-
Updating our British newcomers….
….we spent several days recently inspecting our British calves at Doyle Unruh’s farm in Georgia…and our older heifers just across the state line at Bill and Nancy Walker’s farm in South Carolina. This is an Essington Buttercup son by Millennium Falcon, now almost six months old. Doyle will be holding him on his recipient mother for a few more months. His half-brother, a Goldings Norah son also by Falcon, has an interesting story. Recently our partner in Cornwall, England, Juliet Cleave, posted a picture on her Facebook page of an outstanding young bull . The picture was taken in 1963 and other than the name— Uggaton Highwayman 2nd—she was asking…
-
Devon, we hardly knew ye….
…our Cornwell correspondent, Juliet Cleave, came up with this picture of an award-winning bull…the way Devon used to be…before the English (and the Americans) “improved” the breed. And it wasn’t that long ago: 1963! We’ve asked Juliet for more information. For now, we only know his name was “Uggaton Highwayman 2nd”.
-
Thistle Hill Falcon….
….is four-and-a-half months old now. He’s one of the pure, traditional English Devon. Sire, of course, is Millennium Falcon…the dam Goldings Snowdrop. If you’re wondering where the rest of the herd is: about a quarter of a mile and two electric fences away. Yes, I do think he’s making a statement. It’s not the first time we’ve noticed that a really good animal prefers to be somewhat removed from the herd. The British class system is alive and well at Thistle Hill.
-
Baring their “all”….or almost all….
….a group of young farmers in southwest England got together for an unusual concept for a fund-raiser: a nude calendar. Don’t know what it is about the Brits and their nude calendars (remember the movie “Calendar Girls“? In Devon circles, about as racy as we get is a calendar featuring cows…unclothed…but nevertheless still cows. Warning: we’re about to show one of the pages so if you are easily offended, go away and come back in a few days. While you search for the “back button” we will fill with the report of the chap who put this all together. Rob Willcoxm, Somerset County chairman and now known as Mr December,…
-
Getting to know you….
….our first English bull, TDA Churchill, is introduced to that mysterious creature…a female. In this case, this heifer is a Devon-Senepol cross. This will take some getting used to. Churchill is still young…just 17 months…and so we’ve put him in a pasture with just three females. They were all born late in our normal calving season, too late to be bred with the other heifers in their class. So Churchill has his own little harem to begin his education. He’s an extremely gentle bull, even for a Devon. Moderate-sized but beautifully proportioned. Exactly what the three Devon breeders who make up Traditional Devon America hoped for when they began their…
-
In tune with the season….
Another YouTube video from Juliet Cleave in Cornwall. A new calf never ceases to amaze and it’s particularly rewarding when you “save” one….as Juliet’s husband Chris does here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fqo5RL84gw&feature=youtu.be
-
Red Bull in the sunset….
….our new, pure, traditional English Devon baby bull. He’s THF Falcon, son of Ashott Barton Falcon, grandson of Cutcombe Millennium. And his deep red coat makes him stand out even among our very ruby red herd. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. Right now he seems to be everything we hoped for. Broad in all directions and perfect lines. Sadly, we’re going to have to clip his horns but even the English do that now. His dam, Snowdrop, is from another outstanding traditional farm: Ivan Rowe’s Goldings herd at Lands End. As our regular readers will know, we’ve been importing the purist, most traditional Devon we have been able to find in…
-
Old news butt….
….still worth repeating. Studies show that “processed” meats are bad for you. Processed, in this case, is any meat that has preservatives or flavoring or coloring added. Bacon and sausage, the kind you generally buy in a supermarket or eat at a restaurant, are the prime offenders, of course. Here’s the report on the British study: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21682779 We do love that British term, “fry up”. So well, in fact, that I plan to have one for lunch. Needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway, there are no additives of any kind in Thistle Hill sausages and bacon. For the observant, yes, the two “t’s” in the heading was intentional. …
-
Setting some standards….
….there is debate from time to time (one is going on now) within Devon circles about what makes “a proper Devon”. Folks can get pretty dogmatic, and some in the two Devon associations think they should impose the answer. My old “mate” in Cornwall, Ivan Rowe, came up with this old picture to make his point. She is a Devon heifer—Clampit Gay Lass 27th—female winner of five shows in 1929 and Grand Champion in three of them! As a longtime judge for the British Devon society, he “knows one when he sees one”. I would call Gay Lass the Tilbrook Cashtiller of her era. It was when we saw the Devon…
-
Eating the baby….
A diner in England has garnered a lot of publicity by offering a “Kidz Breakfast” which they claim weighs as much as a baby. No one seems to have succeeded in polishing off the breakfast until now, which is when Robert Pinto walked in and “ate the whole thing”….9 pounds of bacon and eggs…and sausage. It prompted calls for it to be banned and had one expert warning that someone could die after eating it. But the “Kidz Breakfast”, described as weighing the same as a small child, has remained the talk of a Norfolk seaside town. Consisting of a dozen sausages, 12 bacon rashers and enough eggs to be produced…