Good Shepherd St. Charles

 Pray for us! 

           https://youtu.be/n9V_hHRVr5w         

All Mixed Up

All I'm going to say is that somebody broke the cardinal ranching rule, if you open a gate, close it! We've all been there. But this gate left open caused some the neighbor's cows to get in on Jack's nice green regrowth. No problem, Chief to the rescue. 

I became aware of the situation yesterday afternoon. So with a free couple hours this afternoon, my Indian pony and I took off to right the situation. 

Probably eight head of purple tags were mixed in with our white tags. 

As soon as we set out, Hank showed up to get in on the action. Let's ride. 

Birds of a feather flock together. I wanted to get this deal straightened out before all the cows buddied up. With everybody still being new, the purple tags wanted to hang together. So we just started picking them out of the herd and they bunched up and headed west. They knew they were in the wrong pasture, so we just headed them for the trees they came from. 

I had all the help I could handle as we left the rest of the cows. 

Go home girls! Even though they knew where to go, they were hesitant. 

So they made a run for it. I felt like we were in an Indian relay race, as Chief and I galloped after them bareback. A lot smoother than a trot. 

One thing about cowboys, they don't quit. Once gathered back up, we headed for the trees once again.   

We had to get them to cross the canal. Best to make it their decision. It's all about pressure. Too much and they'll bolt. Not enough and they'll turn the wrong way. 

Just got them over the canal and headed through the gate, when my two equine companions decided to make a run for the salt block and messed the whole thing up!

All but one went through the gate. This is a worse scenario than if all of them didn't go through. Fortunately, she just paralleled the rest of the bunch from the other side of the fence. 

So we ran ahead and took down some fence crossing the canal. 

Then eased in from behind. Just enough pressure to let them all know we were there. 

Once we got to the end of the line, mom took the bait. 

And walked through our opening. 

Once we put the fence back up, we met the girls at the gate left open that they came through. 

Once opened and got behind, they walked right through. 

And stay out! 

Good work, pal.

Back to normal.

Alls well that ends well. I enjoy a good challenge. Sometimes I think the Lord throws them my way just for the fun of it! I'll take it. What fun would ranching be if you didn't have mix up every once in a while? We live and we learn. If there's a moral to this story at all, if you open a gate, close it! Ranch on. 

Give out of Love

Follow the Lord's.

           https://youtu.be/8kJZSoRmUJA         

All Souls Day

Pray for the Faithfully Departed.

           https://youtu.be/3ZuVYmQ9-uU         

Barn Door

Our goal this fall was to get the new barn door installed before winter hits. To say the least, this has been a work in progress. But thanks be to God, with His grace and the gifts of creativity and hard work, we achieved our goal.

We've been working in the barn yard since 2021. Once we got the corrals done, our plan was to change the barn loft into a living quarters. Now that's my kind of fun!

With a couple good days back home, we didn't waste any daylight.

Earlier this fall we built the steps up to the loft. Since then, we have set them in concrete and began to clean up the deck railing. 

Next up was the walk-in door into the loft, replacing the 4'x4' hatch.

A 36" metal exterior door was our unit of choice. 

So we took down the old hatch door. 

There was quite a bit of rotted lumber behind it. 

Then we removed the old header. 

And set some new studs and cut the opening for the new door. 

Then we replaced the header. This really isn't a weight-bearing wall. Each rafter in this barn acts as the roof and the wall. Regardless, we need a good header.  

Working with the siding was going to be the biggest challenge. We decided to recess the brick molding on the door and allow the siding to butt up against it. 

Should work.

Sure enough.

Fitting the door just right was a chore. Though in the end, it fit nicely. 

So we called it a day and had some homemade goodness. Thanks, Ma. 

Next day we tackled the siding. We had some leftover panels from the house that we cut down to size. Worked well .

Then caulked it all up good.

Later that afternoon we put a coat of paint on it, just so it doesn't stand out. The entire barn will get painted in the next few years, God willing. 

Giddy up. 

With a few hours to spare, we decided to dung out the loft itself. Not a real friendly dust to breathe. 

The loft is cool. Grandpa used it mostly for a grain bin. The barn itself was built in about 1975. The rafters Grandpa designed and built himself. For the last 30 years, it's been mostly used for storage. 

These old saddles and harness are about the only antiques up here. Neat, nevertheless. 

Giddy up.

So much potential up here. We'll be taking the next steps next year. 

All for the greater glory of God!

So fun. This barn speaks of my heart. The logs the loft sets on came off an old cabin in Tensleep Canyon that belonged to Fr. Cyril Hmelovsky. Fr. Hmelovsky was the forever priest in Worland. He baptized and married Mom, and he baptized me. Solid. We'll see what the years bring. Part of the fun in a project like this is the work itself. No need to get in a hurry, then. I've got a long time before I'll be living in here for any length of time. In the meantime, however, it gives me something to dream about. Let's ranch. 

Bells Baby

With our church building turning 75 this year, we promised to animate the two big bells in the bell tower, to let the town know we are still here and going strong. Talk is cheap, so we didn't get too excited until we heard the singing from on high. Well today, on the feast of the Apostles Simon and Jude, we let the anthems ring. May they proclaim loud and proud that the Kingdom of God is at hand for another 75 years!

When I ran the idea of animating the church bells past the pastoral council, one gentleman said, "We have them, might as well use them!" My thoughts exactly. 

Two 36" bells and one little bell lie inside this bell tower. Placed there at the construction of the church in 1950, the bells remind all within earshot, that God's Kingdom is present on earth. So, be at peace! Charles Marton, of happy repose, was the main church bell ringer in the early days. Living across the street until the late 1960s, probably instigated that. Since then, the bells have only seen random activity, usually before a funeral or a special Mass. 

These guys are fun. When I first laid eyes on them they said me, "Please let us play!" Roger that.

There are two main ways to electrically toll church bells, rock them with a chain and motor or strike them from the outside. We chose to strike them, as the wooden wheels wouldn't allow for the rocking motor and the strikers where much less expensive. After a bit of searching and inquire, McShane Bell Company, out of Missouri, was our specialists of choice. 

Once the parts arrived last week, Darin and I got to work. The tower is well constructed, but there was literally 75 years of dust and dirt up here. Good time to clean house. So we shop vacced the whole upstairs before we dove in. 

Outside, where dirt belongs, was a good place for all this grime. 

Once swept clean, we got to work. Electric strikers do sound different than swinging the bells. Part of this is because when the bell rotates, and the clappers dong, the sound swings out. Striking the bell from the outside, in a stationary position, can sound more like a death toll. To help curb this problem and mix the sound up a bit, we fixed the bells at their normal tolling angle and at opposite positions from each other. Couldn't hurt, anyway. 

Then we removed the original clappers. 

And hoisted up the new parts from down below. 

This was more-or-less what we were after. Once fixed and triggered, a magnet on the bottom of these strikers causes them to dong the bell. Pretty simple. 

So we got some bolts and a new 3/8" drill bit, and got to work.

It was amazing how well everything fit together. The head on the end of the striker is about 1/4" away from the bell, when it is in the closed position. When the magnet hits, the weight of the hammer head collapses the springs up high and makes it fall on the bell more naturally. Once bolted and adjusted into position, we fixed the bell in place with a little smooth wire and a wrenching rod. Ranchy. 

Then we pulled the ropes. A new era has dawned. 

Big Horn Electric was our service provider of choice. Lowell did a good job of working with the wiring dynamics and cleaning up our old power system. 

McShane preset some settings for us to get going with. Once we get some internet over here, we'll be able to get a bit more creative. Nerves were high as we pushed go. 

Success. So interesting to watch. Bells are cool. They don't take much to make them sing. 

Beautiful! The Church is ever ancient, ever new!

Bring it. 

St. John the Baptist in Buffalo, Wyoming has something to say. The Catholic Church that Jesus Christ established, is not long forgotten. She is alive and well, all throughout the world. The Church is the presence of God's kingdom on earth, says the Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et spes. The ringing of the church bells reminds us of this mystery. They call us to prayer and they also give us hope. It'll be interesting to see what the neighbors think, as I plan to ring these big beauties three times a day! Let's ranch, Catholic Cowboy style.