Burning Weeds

Springtime is all about getting ready for the new life to come. Whether it’s calving or planting, the more work you can get done before that new life starts, the better. Burning up last year's weeds ranks hight on the to do list. But once seeds are in the ground and the irrigation begins, spring work is a lost venture. So with a little time and a lot of team work, we burned up some weeds around the fence lines.   

If you're prepared and have enough experience, burning weeds is basically a science. Well, Dad had the experience and I was ready with the water whenever it was necessary. 

First step was to outfit Ranch Truck with our new old sprayer unit. Fit great. 

Then Mom and I pickup all the old sprinkler pipe laying against the fence. 

Every few years, the weeds just get away from us. Last year was such a year. There were also piles of corn stocks lying around that needed to be torched as well. 

We started with them just to get our confidence built up. 

Mom ran the Rhino with the propane tank as Dad walked behind and got fires started. 

Once those were smoldering down, we started on the fence line. Attention to wind is an important detail. Depending on the circumstance, it can be good to burn with the wind so that it gets a good burn on things. Dried grass burns real well. But old, stemmy kochia weeds are hard to burn by themselves. 

When we'd come to a power pole, I'd usually run ahead and douse it with water. 

Then burn all around it. 

And soak it down again. No problems to today. But Dad and I have had to call the fire department out in the past. Lessons learned. 

Great day for burning. Little breeze, but not enough for things to get out of hand. 

After we were pretty well burned up, I ran around and made sure the leading edges of the fire was good and out. 

Not bad.

I do derive a bit of joy watching weeds go up in smoke. It's a win win, the fence lines look better and the natural grasses rebound even greener. Hopefully, with our new spraying rig we can stay on top of the weeds throughout the summer. For now, it's on to planting and calving. Let's ranch. 

Full Potential

On the feast of St. Joseph we finished our third annual picnic table for the John Paul II school fundraiser. Hopefully the recipients will enjoy using it as much as we did building it.

This year’s work crew was from the forth and fifth grade classes. Starting at 0900: Baylie Biegler, Sawyer Daly, Micah Blare, Everett Pinkerton, McKenna Underburg, Addie Tate, Grace Morris, Arleena Rourke. 

This is probably the 15th table we’ve built for Catholic school fundraisers over the years.

As always, our key word was potential. This redwood has the potential to become a picnic table or fire wood. It’s up to us to bring out its best or not. It’s no different with our lives. We can become great or waste away. The Good News is that God wants to help us reach our full potential. But, just as this lumber took work to make it great, so with us. We have to cooperate with God’s grace in order to become fully who He has created us to be. 

The first step was to cut the octagon frame. Attention to detail begins at step one. We also don’t want to get in a hurry. That’s when trouble happens. Quality work takes quality time.

Nice and easy. 

Success. Table top completed. That’s worth doing the splits over. 

Next was the undercarriage. Less fun but super crucial. Placing the seats in the right order so that the grain lines up takes some planning out. 

Once that was done, it was time to situate the top. Team work. 

The boys were mainly in charge of the screwing and the girls the sanding. 

Umbrella, baby. 

No sharp edges allowed. 

Then came the day to treat the wood. Linseed oil was our preserver of choice. 

Easy to apply and reapply as time goes on. Sorry parents for the oil stains. The fun overcame the caution. 

The little girls were key in touching up the nooks and crannies. 

Bring it. 

Good stuff. St. Joe would be proud, and so is our Father in Heaven. No one appreciates our cooperation in creation like God the Father, Who gave us dominion over the world. With His help we become co-creators. Just as we saw a potential picnic table in this pile of lumber, so does He see potential greatness in all of us. But it is not magic. For this table to come together we had to work together, follow instructions, and persevere through the ups and downs. So too in life, if we want to be fully who God has created us to be we have follow His commandments and teachings, rely on other members of the Body of Christ, and never give up. If we cooperate with God's grace in this way we will all become the masterpieces He created us to be. Let's ranch. 

Lunchtime

Lunch is a crucial meal of the day. You don't have a lot of time to spare and you don't want to just eat whatever you can find, so it's one of the harder meals to prepare well for. Such was the dilemma for me, until I got turned onto the George Foreman style grills.

This bad boy came into my possession after visiting my carnivore buddy in Montana. He had the real deal, but I found this knockoff electric two sided griddle that serves the same purpose. 

You can cook anything in them, but ground beef patties work the best. What I do for lunch, is make a 1/3 of this package into a hamburger patty and then put the rest back in the fridge to use the next time around.

Works great. Keeps it sealed up and ready for action.

When I come over at noon, I just pinch off another 1/3.

Pound it into a patty and throw it on the grill. I like to spray the grill with Pam first, helps with the cleanup. 

Close the lid and wait for the green light to come on. It only takes about three minutes to cook. 

Bam!

After you unplug it is a good time to get some cheese melting. 

Grab a bun and some Cool Ranch Doritos and you're good to go. 

Super slick. With this cooking set up, I can walk in the house and be comfortably done eating within 30min. Leaving just enough time for a 15min siesta. Aside from that, this makes for an ideal sized lunch. No bloating from eating too much, and no getting hungry at 3:00 from not eating enough. Gotta love ground beef. I could eat a hamburger for any meal of the day. But a fresh cooked burger at lunchtime can't be beat. Don't just take my word for it, though. Give it a go. 

Let's do This

Life comes through death.

           https://youtu.be/qhd0q1bGJYo         

 

Burnt Hollow

Dave and I wanted to go for a little day ride, but there's not a lot of public land around Gillette to choose from. North of town I know of two areas, Weston and Burnt Hollow. Weston is mainly for motor sports, though there are plenty of trails to choose from. Burnt Hollow is a good area, but you've just got to find your way. Perfect for a couple of horseback explorers. 

Dave and Chief wasted no time in getting acquainted. 

Burnt Hollow is about 15 miles north of Gillette on Hwy 59. There are two hike/ride in entrances. The south one I had been on, so we entered through the north gate. 

Kind of no man's land out here. Beautiful though. Early spring can be the most desolate time of year. 

People were once here though. Public ground like this is still leased out to ranchers to graze cattle or sheep on. 

A little worse for wear. No doubt it was essential in its day. Watering livestock in this kind of country is the biggest challenge. 

There's creek beds all over. Not that they ever ran water continuously. But during a good ole Campbell County thunderstorm, the fishing is probably pretty good. 

No problem for Dave and Chief. 

You can see a long ways from some of these peaks. 

Great spring exercise for the horses. 

Jim Craig

Gnarly old trees too. 

This is probably the main water source around here. Reservoirs work well with run off. But with an open winter... we'll have to see. 

Back to the ranch. 

Fun time. Interesting country. Good company. Can't ask for more. This was time well wasted. Sometimes it's ok to be unproductive. Grandpa always said to make sure to stop and smell the roses. No better way to do that than on horseback. Rides like this sure make you appreciate public ground. I'm not an anti-private land guy by any means. Personal ownership can bring out the best in mankind and in creation. Not everyone is able own land though. So thanks be to God for public spaces. Man needs room to roam. It's good for the soul. Whether you live downtown or down the road, get out and blow the stink off. Your wife will thank you for it. 

Testimony of Works

Works speak for themselves.

           https://youtu.be/HpT7iMpB82w         

Novena for Moisture

Nobody likes a drought, especially ranchers. Not wanting to wait and see if it was going to be a dry spring or not, we went ahead with our spring novena for moisture. God has blessed us through it in the past, so we had recourse to it once again. 

It has been a very dry, warm winter. Which hasn't been bad, as long as it rains in the spring. Well, on the 10th day of our novena, it started raining!

All glory to God! We have been praying this prayer for moisture for the last nine days. Some people haven't stopped praying it since the last intentional novena we did two years ago. Maybe we should just do it every first week of March from here on out. 

On the way down to the Durham Ranch in Wright for a Mass of thanksgiving, the skies really opened up. Praise God!

John had his butcher shop fixed up nice for Mass. I bet we had 15 people in attendance. 

No better way to close out a novena than with the Eucharistic Celebration. 

Of course, red meat at the Open Range afterwards was a nice touch too. 

Novenas are nine days of focused prayer for a specific intention. Its roots go back to the nine days the disciples spent in prayer between the Ascension of our Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). This tradition of Christian prayer continues to bear tremendous fruit in peoples lives. Often that fruit goes well beyond the petition at hand. The deeper purpose of a novena is to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of God. In the act of praying, we often grow deeper in our dependance upon the Father. Confidence comes as we repeatedly pray, Oh God, our Heavenly Father, you promised to give your children whatever they ask for in the name of Jesus your son (John 16:23). That's bold, but true. I'm very thankful for the rain. But I'm even more grateful for the increase of faith in our Father who keeps His promises. 

Father's Will

Jesus is God.

           https://youtu.be/SQq4l5qd6A8