answered in our Quick Start Guide static page. I coincidentally had two new SurvivalBlog readers ask the same question on the same day: They both wanted to know my criteria for selecting a survival retreat property. That question is answered in this 2022 blog article: A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update. – JWR
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SaraSue sent us this snippet:
“I enjoyed the recent article about breeding back a milk cow. I have been trying to get my dairy cows bred back since May of this year. May/June and September/October are good times to get cows bred back before it gets too hot, and to avoid Winter calving. I do not have a bull because I don’t have the facilities to keep one safely. Dairy bulls are notoriously dangerous, unlike most beef bulls. So, I rely on artificial insemination.
We are on our third A.I. attempt with the heifers now in October. It is possible that 2 of my milk cows are bred, but I won’t know for sure until another few weeks have passed. It’s been very frustrating to say the least, and costly. They all need to be “good and pregnant” before winter.
I have one dairy cow with horns that I have to keep separate from the others during heat cycles. She most recently slashed up another cow (only superficially) with her horns during the recent heat cycle. It was not intentional, but the result of cows mounting one another during their heats. All my cows are “polled”, meaning born without the ability to grow horns, except the one. Her horns are absolutely beautiful and I hated to have them removed, but now I see the benefit in disbudding them young. I shoulda.
In really good news, my barn that flooded out in the Spring was fixed. Over 10 tons of crushed rock was delivered, and spread out. The land around the barn was graded so that the water would run away from the barn rather than into the barn during our heavy rain season. The immediate area around the barn was built up with crushed rock in order to create a small berm to aid in water runoff. I think that was the last big project to accomplish before winter.
I weaned one of the bottle calves at a little over 5 months old, and am still bottle feeding a very young calf. Both calves are being grown out for beef and will be harvested, possibly, next Fall. I have a plan (Man plans, God laughs), to move the 2 bred heifers into one pasture for the winter, and put the calves out with the 2 cows in separate pasture. Reason being, I do not want calves to suck on the heifers and possibly ruin their teats. The cows won’t tolerate the calves sucking, so they will be kept in line. There is shelter, water, and there will be hay in both pastures. I hope my plan works!”
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Mike D. suggested this useful video: Freeze-proof chicken waterer with no electric heater and no bill!
JWR Adds: Note that they later posted a useful update.
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A video update on Earth’s rapidly-shifting magnetic poles, from Ben Davidson: Pole Shift May Have Just Sped Up Again.
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Reader T.H. wrote:
“Good morning. I just updated my Precious Metals spreadsheet with today’s [spot market] prices. I smiled. You are the primary reason I own hard assets.
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And lastly, a humorous collection of video clips: Top 50 Military Fails!
Please Send Us Your Snippets!
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.