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Our guard donkeys…
…have asked for equal time with the farm dogs we featured awhile back. Jenny, pictured here, and Jack are our miniature donkeys…a kind of early warning system protecting our herd from stray dogs and coyotes. They stay with the herd year around no matter the weather. They’re incredibly low maintenance…and they survive on the grass alone…no supplements and never seem to get sick. They’re 20 years old now and still going strong! David
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From the kitchens of Thistle Hill…
…and yes while we have two kitchens…son Church continues his triumphs on the Kamado Joe grill. This time it’s a pork belly smoked by that apple wood tree we harvested a few weeks ago. Church recommends scoring the fat side diagonally and then rubbing all sides with Bone Suckin’ Seasoning and extra brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Place over indirect heat and smoke until the meat reaches 200 degrees. My preference is to hold off and make a midnight sandwich. While pork belly isn’t very popular in the States, I have Asian friends who consider this the peak of American cuisine! It is also very popular in Scandinavia, Latin…
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Our cows…
…are built around the great English cow Tilbrook Cashtiller. She won three consecutive national grand championships and a host of ribbons and silver. And to top it off three of her sons were the top selling bulls in the annual Devon breeders sale. We’re indebted to Tibrook’s Gavin Hunter…who again today is serving as president of the British Society …for permitting us to flush Cash twice! TDA 7 was out of that first flush 12 years ago and not showing her age. Her sire was another British champion, Cutcombe Jaunty. Cashtiller is gone now but we have several of her daughters and granddaughters and other descendants in our herd…and some…
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A sign of spring…
…along with Forsythia and Daffodils…baby piglets. And again this year we’re importing our “weanlings” from Indian Summer Farm in Forest, Virginia. Berkshire is probably the leading pig among the heritage breeds and these are 3/4 Berks. But we also like the leaner meat, and particularly the bacon, the Tamworth produces…so these piglets also have Tamworth in their background. Our thanks to Indian Summer Farm for once again sharing their pig crop! David
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Our bulls…
…have become an increasingly important part of our operation…not only joining herds from Canada to Louisiana but as leased sires to smaller farms that can’t justify a full-time bull. Right now we have eight bulls at work for Thistle Hill…and a dozen more in the development stage. Our bull pen is still headed by Highwayman, sired by the English bull Millennium Falcon. The dam was from the Goldings herd of the legendary cattleman Ivan Rowe. Ivan gave us the pick of his herd and smiled a rare smile when we selected Norah. It was the only pedigree that he had carried in his pocket. Ivan judged many breeds in his…
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A Thistle Hill special weekend treat…
…applewood smoked pork ribs. Son Church got the recipe for the rub from a trucker…a mix of paprika, salt and pepper and chili, garlic and onion powder. Still a long way to go with the 3-2-1 method of wrapping, unwrapping and mopping. The secret of course is the apple wood smoke and we’re using our very own apple tree as the source! Are we sustainable now or what? David
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Solving the problem…Pt 2…
…well it’s a band-aid anyway. The numbers are in on using our own trees to make-up for the shortage of board fencing at the local coop. Thanx to a neighbor with a portable sawmill we were able to turn six trees…oak, walnut and cherry into high grade lumber. Garrett Heydt was the man with the saw and he did an excellent job. When finished we had 700 feet of oak boards and six 4”x6” twelve foot beams…just those beams paid for the fencing we won’t be needing not to mention the beautiful walnut and cherry we sawed into planks. The cherry in particular seemed to us to be furniture-grade. But…
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Solving the problem…
…of the fence board shortage. With fence boards almost impossible to find, Curt has solved the problem by cutting down a dead oak tree. We estimate it’s about 80 years old and the main trunk measures 19 feet by almost 3 feet around. A neighbor has recently put out a sign advertising he now has a portable sawmill. And we have a half-dozen oak, walnut and cherry trees down and waiting. Inexperienced as we are, we’re not sure we can say “problem solved” but there’s every reason to hope we’ll be able to continue board fencing with our 300 acres of aging forest. David
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The dogs of Thistle Hill…
…deserve a little credit though none are typical herding dogs. But all three are important in the daily life of our farm…have good rapport with the cows…and are wonderful companions on our daily Rina. Nala (left) is a very energetic and athletic Rhodesian razorback. In her native African environment she’s used to hunting lions. Pochahantas (center) but you can call her Pokey is the oldest in the group and right now is away on assignment…accompanying Church to veterinary school at Cornell. She’s an English Shepard. Emma (right) is a Black Labrador Retriever. She made the move from Dallas when Curt took up residence at Thistle Hill. David
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Making history postscript…
…includes selecting the “cover bull”…that’s the bull that checks for open cows…the ones that didn’t take in Artificial Insemination or Embryo Transplant. Selected for the job this year is Prince…the son of the last cow Wooz selected on our final trip to England. Prince is from Ashott Barton’s Tulip line. His sire another favorite Cutcombe Jaunty. We generally wait at least a week before bringing the bull to the herd. Many breeders release the cow right out of the chute to the bull but Church feels traces of heat can remain. Whether AI or transplant, we think it’s best to allow the embryo to firmly settle. It also provides separation in…