Red Cow Roundup

After a nice fall rain, the weather was perfect to move cows on the Cozner place. Ryan and Anna Huxtable asked if I'd come down and lend a hand. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to see new ground, I gladly excepted the offer. 

Their 50 head of Red Angus were grazing south east of Wright about 12 miles. It was time to gather and trail them to a neighboring pasture 5 or so miles away. 

Cool country. The cactus was added incentive to stay in the saddle. 

Anna was putting one of the first real rides on her colt Bella. They both did pretty darn well. 

I also had a nice change of pace riding Chief. He did great even with the ole coal train passing by. 

Going under those tracks was an interesting venture though. 

Grandpa John helped coax them through with a bucket of cake. 

Home sweet home, for a while anyway. The cattle will stay over here next to Hwy 59 for quite awhile before they come home for the winter. 

The job wasn't over though. We needed to bring Red Devil the bull home. 

I had to see it to believe it, but the object was to convince this bull to jump into that trailer. 

Mission accomplished. It took a little cowboy persuasion, but he eventually got the message and hopped on in. 

Couldn't have asked for a better day. The cool air and tender grass made for an enjoyable ride. And the birthday dinner for Anna back at the ranch was just icing on the cake. Chief and I are for hire. All we need is the promise of a good time and a hot meal. Both of which Anna and Ryan provided. Thanks y’all.  

Happy Birthday Mary

Praise God for our salvation history. 

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Setting up Shop

 Shoot for Heaven

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Works of Mercy

St. Mother Teresa, pray for us.

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Wild West Summer 2002

Words can't describe what a cool summer it's been. But county music and pictures can. Here's to you Gerry. Sit tall in the saddle and wear that hat with pride. Peace partner. 

Click on the gear above and change the pixels 720 for better quality 

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No Fences

Make your world revolve around God, not Walmart. 

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Just Fencing

With Gerry around for just a couple more days, we thought we better make the best of it. We started with a corral project in Worland, we might as well finish with one. 

Lungren Enterprises has been my fake business name for years. Seems to sum up my mission. 

Before we could get to work though, we had to brand Ranch Truck.

Last fall, Jeannie and George Etchemendy gave us some 2 7/8" tubing for corral posts. May God reward them for their generosity. Now it's time to get the posts set. Cutting them into 8' lengths was the first step.

Driving them into the ground was the next. The right tools for the job make all the difference. 

Welding on the continuous fence panels was the final.

Once we got a system down we really made hay. 

All of which was topped off by some home cooked and home grown beef.

God bless America! Sometimes it takes a foreigner to help the natives appreciate what they have. We've always thanked God for our gifts in life, but Gerry's presence has helped us appreciate American freedom all the more. God has given us all the unailible rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our Western American way of life just seems to highlight it. Ad majorem Dei gloriam!

Let Go

Do not be afraid to put out into the deep.

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Truth in Love

Look pass the ruffled feather to the good speaking the truth will bring.

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Hitting the Hay

You ain't no cowboy today unless you have a living quarters in your horse trailer. Fortunately, we have that one covered. Patty is a multipurpose trailer. We can haul horses, cows, sometimes both, haul hay, and even campout.

The tack room is where I lay awake all night. 

When you close the door, she's a little snug with the saddles. Even though I rarely catch a wink of sleep with my nose against the roof, it sure is fun. 

Gerry prefers the great outdoors. Being more of a mountain man, he likes nature as his bed.

Asleep on the hay. 

Just ranchin'. Keeping up with Jones' in ranch world is tough. Driving around Campbell County one can be kind of intimidated by all the fancy setups running around. No need to worry here. Our trailer is ranch ready. She can haul the load and house the cowboys. 

Receive

We have to receive without pay in order to give without pay.

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Cutting Room

With 40 cows ran through the cutting room so far, we've come across some improvements that could help in the process. The main one being the floor. The aluminum tread plate was next to impossible to keep clean. So with butchering season around the corner, we took advantage of a window of opportunity to fix her up. 

There is really nothing I can think of changing that would speed up our processing. We don't have a band saw, and I really can't think of a use for one. We leave most of the carcasses in the cooler, so we can keep the cutting room as clean as possible. 

The aluminum diamond tread plate is not original to a semi reefer trailer. It was installed as part of the former owner's project. If fat or dirt would get down there, it would take a wire wheel or pressure washer to get it up. 

So we installed a subfloor. This allowed us to fasten down the tread plate better and make ready for heavy-duty kitchen vinyl. 

John Black came in to do a professional job of instillation. Thanks man. 

We also made a few minor tweaks to the room to make it more friendly. Buddy has been a nice addition. 

Come on cows. 

    I'm excited to spend the fall and winter evenings cutting fine beef to feed fine people. The beauty of the amendment to the Food Freedom Act that we operate under, is that we do not have to be an inspected or licensed meat cutting facility. We do not sell meat, so the state does not need to be involved at all. We are not open to the public either. The meat processed and housed at Lungren Brothers Cattle Company is for share holders only. All have signed a contract with full knowledge that I am uninspected. When they come and get meat, and there is an exchange of money, it is for my labor in cutting our meat. 

    The truth is, an operation like this is self regulating. If I thought the outfit processing my food was shady, I'd stop going to them. The fact is, more and more people keep signing on and coming back. The proof is in the pudding. We try hard to provide a good product for good people. We're not out to make money, but to Feed America.