Skinnin Cats

Jason Kuhbacher called and invited us up to the ranch to work cows on Wednesday. We couldn't make that, but we went ahead and ran up there today for a visit. It’s always good to be on Belle Cr. and visit Bonnie and him. After a good ranch lunch and chat about the place, we went out and got our hands dirty skinning a bobcat. 

Bonnie trapped this nice female just yesterday. They are not uncommon in this area of Montana. 

Their hides are worth a pretty penny to the tanners in town. 

Not quite like skinning a cow. You don't want to cut the hide and you also tube them by mainly pulling the hide off.

Nice work you two.

Afterwards Jason showed us some of the heifer calves that they are planning to bread. Looks like they have them cake friendly.

On to the next one.

Always good to see Jason and Bonnie. They are living the dream, just ranchin. I was glad Gerry got to know them; their faith is real. Our time together is winding down. Let's see what else we can squeeze in. 

Shekinah Glory

 Encounter the Lord in His varied presence through faith.

           https://youtu.be/hkb6fI1i2D8         

Feeding the World

Now that Lungren Brothers has gone international, we've thought about changing our slogan to Feeding the World. We'll see. One thing America has to offer the world is hamburgers. 

 Our Spaniard brother Gerry has been an asset in our farm to fork operation.

After we chunk up some choice portions of beef, we run it through the grinder. For hamburger patties we like a richer fat to meat ratio.

We then run it through a second time, but with a finer grind. 

Then comes the work, pressing the little buggers. Our press is actual made in Spain. It works good but takes some time and talent. Our patties end up being about 1/2 pounders.

My buddy Daren taught me that flash freezing them before packaging makes them keep their form. 

Once froze, they sure do seal up nice. We made about 250 patties. 200 of them are going to Kurt and Leah's wedding in the spring. 

Of course we have to do our own quality control. 

Looks like they pass inspection. 

Hamburgers are my favorite food, and I'd like to share with the world the goodness that they have brought into my life. Nothing says freedom like ground beef and a cold beer. I'm confident that beef can reconcile the world's problems. We at Lungren Brothers Cattle Company won't stop ranching until every man, woman, and child has a hamburger in front of them. Peace

Duc in Altum

Don't be afraid to go out into the deep with the Lord.

           https://youtu.be/dX1awLdJJgI         

Friday Funday

Friday was snowmobile day. After Mass, Rosary, and a Maverick Bonfire burrito, Kurt, Gerry, and I arrived in the Northern Big Horns above Sheridan. A fun time was had by all.

Kevin Geis lent us one extra sled and with Kurt's snowbike and my RMK we were ready to rock.

Why not us the Paddy Wagon for hauling sleds. Thankfully they have reverse these days.

Beautiful view off the western side.

Nothing like a midday hotdog. 

Gerry rode steady all day on one of the snowmobiles. But when he switched to Kurt's snowbike, it was like a homecoming. 

Here's some rides:

Fr. Bryce

Kurt

Gerry

Blacktooth

This was about as good of snowmobiling day as you could ask for. The snow was light, but we found some good pockets, no one broke down, no one got stuck and we all had fun. Chauk it up as another American experience for our boy. 

Be a Man

Being a man is to spend yourself for God and others.

           https://youtu.be/3M6A6ByyBAo         

Sale Barn

With all our cows in the cooler, we thought we better start looking for more. We've had good look buying directly from the producer, but I'd like to find a few lighter cows too. So we took a shot at the barn in Buffalo.

If nothing else it was to be a good experience for Gerry. I also was able to run into a buddy from the Big Horn Basin who gave us some sales ring tips.

You can't go to a cattle auction without getting some homemade grub. Shepherd's pie was the special.

Short sale. This can be a pretty dead time of the year for sale barns. Once calving season comes on there'll be more of a market for our heiferettes. 

So we turned around and headed for Hulett to celebrate Mass.

No harm no foul. Just give me an excuse to roll over to Buffalo. Good folks and beautiful countryside. Hmmm, wonder what we can do next...?

Wrong One

Christ, the light has come into the temple of our hearts.  

           https://youtu.be/1TYJs2LBMM0         

Fresh Faith

Let's not get complacent. Keep our faith fresh.

           https://youtu.be/HCKgJZMCrug         

 

Accuser

Tune out of the accuser and tune into God.

           https://youtu.be/aPvEbr3wIgA         

Long Looking Love

When having to give tough advice, look beyond the fear into the fruit.

           https://youtu.be/GFDZSiiSX5U         

 

Ranchin Steady

We usually ranch pretty hard on Fridays and yesterday was no exception. The only problem is that we worked ourselves out of a job.

The mission was simple, round up the herd on the south 40, peal off Ricky, and bring him home.

But if you're gonna ranch all day, you need to start off with a ranch breakfast from Lula Belle's.

Mollie and Chief were ready to work.

No need to show off my bronc skills, I'll just warm Mollie up instead. 

Just point Chief in the right direction and hang on partner. 

There they be. Six heifers and Ricky. It was nothing short of cowboy getting this wild bunch in the corral. Just remember buddy, when working cattle with Fr. Bryce, take nothing that is said personal. 

God bless him. Ricky was given to us by a family up north. He was a dwarf and a little ornery. We took good care of him over the past 5 months, but his time had come. Gerry put a nice shot on him.

He'll make some nice little steaks. Well done ol' son. 

Beneath these western skies.

By the time we cut up some jerky meat and ate some cow heart, the day was shot and we were too. Ain't nothing better than being spent from a hard day's work. Especially when it involves feeding America. The only problem is that we shot our last cow. Guess it's time to get some more. On to the next one.