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Add to bragging….
….(see below for Take One). And a grandson who just graduated from the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico!
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Pardon the bragging….
….but it’s pretty hard not to when you have six children, 14 grandchildren, a great-grandchild and another on the way. Seems something exciting is always happening around here. This year of course grandson Church has been off in Idaho working at Jim Gerrish’s Idaho ranch. We were really proud when Jim left our 18-year old grandson in charge of the herd so he could go on a speaking tour while Dawn had family business to take care of. So far there’ve been only two calls….one to say everything was under control, the other to ask for the brand name of a particular wrench Jim favors. Another grandson is entering Virginia’s William…
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In case you were wondering….
….we’ve finally herd from grandson, Church, explaining he hadn’t written because he’s been busy herding fish and stringing thousands of feet of wire on Jim Gerrish’s Idaho ranch. The picture (click to enlarge) shows a moose sharing Church’s fishing hole. I hadn’t carefully thought out the possible ramifications of this summer job. Our grandson’s letter had three very specifics instructions to us on improving our grazing techniques! Today, he’s taking a break and attending a Gerrish lecture on real food and nutrition in a nearby town. We were just a bit surprised that Jim has to pay someone to get an audience. Just kidding, Jim, just kidding!
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Some kids have all the luck….
….our grandson, Church, for instance. He’s had the great good luck to be taken in hand by Jim Gerrish, the pasture expert, and put to work this summer at Jim’s ranch in Idaho. This is a picture of them herding fish in one of the mountain streams on the ranch. Actually it was just a break they took on the 4th of July. There’s not much to do on a big ranch with thousands of cattle. You’d think the kid could write his grandparents, wouldn’t you?
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Is it alright to be jealous….
….of your own grandson? Church has the summer experience of a lifetime….working with Jim Gerrish at his Idaho ranch. We’re going to miss his help here and we’re also a little worried that he’s going to want to change everything when he gets back. Wooz is more worried her grand-baby is going to get lost in those mountains back there. And his experience has been limited to our docile Devon herd of 50. Now he’ll be helping watch over thousands of cattle. Seriously, Jim is a rare combination of thinker and do-er. Church is now thinking he wants a career in forages. Whatever he decides, time with the Gerrish’s is…
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Keeping her young….
….though she didn’t seem to appreciate my thoughtfulness. Wooz getting plenty of fresh air and exercise this morning, cutting the wrapping on a bale of hay for the main herd. I’m supervising from the warmth of the tractor cabin. Michael Ortwein may be proud of his horned steer doing the same job; but I’ll put up Wooz and her knife against him anytime. The main herd had weathered the storm over the hill and it’s quite a climb in difficult footing. The only thing worse would have been for us to have tried to take the tractor with the half-ton bale of hay down the steep hill.
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So God made a farmer…
…in case you missed it on the Super Bowl last night, Dodge built a commercial around the old Paul Harvey essay: “So God Made a Farmer”. For me, this moving recitation is always a reminder of how much we’ve lost to pay for the “progress” we’ve made. Thomas Jefferson, of course, thought our country could not survive if it moved away from its agrarian roots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sillEgUHGC4
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In cased you missed ESPN coverage….
….we held the annual family football game Thanksgiving weekend. Turkey Bowl VII was the best game yet. Son-in-law Paul, in the red shirt, captained the visitors again. But it was his wife, in blue to the right, (daughter Janet) who designed and executed the play that was the highlight of the game: a fake draw followed by a double-reverse and pass for a touchdown. You don’t get to see that kind of razzle-dazzle in your average professional game. Play probably stepped up a notch because of the friends our grandsons are now introducing to the tradition. This is grandson Alex with Annie from, of all places, Devon, England. What are the…
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Why even take a vacation?
That’s a question I ask myself a lot. Thistle Hill, Wooz’ family property going back to World War II, could easily be a mountain resort. This is the view at the main driveway entrance and we hope you’ll turn in the Sunday of the up-coming American Devon Cattle Association meeting. Keep to the left, come up to the house, grab a plate (we’ll even have some of our Tamworth pork sausage for as long as it lasts) and then wander out to the pens and check out our animals. Some young English Devon will be there…and if you cross the road you can see our brand new traditional pure English…
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Time for a break….
….the beef and pork has been sent on its way….the cows are all on fresh pasture…so it’s time for a break. For the next few weeks we’ll be visiting Devon friends here and in England. First stop: the annual Devon meeting near Cooperstown, NY and I do hope to find time to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. From New York, we catch a plane to England and drive straight to Wales for five days. A beautiful country we’ve only touched before. Then, our annual renewal: two weeks with our good friends in Devon and Cornwall…looking at cows, talking about cows, but drinking very little milk. Again, we’ll have our…