Jesus and the Church are the fulfillment of the types.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Monday, July 10, 2023
Sunday, July 9, 2023
Family Fun
It's a small world, and an even smaller Church. Inside the Church we’re all one big happy family. Some of us just haven't met yet. Well, today we met a fellow Father in the Church, Bishop Dan Mueggenborg from the Diocese of Reno. He's here visiting some of his flock, Bud and Mary Lou Flocchini, on their ranch north of Wright.
Kelly and I introduced him to a Catholic Cowboy Mass. He seemed to fit right in.
Afterwards we went back to the ranch for dinner. John cooked up some of his famous Swiss Chard.
While Mary Lou fried us up some zucchini flowers.
The main course was Bison tenderloin.
Let's dine.
Salute!
Good stuff. The family of God is wide and varied. We may be from different states or from different cultures, but our Catholic faith unites us all. I love it. Meeting new members of the Church is like discovering new brothers and sisters. No better way to get to know each other then over a meal. First the sacred banquet of the Mass, and then at an Italian feast back at the ranch. God is good. On to the next one!
Saturday, July 8, 2023
Haying
Our little corner of hay finally produced well enough to bale. It's a grass/alfalfa mix, but the alfalfa has a stronger presence. She's thick though, and will serve well our part-time ranching purposes.
I've chosen two forms of haying that no one wants to help out with, hand-line and little square bales. I jetted back home a couple weeks ago and pulled off the 40' joints of hand-line.
Then Dad windrowed it. Beings Worland has been getting so much unexpected rain, he had to rake it a time or two.
Once he baled it up, I came back home to pull it off the field.
Mom cooked us up a good ranch breakfast.
Then Dad and I went to work. He drove...
While I stacked.
About 100 bales. Good hay, but discolored from the rain. Cows will enjoy it through.
Once loaded I headed it back over the mountain to Campbell County. 1st gear up. 1st gear down.
Help wanted.
Hobby ranching is a lot of work. I wouldn't have it any other way though. It's the work that makes it fun. Special thanks to Dad for putting up with me and for putting up my hay. Now I just have to haul it to the corral and stack it. Any takers?
Friday, July 7, 2023
Plasma Cutter
Today's generation of welders prefer a plasma cutter to a cutting torch whenever possible. I'd have to agree. If it's near by, it is generally worth the effort of hooking up and using when you are looking for a precision cut.
My brother Luke bought me this Hypertherm 45 when I graduated from seminary. There are other good brands out there, but Hypertherm has plasma cutters dialed in.
They take a pretty good air compressor to run. It's also best to run a regulator keeping it under 150psi and a filter to ensure for clean air.
Our project this was to build two flanges for Dad's new irrigation pump. I had some 3/8 plate around so we went to work.
Anytime you can scribe the holes and perimeter for accuracy go for it. Here we used a bent nail to get a basic template.
The marks were super faint so we then outlined them with soap stone.
Ready to cut.
Often it takes a quick second for the arc to penetrate the metal. But if the sparks keep flying in your face you might have a bad tip.
When you change a tip on a plasma cutter you have to change the electrode dilly at the same time.
Money.
Here's a little tip: when I blow holes I start the arc in the middle of the marked hole, so that if you loose your chalk line you always have a reference point to work around.
The cool thing about a plasma cutter is you can cut any kind of metal that will conduct electricity. Here we cut this 4" steel nipple in half to weld on to our plate.
When your working with something that is going to involve pressure I always prep the surfaces as best I can. Of course, remove the paint from the nipple, but also the new metal sheen that comes on the plate.
Tack weld it in four corners, but not right where the holes are, because they are already gonna be close to the bolt head.
Then go for it. I don't start or stop a weld on top of a tack weld or a hole. And when I overlap the other end of the weld, I always run over the top of it to ensure a good seal.
One beauty of plasma cutters is that they don't produce a lot of slag, and what they do produce is easy to remove. I don't run the grinder on top of the slag, but just underneath it so that it, more or less, pops off.
One of the greatest features of plasma cutters is their low heat. In a project like this where the mating surface is important, you really have to watch for warping. The little curling that occurred here will not impact our final application.
Time to install. We built two of these threaded flanges, one 3" and the other 4". We then placed a gasket in between the surfaces as we bolted it up.
Giddy up.
Mission accomplished. This could have been done with a cutting torch and I suppose we could have ordered some new flanges on Amazon and had them delivered to the ranch. But what fun would that have been. With the right tools and a little bit of savvy, we had a couple of pump flanges built in no time. It would have been hard to do as smoothly, though, without a plasma cutter. They may not get used everyday. But when you need them, they are great to have on hand. Hopefully Dad will come around to this modern means of welding. But you know what they say, it's hard to teach old cowboys new tricks.
Thursday, July 6, 2023
Forgiveness
Our sins and the sins others have inflicted upon us, cripple us. Forgiveness sets us free.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Bob the Builder
Bob Olson has built over 200 log homes in his day. Each one is unique and has the imprint of a man who's love for God and love for building go hand in hand. I've had the joy of knowing Bob over the past four years and today he gave me a grand tour around his job sites.
Bob has the character of a log home: rugged, genuine, unique, and unrepeatable. Here he stands in front of one of his favorite, recent creations.
Bob is a hard guy to keep up with. He's always one step ahead of the game. And with several houses under construction at the same time, he's got to be.
Bob has built all the homes on Hulett's private golf course. And with his quality construction, he's the owners’ contractor of choice.
Currently he has five guys working for him. Their jobs stem from remodeling to new construction.
Most of the homes they build are full-log construction. However they do build some stick frame houses with log siding.
They are start to finish contractors. Here they've laid out the composite rock siding that will skirt the base of this new home.
The views from this hilltop are outstanding. Devil's Tower is visible from about every deck they build.
Most of the logs they get have a swedish cope to them so they set right down on top of the bottom one, creating a good seal. The logs are not part of a kit. Bob is a dealer for these logs that come out of Idaho. Each one they tailor cut to fit their needs.
The entryway of a home says it all. Here you can see the attention to detail that goes into fitting each log. They also save these decorative logs to give the home added character.
Well done, Bob. You've helped bring a lot of joy to people's lives.
Bob and I are cut from the same cloth. Neither of us are content unless our fire is full of irons. The more projects we have going, the more efficient we are at our work. Bob is an artist. From his architectural designing to the construction of his creation, Bob glorifies God with his life. Keep up the Good work, brother. The world could use a few more men like Bob Olson.
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Sunday, July 2, 2023
.454 & .45
My buddy Dcn. Joe said I could shoot a .45 long colt through my .454 casull. Guess there's only one way to find out.
My rifle is a .454 and the revolver is a .45. It'd be great to use the same ammo for both.
Turns out they are the same caliber. The only difference is the .454, on the right, has a bigger casing and packs more powder.
Giddy up.
They're both fun to shoot. The .45 is a bit gentler and loads in my lever action better. I'll probably stick to my heavy round .454 for shooting cows. But I think I'll have Joe load me up some hot .45s to have on hand for both my cowboy sidekicks.
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