• By the light of a smart phone….

    ….we were working after dark last night and the last job was moving our herd bull, Jackpot, from his herd and back to the bull pasture.  We also wanted to get tail hairs to confirm a calf’s parentage.  The whole job was done smoothly, with only Duane Ard’s smart phone for a light. (and we only used that to confirm we’d gotten a good sample in the dark) There aren’t many bulls, not even Devon, that I would be comfortable pushing around in the dark.  But they don’t come any better behaved than Jackpot! Duane also grabbed a quick picture with that smart phone of a Thistle Hill evening sky.

  • A bovine pedicure….

    ….Rose Hill tech Jane Narrimore trims the nail of a young lady who had an abscess that needed cleaning up. The heifer moves into the cage…is tightly cinched to the side wall with wide leather straps…and then the whole assembly and heifer is tilted on its side.  The animal is given a mild sedative to calm its nerves. Wooz could have used something a bit stronger. We’ve done it in our own chute but without the tilt table, the job is more difficult and probably not quite as good.  The heifer was treated and back in her pasture in an hour.

  • When a simple whistle isn’t enough….

    ….generally, we just give a “whoop” and our cows come running.  In fact, if they see the Gator they head to the nearest gate.  And on this side of the road, they get ready whenever the garage door opens. But this is certainly a more colorful way to summon the herd.  Wooz is already promising to take lessons. http://www.wimp.com/cows-didgeridoo/ Thanks to Cathy Cochran of Palmyra, Virginia, a fellow Devon breeder, for the link.

  • Lining up at the passport office….

    ….well, not really.  But this group of heifers Wooz is checking out have their health exam completed and are now waiting for their export permit.  On the right is a bull from Lakota Ranch which will be sharing the trailer. Destination is Ontario, Canada and a farm owned by John and Connie Moelker.

  • Waste not….

    ….we’ve been trying to decide what to do with this old tree…victim of multiple lightning strikes over the years. Never occurred to us that it was a work-of-art, just standing there waiting for Emily Brezezinski, a sculptor of note who in recent year has been work with wood…..tree trunks, for instance.  With a chain saw! She happened to be driving by last fall….saw our most prized possession…and dropped by several times.  We knew we had her on visit three!  Recently, her crew came by….trimmed the excess….and carried it off.  We can’t wait to see the result. If you’d like to see Emilie’s work, go to  www.emiliebrezezinski.com.   If the name seems…

  • The grass is always greener….

    ….if only by a little bit. These young calves probably went through the high tensile wire on the other side of the pasture…walked along a river…and back up this side to wait near the gate.  It’s become something of a game for seven of the calves this season. Better not to chase them.  Leave them alone and they’ll come home. We’re keeping the main herd in a sacrifice area with hay, trying to give the grass a start before we launch the rotation.  Probably time to give up and just get them moving….fast! Photo by Duane Ard.

  • Hooray for spring break….

    ….increasingly we plan our calendar around grandson Church’s school breaks.  He can do anything Grandpa ever did…and better.  He’s always loved the farm but now his physical ability is catching up with his enthusiasm. On this Spring Break he eschewed the usual Florida getaway of many college students….even a vacation in Sicily….to give us a hand at Thistle Hill.  The chores including fence and gate repair, putting out minerals, seeding a recently reclaimed wooded area for pasture (it had grown over with scrub trees), and most important sorting and preg checking cows, then bringing in the bulls. It was a full week of work for a “vacation”.  And I’ve by…

  • Thistle Hill Alumni Club….

    ….a bouncing baby boy by Thistle Hill Red Lad.  Brooke Henley in Burkittsville, Maryland says he’s “growing like a weed” despite being born in a snowstorm. Brooke and husband, Tom Garnett, are calling him Snowball.  Dad is descended from our Watson bull and our first really outstanding cow, R3, who is still producing beautiful calves for us here in Virginia. You’ll want to keep an eye on Tom and Brooke’s “Spring Pastures Farm”.

  • Let Spring begin….

    ….others look for the first robin….or first blade of grass.  A cattleman, of course, looks for the first calf.  And ours was born overnight to one of our Devon/Senepol dams….the proud papa (though he was a half-mile away in another pasture) was one of our TDA English bulls, Highwayman. Wooz had to go and tell the dad, of course, and swears he was looking very pleased with himself.  He’s got a son! Actually, we prefer our calves to be born in the fall, after the summer heat in Virginia.  This heifer mama lost her calf last year and we rebred her immediately to keep her from getting too fat.