Apostles

Encounter the risen Lord and share that encounter with others. 

           https://youtu.be/m2cP2czGIw4         

Brandings Begin

With only 11 cows to calve, we have to squeeze all the fun out of them we can. Three pairs are strong and ready for green grass. So we gathered the boys and stuck an iron on them.

Old school, wood fire and Great-grandpa's branding iron. 

No need for a horse when Pete's around. Just leg 'em and flip 'em. 

With Peter on the head Pete on the end, these three blacks were easy business. 

We tagged them and gave them a couple shots. 

Banded the bulls. 

And put the Reverse L Drawknife on the left hip. 

Should work. 

Turned them back to mom. Pretty low stress...

For all of us. 

Fun stuff. Easter joy knows no bounds. Spring time is all about birth and rebirth. Whether it's baptisms or brandings, we are going to celebrate our Lord's victory over death at all times. With eight calves to go, we should be able to get in two or three more brandings. Let's ranch. 

Run

Encounter with the Risen Lord makes us run to the next one. 

           https://youtu.be/FOusRdy_7VI         

Awesomeness

Nothing is impossible for God!

           https://youtu.be/GiWzGNHjTaM         

Fifth Calf

Pete called me first thing this morning and said 66 had calved. All was fine, he said. So I checked on them this afternoon.

Little heifer calf. All blacks so far.

We got a shot of winter the last couple of days. I’m glad they held off until the storm passed. 

With five calves on the ground, our big pen is getting pretty small. 

So we kicked the oldest pairs into the pen next-door. 

And left mom and baby with one other pair. 

All will be well. 

Good stuff. We better start thinking about a branding. Hopefully Grandma will calve soon and we’ll move this bunch out. Ranch on. 

Third and Forth Calves

Calves three and four came as delightfully as a cowboy could hope for. 

Ole 64 calved Wednesday afternoon. With both being content, I just left them until the next day. 

Another little bull calf. Spry bugger. 

After some bonding together, we kicked them in the big pen. 

Where they can figure life out with the other girls. As long as they are nursing, everybody’s happy. 

63 had her calf today. Such instincts a new mom and baby have to instantly go to nursing. 

This squirt was fresh. Little heifer calf, a couple hrs old. 

After all was well, we pushed them into their own pen for the night. 

Beautiful. 

Not much of a better sight than a newborn nursing its mother. These early moments are a game changer for survival. With a spring storm rolling in, it’s good to see these pairs starting out strong. Hopefully, they stay that way. Ranching on. 

Lord

If Jesus is our Lord, be at peace.

           https://youtu.be/fWQ0eB1gsns         

Betrayal

Hurts.

           https://youtu.be/1rX1rhhoYnA         

Go Time

 The stage set.

           https://youtu.be/H8Mi-lEOyZU         

Super Nachos

I could probably eat a hamburger for every meal, but sometimes I like to mix it up. Instead of making a hamburger patty, just brown the burger and make some super nachos. 

First up, make the nachos. Put a slice of cheese on one handful of chips, then another slice on a second handful. 

Then, brown a 1/3 lb of good, grass fattened hamburger. 

In the meantime, melt the cheese in the micro for 30 seconds. 

Then, pour on the browned burger. 

Bam!

That's what I'm talking about. Sure, you could doctor them up more. But why bother? These super nachos have a noble simplicity to them. Cheesy, tasty, and hearty. Perfect, after a Sunday full of celebrating Masses. Ranch on. 

Struggles

Jesus journeys with us as we journey with Him.

           https://youtu.be/_zjVroXDKAM         

East Line

Spring is not a time to be sitting around. If the sun is shining, you better be out ranching. The first project on this year's dock is rebuilding the east side fence line. 

This quarter mile stretch needs some help. We got through last year, but it is definitely our weak link. Our plan is to reuse the posts and wire that we can, and rebuild it from the ground up. 

First step was unclipping the wire. That was a chore in itself. 

The posts were far enough away, that over the years, they wound extra wire in the middle around the top wire to keep things from sagging. We cleaned all the wire up as we went along. Paralleling the fence is the water line up to the corner that the pivot misses. 

The mid-section gate was out of commission. 

The north corner was junked up and, over the years, a lot of blow-dirt has piled up. 

Once the fence was unclipped, Dad came in with his 4010 and pulled all 70 posts.

The wood posts, Grandpa set in concrete. We turned around and pulled them up with the 3-point lift arms. Worked. 

Once the posts were out of the way, we moved all the wire into the pasture. The plan is to pound the new posts and just bring the wire back in. 

Some of it was pretty buried. But I'm committed to reusing it! 

Then we disconnected the water line and rolled it into the field. 

Once it was all clear, I grabbed the dozer to level out the line. Just give me an excuse to fire up the 450!

My hope was to just even everything out. There was a dead furrow from plowing over the years on one end.

And blow-dirt on the other end. 

While we were at it, we cleaned up the north corner were the brace posts will go. 

Should work.

The line is ready, as far as I'm concerned. Now we just have to set our brace posts, pound in 100 steal posts, and stretch our wire back up. That'll take some time. And, while we are at it, we want to do some pipeline work too. Hopefully, she'll be back up by the time the cows are calved out and ready to come home. Ranching forward.