Dexter Bull

I came across Jon Maloney's list of animal pictures and discovered Jon's photo of a Dexter bull taken at the North Carolina Zoological Park.

Buying a Halter

For those wondering where to find and what kind of halter to purchase that will fit your Dexters, Gabriella Nanci has an article on her website that's very informative and might be of help.

Got Ballot & Temple Grandin

My official PDCA Ballot arrived in yesterday's mail, so be looking for that if yours has not yet arrived.

Also, for those that may be familiar with animal behaviorist Temple Grandin there was an interesting piece in the New York Times, 'Animals in Translation': The Cow Whisperer. An excerpt:

'And that is precisely what Grandin has done in this new work, which is crammed with facts and anecdotes about her favorite subject: the senses, brains, emotions and amazing talents of animals. Written with Catherine Johnson, who may have provided its colloquial, informal tone, ''Animals in Translation'' expands on an idea Grandin first sketched in ''Thinking in Pictures'': that her autistic sensory perceptions (in particular, her intense focus on visual details) enable her to take in the world as animals do. In fact, she argues that autistic people and animals are essentially alike -- they see, feel and think in remarkably similar ways.

Although startling, this observation serves mainly as a segue into Grandin's larger point. Animals -- not just chimps and dolphins, but dogs, crows, pigs and chickens -- are, she contends, much smarter and more sensitive than we assume. They deserve ''a good life,'' as she puts it, ''with something useful to do.''

Although Grandin obviously loves all forms of fauna, her heart belongs to cows. (She's so relaxed with cattle that she'll lie down in a feedlot and let the Black Angus lick her. ''Sometimes,'' she confesses, ''I'll kiss them on the nose.'') The fact that Grandin designs equipment for cattle bound for slaughter is less contradictory than it first appears. ''Looking at those animals,'' she explains, ''I realized that none of them would even exist if human beings hadn't bred them into being. . . . We brought these animals here, so we're responsible for them. We owe them a decent life and a decent death.'' '

Happy Holidays!

2005 PDCA AGM - Show & Sale

Mark your calendar for the first PDCA Annual General Meeting - Show & Sale to be held in Orland, California -
July 15, 16, & 17, 2005.

Denim Shirts

Bonita Burkhead is doing some nice work on denim shirts for members of the PDCA. The shirts have a digitalized Dexter image and she's embroidering the farm name and Purebred Dexter Cattle Association on a shirt she's making for me. Clothier is not my field of expertise and so for all the details contact Bonita at - iam_bonita@yahoo.com if you're interested. The shirts cost $25 but you'll need to contact her this week if you want a shirt in time for Christmas. Makes a nice gift for the Dexter fancier and helps promote the breed.

In the mail...

The Record has been mailed and depending on how fast (or slow) your mail service is, the winter issue should be arriving soon.

PDCA Ballots

The ballots will be in the printer's hands the first of the week and so hopefully in two or three weeks will be in your hands.

We attempted to get a biography and vision statement from all the candidates but no one was discounted if for some reason they were unavailable and not able to give one. Some of the nominees by others declined or may not have met the guidelines and so what began as a long list of candidates became smaller. Not all candidates are running for all of the positions they were nominated for. I know that I was nominated for multiple positions but I didn't want to run for everything, especially since there were better choices nominated at some of the positions. My thoughts were much like some of the other candidates of being willing to serve where needed to help the PDCA. Whether it be the cook or dishwasher it's all important.

One item you'll be voting on is to extend this first term to 2006. The reason for this is to give the newly elected some continuity in getting organized rather than turn around in a few months with new elections. Another item on the ballot will be the choice to have two vice presidents. The reason for two is the amount work needed to be done here in the beginning and so the idea is with one vp working with organizing all of the newly formed committees, the other vp can work with the newsletter, website, and basically help out in the area of communications with the membership. Members appreciate knowing what's going on and so keeping everyone informed is a part of the Association that's important.

The people working on the ballots have done a good job of explaining all of these items which will be included with your ballot. Patrice Lewis and Donna Martin deserve a great deal of credit for all of their hard work on this.

Should you have any questions about the ballots feel free to contact any of the PDCA Officers or Area Managers.

Dexter Cow with interactive sound

From the Central Park Childrens Zoo

The Calf-Path

by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)

One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bellwether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bellwethers always do.

And from that day, o’er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made,
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed — do not laugh —
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet.
The road became a village street,
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare,
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed that zigzag calf about,
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They follow still his crooked way,
And lose one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.

They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.

Updates @ PDCA Website

The past couple of weeks have brought some new updates to the Members page as the PDCA continues to grow.

Members have begun using the Classifieds on the website to advertise their farms and Dexter cattle. Which reminds me that I need to get into gear and place an ad.

Also thanks to John Paterson from New Zealand, we now have a link to his article: "Smallfarming, Rare Breeds and Dexter Cattle" on the PDCA website. So be sure to check it out.