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Recharging our batteries – 4….
….took us next on our annual sabbatical deep into Cornwall….land of Doc Martin…and Poldark…and Juliet Cleave. Juliet’s infectious high spirits captivated us on our very first bus ride in the area. (she was the local tour director) So it was pre-ordained that we’d invite her and her husband, Chris, to join our Traditional Devon™ group. Speaking of Poldark, the Cleaves relationship is straight out of a BBC romance. For years they cast longing glances across the stone walls separating their two family farms. Finally, after too many years of delay, Juliet got up enough nerve to embolden Chris to propose. Their Kew Herd has blossomed, too, and is now one of the premier…
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A world without antibiotics….
….I switched dentists the other day and, for the first time in more than 30 years, the hygienist presented a cup with four little pills….yes, routine, preventive, antibiotic therapy. The explanation was that I’d undergone hip surgery in 1980 and there was a danger of infection when she cleaned my teeth. Never mind that I had somehow survived almost four decades of dental work, including extractions, crowns and the like, without antibiotics…the young woman and the older dentist were insistent. So I did what any obedient subject of modern medicine would do: I palmed the pills and threw them away later. But I wonder, as with red meat and red…
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How can this be…..
….just in the past few days I’ve read more warnings in respected journals about the “dangers” of eating red meat and bacon. Of course, my other favorites—coffee, red wine and eggs—are regularly condemned as well. Even my doctor asked me to get a cholesterol test the other day. Rather than issue a detailed rebuttal…in fact, I wasn’t even going to mention it….I simply pass along this from this morning’s reading. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11721581/Worlds-oldest-person-116-eats-diet-of-bacon-and-eggs.html
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Re-charging our batteries – 3
….our visit to the new two of our partners had to be short because of the intrusion of real life. Margaret Elliott’s mother had been hospitalized unexpectedly earlier that day…and Angus and Joy Cottey were both recovering from very serious illness. We confined ourselves then to brief courtesy calls. We were pleased to see that our Falcon’s brother, Millennium Monte, who had been ill himself, was doing much better now that he was under the care of Margaret at her Cutcombe Farm. We also paid our respects to one of the grand old bulls of English Devon, Bywood Jasper, who is living out his days in semi-retirement at Cutcombe. Jasper’s breeder,…
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Recharging our batteries – 2
….after a brief detour to the Cotswolds to stay in one of our favorite inns—Russells in Broadway—we plunged into the heart of Devon country. This is famed Exmoor, in legend at least the birthplace of Devon. The moor is both beautiful and forbidding but nearby are some of the finest Devon farms in the world. And there is none finer than Ashott Barton, one of our partners’ properties just outside Exford. There, Shiamala Comer and her son, Jeremy, have an outstanding herd of truly traditional Devon. Not only her colleagues agree with her, but Shiamala’s devotion to detail—and the results she has achieved—can’t be denied. It was she who bred Millennium Falcon,…
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Re-charging our batteries….
….every year we return to England…and follow the same path…visiting old friends like Gavin Hunter of Tilbrook farm not far from Cambridge. We find looking at, and talking about, Devon with breeders like Gavin is a diversion and a challenge. Gavin is the top supplier of Devon bulls in England and we generally make Tilbrook our first stop, not just because he’s a great friend and breeder but he’s closest to the airport! It’s become something of a ritual for Gavin to meet us in his yard with his latest treat….this time, a new young bull named Tilbrook Prince. And this time, our grandson Church made the trip with us…not…
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All too brief….
….we’ve just returned from a trip to England to visit our friends and partners in Traditional English Devon™. As always, the friendship was warm and (progress of sorts) the beer was cold! Then the icing on the cake: we found two cows and a bull that fit perfectly in our program. There’s all sorts of bureaucratic red tape and multiple health tests to go, but it is exciting to be planning (and dreaming) again. It was also sad to see that three of our cooperating herds have or will soon be closing down. But it underscores our belief in the importance of Traditional Devon; to save the purist genetics possible.…
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From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico….
….you’ll find Thistle Hill genetics! A group of six of our heifers…two bred and these four just yearlings…were loaded for the trip to Canada just before dark last night. Grandson Church Matthews and Duane Ard are shepherding them on board. The last little one did need a helping hand from Church. It was a high step. In the background is Ontario cattleman John Moelker who not only purchased our heifers but a bull from Lakota Ranch, which is nearby. Getting advance approval for the import and export papers was a bureaucratic nightmare and even involved re-testing the animals for brucellosis. Turns out the Canadians don’t recognize the American test so it…
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Not in your wildest dreams…
….we don’t know for sure, but we think that this may be what a forage experts dream about at night. At least, Sarah Flack, a forage guru from Vermont who visited Thistle Hill the other day, seemed to be in her own personal vision of heaven. Sarah consults on forages for a number of farms. Also lectures. Also writes books. That’s what she was doing here: gathering material for her next book. Her working title is something like “Be Your Own Consultant”. Sarah couldn’t get over the plant diversity in our pastures and had a hard time believing it had all been achieved without over-seeding of any kind. Three years ago…
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Out of season….
….the experts say this is the perfect time of year to calve, but we prefer fall calving at Thistle Hill to avoid the stress of Virginia’s hot summers. To prove the point, this little guy arrived just about noon when it was hotter in our area than anywhere in the country! Still the pair handled it effortlessly. Mom is a very young and quite small cow and this is her second calf. The young bull, C163, was sired by TDA Highwayman. U2a gave no sign she was that close to calving when Wooz checked her in the morning. A couple of hours later: there we was! We like it that way.…