…for those of us who covered the Viet Nam war.  Horst Faas, who headed the Associated Press photo team through most of the war, has died in his native Germany after a long illness. Horst was a talented, indestructible man who dominated the Saigon scene while many of the rest of us just “dabbled”.  As a CBS News correspondent, I was one of those who passed through Viet Nam for a year and went home.  Horst stayed and was a mentor for all of us. Confined to a wheelchair in his later years, Horst remained an indomitable, irascible, forceful, hard-living spirit who refused to yield to his affliction.  Here’s an…

…but a necessary one.  Our nine new arrivals had their check-ups at Rose Hill Veterinary Services yesterday.  Here one of the British bull calves—“Churchill“—stands more or less stoically as Dr. Derek Vandrey uses a wire saw to remove his horns.  That green paint on his ear is where he’s just been tatooed.  Working with Derek is veterinary student Camille Lewandowski. After the horns are off, Derek uses a hot iron to cauterize the site both to stop the bleeding and limit the possibility of infection.  We used to do this here at the farm but now prefer the environment at the clinic.  So does Churchill.  He’s had a local anesthetic…

Great-grandson Rowan’s first birthday is coming up and we bought him one of those little John Deere tractors that he can scoot around in.  Turns out animals are better than toys…at least according to the scientists. Kids learn more playing with animals, even spiders and snakes.  Won’t his mom just love helping him unwrap a snake! http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_124588.html Thanks to Dr. Sue Beal, for this link and solving all our gift-giving problems.

Our girls barely removed the make-up from their recent video-taping, when there was another camera call.  This time from Grit, the rural magazine that has been publishing for more than 100 years.  And Grit selected this photo of T2, one of our four-year olds, for a story on the grass fed cattle business in their July/August issue.  The picture will also appear in their regional magazine, Capper’s.  This is a particular kick for me because, almost 70 years ago, I made pocket change selling copies of Grit, then a newspaper, when our family vacationed at a small lake near Chicago. I haven’t seen a copy around here, so it was…

Thistle Hill went Hollywood this afternoon; well not really.  But we were taped for a video being prepared by Holistic Management International.  As you probably know, about a year ago we were fortunate to be selected for an HMI pilot project in Rappahannock county (the river was low then and we snuck over from Fauquier county).  Our cows had no problem “hitting their mark”, even when we switched the point for their grand entrance. Cameraman Steven Schwartz of Madison specializes in videos about sustainable agriculture.  All I had to do was brag about Thistle Hill.  Steve’s only comment afterwards was that I had gone “a little long”.  I reminded him…

…rabid bear.  They shot one near Charlottesville, about an hour from here.  We haven’t heard of a rabid bear, not even a rabid animal of any kind in our neighborhood for many years. We actually do have a big mama bear on the property.  She has a den just beyond the pond and in a hillside near the Rappahannock river.  It’s a treat to watch her play with her cubs near the water every year.  There are generally two babies but just a year ago she had four.  We had never heard of that, either. http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/apr/19/rabid-bear-attacks-albemarle-shot-dead-victim-ar-1855598/>  

OK…time for a little culture.  Maybe past time. A Brigham Young University professor, who has a Dixieland jazz band called the Hot 5, was in France with his group and was taken with the beauty of the cows in a pasture along the road.  He broke out his horn…his friends joined in…someone had a camera…and the result is a video which has, as they say, “gone viral” on the internet. http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/lXKDu6cdXLI?rel=0 Thanks to Terry Wildrick of Detroit, who provided the link.  (He’s Wooz’ cousin) And to answer your question, Terry, yes Devon love music though they prefer my Johnny Cash imitation.