• Thistle Hill Alumni Club….

    ….we took a side-trip on the way to the recent Devon meeting to visit the Tennessee chapter of the club.  The girls at Tomina Farms near Waynesboro were clearly over-joyed to see us….or at least Wooz.  We were just excited to see how well animals we had raised were doing so well under the care of Regina and Tom Tesnow.   Regina clearly has taken Wooz’ indulgent treatment a step further, though.  As we’ve reported earlier she even gives her pampering has paid off in a beautiful herd and we’ve gained dear friends in the processs.     The undeniable star of Tomina Farms is this bull, calved three years ago…

  • Thistle Hill Alumni…Tennessee Chapter….

    ….we’re always gratified to see how Regina and Tom Tesnow take our genetics to the next level.  Their Tomina Farm in Waynesboro, Tennessee probably has more Thistle Hill cows…and their progeny…than we do.  Well, not quite.  And they’ve blended to some other great lines, particularly Bill Roberts’ 12 Stones Grassland Beef. Their first big catch was our THF Magic, followed by THF Casino, the brother of our herd bull, Jackpot.  (You beginning sense there’s a theme, here?)  And now, with the real test of a bull, Regina has sent us pictures of Casino‘s progeny.  We’ve included two of his bull calves below.  (We’re currently out of bulls so we suggest you…

  • The Thistle Hill Alumni Club….

    “Shenandoah“….a yearling heifer who is the result of a pairing here at Thistle Hill.  The dam is Q1 and the sire, U2 “Double Trouble”. Q1 was an older cow we sent into retirement in the South—Tomina Farms in Tennessee—but, as you can see, she’s still working for Regina and Tom Tesnow.  Actually, at 8 years of age, we find a Devon cow is really right in the prime of her life. There are quite a few Thistle Hill cows at Tomina Farms and, I think I mentioned before, that Regina tends to give them “Virginia names”, thus “Shenandoah“. “Brandy Station“, another yearling heifer and another result of Thistle Hill genetics…