Rolling Wire

Believe it or not, there is an art to rolling up old barbwire. With springtime coming on strong, we took advantage of the opportunity to clean up last year's electric fence set up. 

#1 on our to do list is build this 500' section of fence on the north end of our pasture. We took down the old fence last summer. Now we need to spool up the temporary barbwire to get ready for permanent posts and fencing. 

This is the most common way to spool up barbwire. Get about a 24" loop built, then just start rolling it up from the bottom. The biggest trick, from start to finish, is to weave the wire back and forth as you roll it up. 

Left side, then right side. If you don't do this, your spool will spring apart. Doing so keeps it neat and tighty, in order to store it on the north 40 or re-use it again. 

If you do it well enough, you can simply loop the last end around the spool a time or two. Sometimes, I'll leave a long length and wrap it once at the top and then cut across the spool and wrap it at the bottom as well. 

Another method is the big loop trick. This is good for old men that don't want to pack the wire while they wind it up and don't want to bend over as they do so. 

Same theory applies here, left and right weaving pattern. 

Works. You'll often get a lot of trash wrapped up in the spool with this method. 

If you really have a mess on your hand, there's the old tumble weed approach. Just start balling it up. Move your spool all around as you do so. 

Not a bad tactic if you have multiple, uneven or broken wires to work with. Pretty much plan on not reusing it again after you've rolled up this ball of wax.

Simple as that. 

These days, lot of guys will use a hydraulic set up to spool up wire. Definitely has its place. But sooner or later, you're gonna find yourself hand rolling up some barbwire. No problem. Just get creative with your weaving pattern and go to work. Now that all the old wire is picked up, let's build some fence. 

Chrism Mass

Every Lent, we gather as a Diocese and celebrate the Chrism Mass. This is where the bishop blesses the Holy Oils for the year to come and priests renew their ordination promises. 

Traditionally, this Mass would be held on the morning of Holy Thursday. But with the vastness of the Diocese of Cheyenne, it has to be held the week before so we can travel back to our parishes in time for the feast of the our Lord's Supper and the holy days that follow.

A good portion of our 45 or so active priests were gathered, along with several deacons of the diocese. The evening Mass was preceded by a day of reflection. 

The bishop blesses all three Holy Oils, the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism. But the Sacred Chrism, which is the oil used for anointing in Baptism, Confirmation, and ordination to the priesthood and episcopate, he also breaths into. Kind of cool. 

Each parish designates a family to receive the Oils from the Bishop and bring them home. Bonnie and Sean Belliveau with their family represented St. John the Baptist.

Good stuff. Liturgies like these are Catholic. Their significance is rich and it brings the entire Diocese together. It's also a beautiful day to renew our consecration to Christ as His brother priests. Each Chrism Mass I take time to thank Bishop Steven for ordaining me to the priesthood. Let's ranch!

Spring Cleaning

With some miles to put on this spring, it was time to give White Horse a good cleaning. 

Winter can be long and hard. Which, makes it difficult to keep a pickup tighty.

First stop was to the carwash. I like to hit it with soapy rinse first. 

Especially after winter, I like to scrub it down.

Then rinse it again. Buffalo water is pretty spot free in itself. 

Then the big chore, dung out the inside. If the back seat of your pickup doesn't look and smell like a tack shed, you ain't no cowboy!

Little vacuuming and straightening up, good to go. 

Front seat, needed the same attention. 

Ranch truck to the full. 

ArmorAll is tough to beat. These wipes are sure handy.

New again.

Ready for another 350.

Let's ranch. 

Giddy up. 

I had a buddy who used to say, “Life looks better through a clean windshield.” True that. Not only do trucks run better when they're clean, but we also feel better driving a clean pickup. I’m thankful for the goodness White Horse has been to me. I do my best to treat her right in return. Ranch on. 

Light of Life

Follow Christ by following our conscience.

           https://youtu.be/4aRiwrMnyI8         

Teaching Compassion

Compassion moves forward.

           https://youtu.be/8EkQuHb6oPo         

Canal Repair

If my dad has any fault, it's being too loyal. Dad has sat on the Bluff Canal board of directors for the past 10 years or so. He's not paid. But if it wasn't for his fidelity and expertise, a lot of crops south of Worland would go unwatered.

For being a short canal, the Bluff system has a lot of pipes and pumps. This part of the Upper Bluff network has been a thorn in everybody's side for the past few years. 

Last year, in the middle of this field, the old concrete pipe sprung a leak.

So, they dug it up this spring and cased it with new concrete. 

The entire pipe probably needs replaced, but that's for another day. 

On the front end is the bigger job. On this side of the draw, lie the head of that pipeline, which has been springing leaks for the past few years. Replacing the first 500' of line is the first phase of replacing the entire stretch. But to do so, they had to get trucks across this draw. 

So Dad fired up our ole JD 450.

And went to work. 

Not bad for a country boy. 

This job is for the experts. Lots of depth and lots of dirt. 

Here's where the old line sat. 

It will drop off this bank and head to the dual pump system. 

Plenty of digging yet to do. 

As they pull all the old 10' sections out.

And make room for these 50' x 24" polly joints. 

Dad will make sure the job gets done. Some may criticize him for working too hard in a volunteer position. But I admire him. When Dad signs on to a project, you know you are in good hands. Keep riding for the brand, partner. Your loyalty is ensuring the growth of a lot more than just crops. 

Feeding Cows

It's gonna be a while before grass is ready to graze. In the meantime, we're just going to keep feed on the cows. Well, today they ran out. 

Critters of this age, you can pretty well keep as much hay on them as you want. Especially if it's grass hay. 

This is all the hay we have left from last year's little crop. Good opportunity to feed it up. 

Little squares should top off what's left in the feeder. 

This round bale feeder works great. But there comes a point, with tightly baled bales, where cattle can no longer reach the feed. 

So we just forked it around while the cows looked on. 

There was still a lot of hay left in those round bales. It just needed broken up. 

Then we threw the little squares on top. 

When cutting twine on little squares, I like to hold it on one side of the knot and cut it on the other. Trying to drag the knot all the way around the underside of a bale can be enough to make a preacher cuss! 

Best to keep track of all your twine and tie them in a knot before pitching them in the shed. 

Everybody's happy. 

It won't be long and grass around the ranch will green up. Then we'll kick the girls to pasture. Until then, we'll keep hay on them. Ranchin.