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A harsh life sometimes…even today…
….almost daily, we hear of heart-breaking stories of cattlemen who have had to give up because of the drought which has killed everything green in so much of the country. There is no magic or modern miracle to save them. And most of the country isn’t even aware of the tragedy. Nature really can’t be tamed. Easy to forget today in cities where everything is at the push of the button and the meat in the grocery stores comes from “animals that were not harmed” in the process. Easy to forget even at Thistle Hill, though we’ve lost calves on rare occasion in snow drifts or bitter cold. So we feel…
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More reverberations….
….from the “Monsanto protection act”. Increasingly, Congress has moved away from regular order in handling potentially controversial issues. Like genetically modified crops. It’s common now to simply skip committee hearings and floor votes. Just find a complicated bill and slip in some extra language nobody will notice….until it’s too late. You almost get the feeling they really don’t care what we think. http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/Monsanto-bill-protection-food/2013/04/01/id/497254?promo_code=EB8D-1&utm_source=National_Review&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1
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In tune with the season….
Another YouTube video from Juliet Cleave in Cornwall. A new calf never ceases to amaze and it’s particularly rewarding when you “save” one….as Juliet’s husband Chris does here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fqo5RL84gw&feature=youtu.be
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It’s about time….
….safe food advocates are turning their fire on President Obama and Congressional Democrats for their “patty cake” deal with Monsanto. With all the talk about sequestration, the powers-that-be made sure last week that the dollars keep rolling to the chemical giant. Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski snuck the pro-genetically engineered language into a massive continuing resolution and it sailed through, apparently without anyone noticing the amendment. At least, that’s what they’re all saying on Capitol Hill. http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Critics-slam-Obama-for-protecting-Monsanto-200599011.html We note that while Monsanto’s relationship with the Obama Administration could be described as “incestuous”, it’s only closer in degree from past Republican administrations. Last we knew, at least three former Monsanto executives are…
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Your reading assignment for tonight….
….if you’ve been wondering what the “gluten free” fuss is all about, this may be the best treatment of the subject. Technically, only a few percentage points of the total population are said to be gluten-sensitive but I doubt that. From personal experience, all the aches associated with being 78 years old disappeared from the time we did two things here at Thistle Hill: went to all grass fed meat and eliminated grains from our diet. Frankly, I wouldn’t bother with all the expensive testing. Just try it for a couple of weeks. (Warning: you’ll even lose weight!) http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Ditch-Grain-Brain-ebook/dp/B009QT5XBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362492183&sr=8-1&keywords=lose+the+gluten+lose+the+gut+ditch+the+grain+save+your+brain
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A change of pace….
….first from Juliet Cleave, of Kew Herd in England, the belle of Cornwall. As you know, Britain has been hit with a horsemeat scandal. Horsemeat has been turning up in all the wrong places, like packaged lasagna. Then, a cartoon spotted somewhere on the internet. A spoof of the meaningless labels you now see in all the supermarkets.
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Can’t forget the pigs…
….they seem to do just fine in the snow and cold despite very short hair. We do give them an extra ration in bad weather. And this is a good time to note that we now are giving them non-GMO feed. It’s always bothered us that the one weak link in our “doing things naturally” process was that we were forced to feed regular grain. Recently we found a source down in the Shenandoah Valley that grows non-GMO feed and, better yet, sells it at a reasonable price. We’ve made the switch without increasing costs. Best of all, like our cows, our pigs are now truly “doing what comes naturally”.
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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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What a difference a day makes….
….less than 48 hours after planting our Italian ryegrass on a sunny and warm Spring day, this was the scene that greeted us this morning. Five inches of snow. Not only beautiful but perfect for the seed snuggled below. Hopefully, the borderline freezing temperatures will mean a slow melt for the next few days. That’s much better than a washing rain. Our “experiment” is off to a perfect start.
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Why do women live longer?
Sorry men, “because we take such good care of them” is not an acceptable answer! But reading one of those health blogs this weekend I discovered there’s something we can do to balance things out: Yes, eat more grass fed beef. You have to read a long way for the payoff, but it’s there. http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/bid/82922/How-Do-Women-Outlive-Men?utm_source=Mar+17+Newsletter+-+New+Edition&utm_campaign=130317&utm_medium=email My browsing this weekend also revealed a new disease: orthorexia. Roughly, it describes a condition among those who carry diet and exercise to slavish extremes. To fight the problem, I have found avoiding exercise to be effective.