All In

Is there anything that prevents us from following Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength? If so, it's time to call Big Iron.

           https://youtu.be/p_xzNFw6eRs         

Diggin' Beets

Raising sugar beets runs deep in our family. My great grandparents came over from the Russia/Germany area in the late 1800's and migrated around the US working in the beet fields. In 1942 Grandpa Adam bought a farm south of Worland and started growing his own sugar beets. Four generations later, the legacy continues.

Growing sugar beets in the Big Horn Basin has been around since 1905. But at the turn of the millennium  the Worland factory was about to call it quits. So in 2002 the farmers banded together, along with local investors, to buy the factory and form Wyoming Sugar Company. Today, WSC is a 100% grower owned cooperative. 

In the early days, digging beets was a chore. Back then, the measure of a man was how many tons of beets you could shovel.

Over the years tractors replaced shovels. A three row digger was the norm in the 60’s and 70's.

In the 80's, six row pullers were the most common and Lungren's would run two in a field.

It was always a family affair: Dad and Uncle Vance.

During the 90's, us cousins would spend every Saturday we could in the beet field. Even the boys from Rawlins would come up.

Clint and I logged plenty of hours picking up loose beets and throwing them in the trucks.

Today the family digs on. 

And they're still running two old six rows.

Keep on farmin' in a free world partner.

I'm forever thankful for the farmers who have persevered through thick and thin to help sweeten our lives. The sugar is great, but the flavor they bring to the world is irreplaceable. Little draws a man's heart closer to his Creator than dirt. It's where we came from. If we forget that, we loose touch with reality Himself. Life is a beet field, all we have to do is dig it.

The Holy Rosary

The Rosary without contemplation is like a body without a soul. - SS JPII & PVI

           https://youtu.be/BrOu7NSpVmA         

Jesus I Trust in You

 Martha and Mary are two dimensions of the one person we call a friend of Christ's.

           https://youtu.be/lTm26WOVwAc         

Show and Tell

Give as a gift what you have received as a gift.

           https://youtu.be/GUrq7g3FND0         

 

Primary Purpose

 Husband and wife are like two eyes of one body that contemplate the depths of Heaven. 

           https://youtu.be/oL60RZ1-3yI         

Bull Fight

Chuck Tweedy had an ornery bull that had put more than one cowboy on the fence. It was time for it to go to town so he called ol' Fr. Bryce to take care of it. Beings today was the feast of our Guardian Angels, I thought this would be a good opportunity to teach the boys that our angels aren't wimpy. They are here to help us take care of business. 

             https://youtu.be/yH3K64HudMc           

I ain't scared.

Weighting in at about 1750 lbs. I called Dagen Geis to bring in the big guns.

Couldn't have done it without my right hand man Shane. Thought this might make a nice Wyoming postcard for the folks back east.

Just Ranchin. 

Courage is not the absence of fear, it's bravery in the face of fear. If there's a job to be done, our Lord has given us a guardian angel to help accomplish it. Mine doesn't get a lot of rest.

God is with Us

Shoot for Heaven.

           https://youtu.be/Sg2swodvzwI         

 

Preferential Option for God

 Our preferential option for the poor flows from our preferential option for God.

           https://youtu.be/WhRLUSdtTNI         

Don't Bug Me

Whoever is not against us is for us.

           https://youtu.be/EzcVb33-ELU         

Old Yeller

Six years ago this week, the Church held a World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and Pope Francis was coming to town. Me and my seminarian buddies wanted to go, but we thought simply flying out would be lame. So we asked our Blessed Mother for an old school bus and She provided.

It was on this project that I really began to understand the thirst of desire. We had planned in the spring to go the bus route, but by fall we had no bus. I would have gladly given up on the effort, but the desire in my heart wouldn't let me. It was so subtle, yet so demanding. I looked and looked for the right bus, but to no avail. One day, two days before I headed back to seminary, I was driving down South Flat in Worland and spotted a bus at a distance sitting beside a guy's shop. I thought what the heck and drove in there. Sitting in the weeds was our bus. I knew it from the moment I saw it. The only thing left to do was convince the owner to sell it to us. Our Blessed Mother and the Rosary took care of that.

And so we named it after Her.

My boys were quite happy when I showed up that fall with our ticket to Philly.

The first thing we did was rearrange the seats.

We figured a drain in the back corner would be handy too.

Of course you can't road a school bus to Philly without an air horn. My brother Luke came through with one off his feed truck.

Mission accomplished. It took about 40 hours, day and night, to get from Denver to Philadelphia. We only had one causality, one bro flew home.

Once back at school we used to pull it in the court yard and use it as a hangout. We'd play cards and chill and once it got cold we stuck a wood stove in the corner to knock the edge off.

After seminary, she continued to follow me around. We used it at St. Stephens Indian Mission for trips here and there.

I brought her to Gillette and rocked it a time or two.

But eventually it was time to pass her on. Using it once a year didn't justify the expense of keeping her operational. Andy from NE is now her new owner. Take care of her son.

Nothing but gratitude.

It's been a fun ride with old yeller. But life's about letting go. Our Blessed Mother proved a generous distributer of God’s graces during this project. Though I'm letting go of the bus, I'm maintaining a dependance upon Her. Totus Tuus Virgo Maria!

Day in the Sun

With the first day of fall upon us, it was imperative to go up into the Big Horns and get some fresh air. The southern end of the mountains was our destination and Dick Williams from Casper was my trail boss.

This area, known as Red Wall on Willow Creek, was a side of the Horns I had yet to see. Bucket list, check.

My heart leaped for joy as we crossed into county 20.

This leg of the journey is called Rough Lock Hill. Rough locking a wagon is when it was so steep that they locked up the rear wheels, usually with a log, and skidded down the slope. Tougher than the rest. 

Can't beat a good two track through golden aspens.

Which led right into the Williams' cabin. They built this cabin, along with two others near by, in 1974. It was a project undertaken by the three amigos, friends who banded together to develop this land on the Middle Fork of the Powder River up Outlaw Canyon. Dick spent three months on the building crew that year. It was a nice break from law school. Job well done partner.

Pretty cool construction. The cedar logs were pre-cut and are still tight as a wedge today.

Dick and his late brother Barry, have been the stewards of the cabin since their parents passed away. Slowly the next generation is beginning to take the reins and finding as much joy in it as they have.

Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary...

Not a bad view off the front deck.

Thanks for the tour Dick. I saw new country and made a good friend. Keep up the Good work. The Church could use a few more cowboys like you.