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A VIP visitor….
…great-grandson Rowan dropped by to check the cows and pigs…and have some ice cream. (He brought his own peanut butter sandwich.) At two, I think he’s ready to pick up some chores but you can tell Wooz wants to coddle him awhile longer. Rowan has a baby brother now….but he’s stuck in the premature nursery at the hospital. At 3-pounds-8 ounces, Lachlan has got some catching-up to do!
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Myth busting – Part 3….
….I’m from the government and I’m here to protect you. Bt toxin has been around for a long time; a major ingredient in pesticides farmers use on crops such as corn. But those clever folks at Monsanto developed Genetically Modified Corn that puts the Bt toxin right in the seed. Well, along with all the reservations about GMO food, some experts worried that it would only be a matter of time before those clever bugs developed a resistance to Monsanto’s “wonder seed”. Even the government’s own advisory panel argued against the product but, of course, the USDA ignored it’s own experts and sided with Monsanto. So now, the expected as…
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Gilding the lily….
….that’s pretty much what I think about bacon recipes. Really can’t imagine anything improving the flavor and aroma of lovely Tamworth bacon (from Thistle Hill, of course). But recently the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund had a “Baconpalooza” event at Polyface Farms in Virginia…and 250 people jammed Joel Salatin’s farm near Staunton to bear witness. The winner was Russ Crandall, who blogs under the name “The Domestic Man”. Maybe some cold and slow winter day, I’ll try it. http://thedomesticman.com/2013/09/10/bourbon-and-cider-braised-bacon/?utm_source=September+15+Newsletter+-+New+Edition&utm_campaign=130915&utm_medium=email
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Myth busting – Part 2….
From time to time we’re asked why we’re not organic….”just” grass fed. Well, for openers I don’t want the government approving or disapproving of what I choose to eat. I can’t think of any personal freedom more important than that. But beyond that, you can farm “organically” and still do terrible things to your cows, your land and yourself…..and the consumer is none the wiser. The label, he thinks, tells him all he needs to know. Reassured, he goes on to other worries. Meanwhile, the “idea” of organic has been corrupted by the usual alliance between the government and big business, including Big Ag. http://www.cornucopia.org/USDA/OrganicWatergateWhitePaper.pdf I’d like to comment: “there…
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Myth-busting – Part 1….
….we don’t make a big thing of it, but we’re basically gluten-free in our kitchen. Wooz believes in it; I just feel better and it also helps keep my weight down. As for the science of it, I’m an agnostic. Is the whole thing just a fad? Hype? Here’s an article that’s fun with all the science on the subject you could possibly want: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/gluten-free-fad/#axzz2e9JiOVRs?utm_source=September+15+Newsletter+-+New+Edition&utm_campaign=130915&utm_medium=email Note: we found the link on the US Wellness website.
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Friends…old and new…
…We’re just back from 10 days in Germany, guests of Kurt and Gisela Volkert. Kurt was a combat cameraman for CBS News when we met in Viet Nam in 1967. We’re joined here by our new friend, a well-known German still photographer, Gaby Sommer. We met Gaby for lunch at an old castle overlooking the Rhine…not far from the Lorelei rock which is around the bend to the right. We spent three hours telling tall tales when not devoting full attention to an assortment of beers, wines and food. In fact, sight-seeing on the trip—in the Rhine valley up to Amsterdam—took a back seat to sampling more than a dozen sausages…
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Time Out….
There’ll be no blogging for the next 10 days. Wooz and I are taking a break—even from Devon—for a short vacation with our friends in Germany. This is the first “non-Devon” trip we’ve managed in four years. See you in September…here at the Thistle Hill blog and at the joint meeting of the two national Devon associations in North Carolina.
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Mission accomplished….
Traditional Devon’s English bull, Churchill, returns to his Thistle Hill pasture after an extremely successful stay at North American Breeders for collection. The tech there called him “fantastic”…and we agree. In fact, grass fed bulls generally are far more fertile than grain fed. With all the news reports about declining sperm counts in western males, we’ve wondered whether the high level of corn fructose in young diets is partly to blame. Churchill is not yet two. He’s been used in a limited way here at Thistle Hill. His brother, Wellington, will be traveling to South Carolina in another month to be tried on our partners’ Walker Century Farms herd. And…
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Because I can….
….from time to time. And this is one of the times. Nothing to do with grass fed cattle…or healthy eating. Maybe it’s brain candy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/sGF6bOi1NfA?rel=0
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Just when I was thinking of cutting down….
….to a glass a day….they’ve made the decision easier. Thanks to Gisela Volkert in Konigswinter, Germany for the picture. We’re about to travel to Germany for a few days. Good to know they’ve made it more efficient.