Stuck Pivot

Modern farming technologies are great, but not trouble free. Irrigation around the Bighorn Basin has evolved from flood irrigating to pivot sprinklers. Pivots are great, when they keep moving. 

Dad's sprinkler went down from being out of alignment. We figured it probably got stuck from all the corn dragging along as it's climbing up the hill in the mud. Not uncommon if so. 

So we got the drone out and flew the field. 

And found it wasn't just stuck, it had a flat tire... in the middle of the field!

So we got geared up and drove the side-by-side down the pivot track until we came to the tower. 

Sure enough... it was flat. 

With enough blocks we were able to get it jacked up. 

Once unbolted we had to dig it out. 

And load it up. 

Dad's corn is looking pretty good. Within the next couple weeks they will chop it into silage. 

I bet some of it is 12' high.

Back in business. 

Dad and I are always up for an adventure. A flat pivot sprinkler tire in the middle of a corn field is right up our alley. Farming is fun, and can even pay the bills at times. But I think it's the challenge that makes it the most enjoyable. Men need to be tested. It's what gives us strength and builds up our character. Giddy up. 

Ranchin with a Cause

Having a couple days off after Labor Day, I ran home to get some fall work done. The project at hand was to bury some electrical line in the barn yard. Mission accomplished. 

Safety first around this ranch. After a 1/2" of rain, the digging conditions were perfect. 

This back shed has been fed with overhead power from the barn. We basically just wanted to start fresh with burying it. 

A little grease goes a long ways. 

Once lubed up, we got to digging. 3' deep was our basic depth. 

Once dug, there's always a little shovel work to do.

Then Dad came down with some 8 gage reda cable for our main source of power. 

We just drilled a hole in the logs of the barn and ran it to the breaker box. 

We added a couple 110 wires to power the water tank heater and a couple other spots. 

Here's an old oil field trick: bury some tape well above the cable so that if you're digging at a later date and hit yellow tape, you better stop. 

Then we unhooked the backhoe. 

And really got to back filling. 

It cleaned up pretty well with the blade. 

Then we made several passes over it with the tracks just to pack it in. 

Then we cut down the old poles with a chain saw and pulled the stumps out with the 4010. 

Muy bien. 

Sure looks cleaner. I know we won't regret going to this work. The electrical will be better, once we get it wired back in. And it will also give us more gate room in an already tight location. If you put your mind to it, you can get a lot done in a little time. On to the next one. 

Labor Day

I love to work.

           https://youtu.be/oeqaUVHvMLA         

Open Range

John and I have done a lot together: worked bison, served Mass, held retreats, had dinner... the list goes on. But we have never ridden horses together. Well, no better time than the present. With both of us having a couple free hours Sunday afternoon, we decided to saddle up and explore the Durham Ranch. 

Fr. Bryce and John Flocchini ranching in a free world. 

Once unloaded and saddled, we headed east of his house. 

The first stop was to see some old teepee rings. 

From my understanding, the Indians would use these rocks to hold down the bottom portion of their teepee covering. When they'd leave they'd just roll them off and walk away leaving a ring of rocks. Cool.

Mollie is loving this new bit. So am I. 

These segmented rocks are crazy. You often see them perched on ridges around this prairie country. 

They sure look like a fossilized sea creature of sorts. Though most people I talk to say they aren't. 

Scoria of varied colors is common around here. 

It's basically baked clay from ancient burning coal seams. 

John's eyes are always fixed on the ground, checking out the soil and the grass. 

And even finding an occasional fossilized sea shell. 

Seeping springs are not uncommon in the draws between the hills. 

Good ride cowboy. Thanks for the tour. 

Day is done. 

It's hard to beat a couple hours of horse back on the Wyoming prairie. Of course, if you're with a good buddy, all the better. John is a generous man in more ways than one. But he really shines when it comes to stewardship. From the ground to the critters to the guests, this land is your land this land is my land. In the end, John understands that this land is God's land. And he, for now, is it's care taker. Well done, my friend. Keep up the Good work. 

Eternal Perspective

Jesus was always focused on eternal life.

           https://youtu.be/iBEa8yiAMds         

Copper Time

Back home we've acquired quite a bit of oilfield reda cable. This heavy gage electrical wire is used to run submersible pumps and other motors around oil and gas production. If there's a weakness in it they just get rid of it. And if you know the right guy, you can pick some up for pretty cheap. Having it on hand, we've used it to power all sorts of things, mainly different buildings around the place. I've had a string of in sitting around the rectory, so I thought I'd see how hard it would be to strip and recycle the copper. Let's find out.

There's probably 100'+ of cable here. Stiffer than heck and super hard to work with. But for the right application, it's gold.

8 gage solid copper with and an extra ground wire. 

I simply took my sawsall and cut it into 3' lengths. Then the pushed the guts up from one end, grabbed it on the other end, and pulled the wire out of the conduit. 

Then separated the insulated wire from the ground wire. The shiny copper sells as #1 copper and the tarnished as #2. #1 is worth more.

Then I grabbed a cold one and went to stripping. With a good sharp utility knife, making one pass across the insulation wasn't that hard. 

Then simply pull the two apart. 

3 or 4 hours later and we had it all stripped. Our Blessed Mother approved. 

45 pounds of copper at $2.35 a pound = $106 of cash. 

Not bad. I'm sure the Lord can find a better use for that money than being coiled up in the corner. I'm also all about reusing the earth's precious recourses. Copper, like many minerals in the ground, is a gift from God. It's here for us to use, not abuse. Instead sitting back on the north 40 or throwing it away, might as well get it back into production. 

Harvest Moon

Whether you're farming or ranching, September is harvest season. So it is with Lungren Brothers. Wanting to get going on butchering our herd but not wanting to bring them all home yet, Jared and I went out to them.

I've slaughtered cows in the pasture before, but you have to be careful because they'll turn into a herd of elk on you if you don't do it right.

Already bringing one home a couple weeks ago, three of the other four were already in the corrals. So we just cut ole 60 out and laid her down. The cows have really summered well. 

It was good to have Jared on board. He's helped me a lot with different projects, but this was his first cow hunting experience. 

#60 was about as good of a cow as I've processed. She's off of Peg and Lee Isenberger's ranch south of Wright. I bet she put on 300lbs on Black Hills grass this summer. 

Meat's not meat until it's in the truck. 

Back in business. 

I look forward to doing some cutting this fall. #57 has been hanging for two weeks now. I like to age them for 21 days before I start to cut. If we do a cow a month we should be done by the end of December. Just in time for snowmobiling season.