Harrowing

One the most satisfying parts of spring field work is harrowing a pasture that you have been feeding cows on. The gratification is instantaneous. Though we hadn’t been feeding cows on it, our little corner of grass hay still needed tending to. 

Dad had his harrow elsewhere so I had to improvise. Every rancher has some used tires on the north 40 that he just might need some day. Well, today was the day. 

So we hauled some over to the shop to come up with a game plan. 

The simpler the better in my book. We just drilled and bolted the tires to together with some 5/8" bolts and washers. 

Then carried her to the field.

Works for me.

Harrowing is just part of ranch spring cleaning. Agitating the grass kicks it into growing gear. Knocking the weeds down is nice too. Springtime is definitely a time when you don't want to burn daylight. Make hay while the sun shines because tomorrow it may snow. Bring it. 

YETI

Now that she’s warming up outside, it’s time to be ready to cool things down. First order of business is cleaning up the YETI 45. 

For the past three years this ice box bomb shell has kept many a Coors Light cold. 

She has required no maintenance over the years, but a little spring scrubbing was still in order. 

Let’s ranch. 

 Drinking responsibly is a virtue, and a virtue lies between two extremes. On one end of that spectrum is that alcohol is evil. But Jesus came eating and drinking (Mt. 11:19) and even his first miracle was turning water into wine (Jn. 2:1-10). On the other end of the spectrum is getting drunk. Getting drunk is a grave sin because it weakens our will and allows us to do actions that we normally wouldn't do when disposed with the use of right reason. In the middle lies the virtue of temperance, which governs all our passions, including our thirst. For more information see the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2290. 

All this being said, Catholic Cowboys don't have to drink alcohol. But if we do, we choose to never get drunk or even get close to it. We also don't break the legal norms for alcohol, such as drinking and driving or driving under the influence. 

Few things spell a good time like a YETI full of CLs. I smell a summer of fun coming on. God bless America. 

Resurrection

Read all the Resurrection accounts.

           https://youtu.be/18GGDc7atfU         

Alleluia

Praise the Lord!

           https://youtu.be/8uhNFwrm5aY         

Cooking Steak

I wouldn't call myself a grill master, but I have found a method of cooking steaks that works for me. In the past I've used the bbq, tried to broil, pan fried, but all seem to over cook the outside before the inside is med-rare on these big 1 1/4" thick steaks. Now days, I sear the outside then stick them in the oven to finish cooking. 

The quality of steak is crucial. LBCC T-bone will serve well for our case study. First thing to do is get the oven preheating to 400. 

I'm just a salt and pepper guy. The longer the s&p have to rest on the meat the better. Even hours ahead of time. 

Nothing but cast iron on this ranch. Get it up to a good searing temp and then slap a pad of butter on her to keep things from sticking. 

Once hot, sear both sides of the steak for no more than a minute each side. I like to turn it over one more time off the side you just seared before you put it in the oven. That way it doesn't over cook that side. Once the oven is ready, stick the pan and all in at 400 for 11ish minutes. 

In the meantime, try a little melted cheese on top of tortilla chips with a CL to hold you over. 

I have reached in and turned the steak over mid way through the cook, as I did with this big dude. Real cooks say that you should let the meat rest for five minutes or so once done cooking.

I was pleased though. 

I can't believe I ate the whole thing. 

What I like about this method is that it takes the guess work out of the equation. I never know when a steak is done or not, when it is rare or medium. There's plenty of tweaking that can be done, but for the most this two step way of cooking a steak is tried and true. Now that we have entered into the great Easter season with warmer weather, eating steak will be more regular. That being the case, we might as well do it right. There are many ways to cook a steak. But with these big guys, I find searing and baking the best bet. Christ has risen! Truly He has risen! 

Springtime

With springtime in the air, ranching fever is starting to set in. It's time to starting thinking about cattle. With Holy Week taking me up into the Hulett area, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and bring home a load of hay.

Good thing we got up there early, the frost is starting to come out and it is getting greasy. 

This time I called ahead. But Jim thought he better still come scope things out. Any man who can wear a 10gal hat like that deserves respect. 

When we got home, we stacked some for the horses.

And the rest for potential cows.

I also need to call Grandma and have her write down today's date in her Bible. Saturday, April 8, 2023, Fr. Bryce took off his longjohns, wore a short sleeve shirt, and put on his straw hat for the first time in Wyoming since last October. 

Were You There

Yes, I am there.

           https://youtu.be/iwN5q-Fp2eo         

Holy Thursday

Receive. 

           https://youtu.be/eJxUB0YhWmo         

Spring Cleaning

With the sun finally coming out to shine, it was time to get Paddy Wagon dusted off. She's always ready for work, but a little sprucing up before the spring fun was in order. 

First up was to clean out the manure and hay from last year. 

Muy bien.

The tack room was in decent shape but she needed tidied up. The foam pad with a sleeping bag set up was accomplishing the cool factor, but it wasn't allowing me to get much sleep. 

So we replaced it with an actual mattress that we can put sheets on and not have such a hard time climbing into. Solid. 

Ranch ready. 

Catholic Cowboys don't get ready, they stay ready. With spring springing, it is necessary that we be ready for whatever circumstances come our way: hauling hay, picking up cows, over night brandings... You name it, we're ready for it. 

Reasonable

God may not be practical, but He is reasonable.

           https://youtu.be/InbZY787iu0         

Ropin' the Wind

Lately, John and I have had the roping bug. It comes every spring as brandings begin to loom in the air. Well, Palm Sunday seemed like a good day to get together and loosen up our shoulders. 

Ropes come in every shape and size. My favorite is ole blue in the lower right. It is a 3/8" extra soft 30'er. 

Doesn't matter to John, though. He'll use whatever he can find. 

And nail it!

I wasn't used to this Texas Longhorn dummy. 

But we seemed to manage. 

Fun stuff. Roping is like dancing. I'm not worth a darn at either, but it's sure fun to watch those who are. The only way to get good, however, is through practice. That I can do. Brandings are coming up and I need to be ready. You never know when you're gonna get the call to enter the pen. When it comes, you don't want to disappoint. On to the next one. 

Palm Sunday

Our Lord shares in our passion as much as we share in His.

           https://youtu.be/IZEi9XTo4Y0