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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.
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A low bar….
….now comes a British expert who says we’d be safer eating hamburger than those bags of pre-cut salad. The label says the salad has been washed, of course, but that’s not enough. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9948987/Salad-is-more-dangerous-than-beefburgers-leading-food-expert-warns.html Now about the line: “safer than hamburger”. Suffice it to say we think there’s probably nothing more dangerous to eat than commercial hamburger, whether you get it at the store or a fast food outlet. Or even a fine restaurant. The only thing more dangerous is chicken. Stick with naturally raised meat from a farmer you know….or can find, if you want to.
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Just in time for the snow….
….please. On his last visit, pasture guru Jim Gerrish had recommended we try seeding some Italian rye grass into one of our pastures and here we go. A beautiful early Spring morning; hard to believe 8 inches of snow is on the way. But that’s perfect for new seeds. I sometimes think we should call this “Thistle Hill Experimental Farm” for all the things we try. But it is part of the fun. For our non-farm readers, we’re towing a “drill”. A row of blades cuts grooves in the sod and seed is carefully metered into the grooves. Rollers then pass over the seed, covering the hole. The seed, the…