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Yes you can….
….find happiness away from home. Thistle Hill’s 312 certainly has in the pastures of Tomina Farm. Of course, Regina Tesnow really pampers her cows and 312…now nicknamed “Chantilly“…has fit right into the Tomina herd. Wooz has always insisted we be careful in placing her girls and she’s become a big fan of Regina’s for the way she’s handled the adoptions. (If you look carefully, you’ll see tiny hooves behind Chantilly. We had to delay shipment until the calf was born.)
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Spring fever….
….a group of Thistle Hill yearling heifers camped out by the electric wire, convinced that the grass is indeed greener. They’ll have to wait a few more weeks, though, before we begin their rotation. Right now, they’re still being fed hay and a little beet pulp. In fact, the grass closest to the camera isn’t where they’ll really be going. We’ll start them farther out in the field, where we left a good supply of residual grass last fall. They’ll begin on the fresh grass right after the first of April and be back to this point about mid-May. We’ll also be starting the main herd across the road about the same…
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Red Bull in the sunset….
….our new, pure, traditional English Devon baby bull. He’s THF Falcon, son of Ashott Barton Falcon, grandson of Cutcombe Millennium. And his deep red coat makes him stand out even among our very ruby red herd. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. Right now he seems to be everything we hoped for. Broad in all directions and perfect lines. Sadly, we’re going to have to clip his horns but even the English do that now. His dam, Snowdrop, is from another outstanding traditional farm: Ivan Rowe’s Goldings herd at Lands End. As our regular readers will know, we’ve been importing the purist, most traditional Devon we have been able to find in…
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Old news butt….
….still worth repeating. Studies show that “processed” meats are bad for you. Processed, in this case, is any meat that has preservatives or flavoring or coloring added. Bacon and sausage, the kind you generally buy in a supermarket or eat at a restaurant, are the prime offenders, of course. Here’s the report on the British study: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21682779 We do love that British term, “fry up”. So well, in fact, that I plan to have one for lunch. Needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway, there are no additives of any kind in Thistle Hill sausages and bacon. For the observant, yes, the two “t’s” in the heading was intentional. …
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A Whole Foods spa….
….is in the works at a location somewhere in the Austin, Texas area. Whole Foods continues to try to find ways to extend its “brand” and now has decided to build a competitor to places like Canyon Ranch. Earlier, the company dabbled in wellness centers, but that didn’t work. Here’s a report on its latest marketing effort: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/13/whole-foods-health-resort-canyon-ranch-pritikin/1985281/
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A trip to the salon….
….yes, sometimes some cows need a pedicure. Regina Tesnow of Tomina Farms sends a photo of one of her animals getting a trim. Look carefully, or enlarge the picture, to see the hooves jutting out. The cow has been walked into a chute that is actually a tilt table. She was turned on her side for the work. Most cows don’t seem to really mind, though Regina says they’re sure in a hurry to get back in the trailer and head home! When hooves need trimming at Thistle Hill, we just bring the cow into the chute, tie her leg off the ground, and the vet does the job. We’ve found…
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Back to the basics….
Edward Taylor of Vermont, who has become a frequent visitor to this blog, came across an article on rotational grazing that he (and we) think will be helpful to beginners in grass feeding their herd. The article is aimed at dairy farmers, who have even higher nutritional requirements for their animals than most of us, but the principles are the same. With due credit to Farming Magazine: http://www.farmingmagazine.com/article-9188.aspx Here at Thistle Hill we are somewhere between rotational and mob grazing. Most times we move our heifers daily…the cows every other day or every third day. We do still set stock our bulls.
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Kit blows the whistle…
….bull breeder Kit Pharo has a blurb in his weekly newsletter partially….if only partially….exposing the nonsense at many cattle auctions. I recall the confusion I felt at my first auction 25 years ago and wondering how anyone could really understand what was going on. Eventually, as I watched the bidding and the auctioneer more closely, and particularly researched the follow-up information, I began to realize that I wasn’t seeing and hearing what was really happening. As Kit puts it: Funny Money – Every week, I read and hear about bulls selling for $50,000, $80,000, $100,000, $130,000 – and even $400,000. JUST ONCE, I would like to know WHO the second-high…
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How many Paleo diet blogs are there….
….well, I’m old enough to remember when there were none. Of course, I’m old enough to remember just about everything. But there are a sufficient number, I see, that some organization even lists the Top 50 of the year. Here’s a new one and, just in time for the holiday, even features O’Cave Girl’s Irish stew. http://cavegirlcuisine.net/
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Prefer the old-fashioned way….
….thank you. Seems to be the day for health tips. We’ve long advocated red wine, in moderation, along with Thistle Hill grass fed beef. But we may have to drop the “moderation” part. Turns out that not only is a glass of red wine a day good for you, and two maybe even better, but 100 glasses of red wine every day could really cure everything that ails you. Of course, holding your glass steady enough for that 100th glass could pose a problem. Now science has the answer: a red wine pill! http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/03/08/could-red-wine-pill-cure-major-diseases/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fhealth+%28Internal+-+Health+-+Text%29