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The Thistle Hill girls are all happy….
….starting with Wooz. Grandson Church is back from his “gig” in Idaho working for “pasture wizard” Jim Gerrish. Wooz was worried about her little grandbaby with a thousand Angus after dealing with no more than a handful of our docile Devon. Not to worry, of course. Church was even the lone hand on the ranch for stretches while Jim was away speech-a-fying. The cows were happy Church was back, too. He seems to have the same “touch” his uncle has. We seldom pet our cows, but they immediately come close to win his scratches.
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They tried to tell us….
….we’re too young. Clearly time to split these two up! That’s Thistle Hill Babette snuggling up to our TDA bull Churchill. Actually, Churchill will be going off this week….to North American Breeders where we’ll be collecting him….not for sale but for protection. Traditional Devon America (TDA)….a partnership of three breeders…wants to be sure to preserve the Devon genetics we’ve gathering on our trips to southwest England.
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You’re so vain….
….oh, alright, but hear me out. Several years ago, I was so crippled up I walked bent over like an old man and I hurt all the time. Thanks to a physical therapist and her staff in nearby Warrenton—plus an improved diet and plenty of red wine—I snapped out of it. The therapist’s name is Kendal Blaser and she is not only an exceptionally talented professional, she is one of the most delightful women I’ve ever met. So Kendal was working on her website with a professional photographer and wanted me to pose as one of her success stories. The deal was, I got some of the pictures and this is…
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And the winners are….
….whoops, only one! The North Devon show in England was swept by Eastyard farm, both the champion and reserve champions were their heifers. Part of the reason for the picture though was the judge, our English partner Gavin Hunter of Tilbrook Grange. The Brits still do their shows the proper way. Note the white coats (after you note Gavin’s bowler)! Adding further cache’ to the show: Prime Minister David Cameron was in attendance. Actually, many British politicians regularly “do” the cattle show circuit and, of course, Prince Charles is a well-known Devon breeder.
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The looming government crackdown….
….is picking up a little news interest. We’ve mentioned this before. The Feds are planning to use new, so-called “food safety” regulations to penalize small farmers. We say “penalize” because the problems in the food industry…safety and other things…are not because of small farms and farmers’ markets. Just last week, lettuce grown by giant farms in Mexico and sold in giant restaurant chains like Red Lobster and Olive Garden were found to be contaminated. But it’s a lot easier for the feds to go after the farmers market over at Massie’s Corner. The result of the new regulations, according to one study, will be a 50% reduction in the profits of…
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My how she’s grown….
….one of our English Devon….a Tilbrook Cashtiller heifer….in residence at Walker Century Farms in South Carolina. TDA 03 is approaching two and we’ll soon be breeding her to a Tilbrook bull, Sunset. Three of 03’s flush sisters are here at Thistle Hill, and we’ll be AI-ing them to Sunset as well. Traditional Devon is a partnership of three farms, all working together to find pure English Devon genetics for import into the United States.
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Tracking Pocahontas….
….”Pokey“, of course. Our English shepherd puppy is now exactly a year old and showing great aptitude doing what English farm dogs do. This is her first time out working sheep with expert trainer Monroe Williams of Possum Hollow Farm near Strasburg, Virginia. Hopefully, “graduating” to larger animals will be a breeze. Wooz reports that Pokey clearly was pleased with herself…knew when she had the hang of it to Monroe’s approval. More lessons will follow but finding a training can be difficult so we thought you’d like to know about Monroe and Evelyne Williams school. We’re thinking of entering Pokey in their “long course”. Wonder if we can loan them…
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Tracking Jackpot….
….and he continues on track. From the first, this young bull….now approaching three….has been an eye-catcher. It was Rotokawa’s Ken McDowall who dubbed him “Jackpot“, when he first saw him on our pastures. Jackpot is a “243” son and last winter was introduced to his first group of females. We’ll be seeing the results in a few more months, and that’s what counts. Here are Jackpot’s four remaining classmates…one of them a line-bred 688 son. Thistle Hill may not be the biggest Devon breeder in the country, but we think, pound for pound, we’ll stack up against the rest.
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Do future cowboys like to smell flowers?
Great-grandson Rowan does! Two years and change now. Enjoy the “single-kid life” while you can son. A baby brother is breathing down your neck!
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A Cornwall post card….
….one of our English friends and colleague, Juliet Cleave, has entered this picture (and others) in a British post card contest. As always, she has a way of making us feel “home sick”. The shepherd here is Juliet’s husband, Chris. We have to get back to Cornwall in the Spring!