Home on the Range

As always, God provides. I left the horses back in Campbell County until I got a lay of the land over here in Buffalo. Well, in no time I had people offer me pasture. 

Suzie Kirvinskee reached out and said that her and her husband Galen have a few acres that is more than their one old horse will get through. So I came out and took a looksee. 

Beautiful place, southwest of town. Right at the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains. Probably about 7 acres with a barn and two stalls. 

Not enough for all three horses, but perfect for Red. I’d like to have him near by so I can keep putting miles on him. Looks like Suede and him should get along just fine. 

After the two were introduced, we walked the fence and explored the pasture. 

Found a couple down wires from the winter. If you look close to the ground you can often find the fallen staple around the base of the fence post. Then in a pinch, you can use a rock to pound in back in. 

Should work.  

Good company. 

I think Red and Suzie are going to get along just fine. Once I get settled I hope to spend some time riding these hills. Just across the fence is a lot of State ground. Sounds like fun to me. Thanks Suzie and Galen. Let’s ranch! 

Freedom

The flourishing of the human person leads to the common good of all. 

           https://youtu.be/4E0ChatNGUc         

Asleep

Jesus is God and teaches us to be man.

           https://youtu.be/g0VQ1I4mDOw         

Buffalo Bound

July 1st is transition day for moving priests. I've been looking forward to this day. But in the meantime, I've been pretty focused on landing the plane in Gillette. The weekend celebrations were beautiful. And the people who wished me well and the cards I was given are testimony to a time well spent. But today marks a new leg of my journey as a priest. 

There's about 4,500 people in the town of Buffalo. And about 400 families at St. John the Baptist. There are also two mission Churches attached to this parish, St. Mary's in Clearmont and St. Hubert's in Kaycee. 

In order for this cowboy priest to get there I had to clean the manure out of my horse trailer. Could have been worse. 

Then pack her up. 

As I headed west, Johnson County welcomed me with a thunderstorm. I think I'll like this country. 

Good digs. Fr. Jim Heiser and I will live here together for the next two months. Shouldn't be tough. I logged about three years with him over in Fremont County. 

Beautiful Church. Built in 1949-1950 with stone quarried from Crazy Woman Canyon at the base of the Big Horns. 

Much to see and learn, but I couldn't help but pay an initial visit to our Blessed Mother, who I have stopped to see so many times on my way down the mountain. Looks like in her arms is a peaceful place to be. 

This should be fun. I think Buffalo will be good for me. I look forward to slowing my speed down, but not my rpm's. Gillette taught me a lot, and I look forward to bringing that momentum over here. Time will tell how that's best spent. But there's no use sitting around, let's go to work! 

Gillette - The Best a Man can Get

When you ride your last one, make sure he's the best one. Jump while he's moving. Tip your hat boys, and walk away. Thanks Gillette. It's been a beautiful ride. 

(Click the gear to bump up the pixs)

           https://youtu.be/EO_p8iHG1kA         

Healed

Jesus came to heal us as much as He did to save us. 

             https://youtu.be/0VuRPDLxZPg           

Catholic Cowboy

When Bishop Steven assigned me to Buffalo, he asked that I not run any cattle in order to focus on being a pastor. Though that's tough news, I respect where he's coming from and I heed his advice. Like I've always  said, I'm Catholic before I'm cowboy. 

There's been a lot of good memories in this trailer, too many to count. 

I've spent the past months doling out last year’s meat to share holders. We have fed a lot of people out of this freezer. 

69 notches on my scabbard. 

We've split a lot of cows with this sawsall. Made some tasty T-bones too.

Kind of a humbling sight. I guess everybody needs a beak once in awhile. Rest well, guys. 

On to the next one. 

Cutting meat put Fr. Bryce on the map. Not that this was ever my intention. But any attention that I've gotten throughout the Church and in the media has all stemmed from here. My attitude is one of gratitude. When the Lord asks us to let something go, the tendency is to cry about the loss. Instead, I choose to focus on the gift it was. By doing so, I'm able to thank God for the blessing this operation has been in my life and the life of the Church. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Why? Ask Job. What I do know is that God has big plans for all of us. All we have to do is trust Jesus and follow Him into the unknown. I hope to cut meat again. How and when, God only knows. What I do know is that I'm Buffalo bound. What awaits me there... guess we'll find out. Let's ranch.

Green Grass

The time has finally come to move the horses to green grass. They’ve been seven months on feed. That’s longer than usual. But we needed to keep them at Colleen’s place, with the round pen, until we found a good stopping point for Red.

So we loaded them up and took them to Mike Fulton’s place for a few weeks. Whenever you put a horse in a new pasture, like Red, it’s a good idea to walk the perimeter with them so they know the boundaries. Then if trouble arises, they are less likely to blow through the fence and get hurt. 

I’m not a fan of horses on the other side of the fence from each other. But if that’s the way it is, it’s a good idea to introduce them and and see if there’s bad blood right away. This guy is a gelding so he isn’t as much of a threat. If it was a mare, I wouldn’t go in there. Chief will jump the fence in a heartbeat.

Showing them the water is also a good idea. 

Happy campers. 

I don’t plan to take the horses to Buffalo right away. So they’ll camp out here for a few weeks till we get a lay of the land over there. I'm confident it will work to bring them over in due time. Until then, enjoy the green grass, kids. 

Paul and I

The greatest gift I have received in my time in Gillette is my friendship with Paul Casey. Good man and good hand. Words can't explain what I've learned from him. So I'll explain it in pictures and song. Here's to you pal. You're one in a million. 

(Hit the gear and bump up the pixs) 

           https://youtu.be/Dw7U2ub8ico         

Fruit

The fruit of unity accept, the fruit of division reject. 

           https://youtu.be/MHdEr9us1y8         

Used Pipe

If there's one thing a guy can never have too much of, it's old oilfield pipe. I'm setting pretty good on 4 1/2", but my brother Luke was looking for some. Good thing for him that I have a trained eye that can spot unused used pipe a mile away.

In my journeys south on Hwy 59 I noticed an oilfield company pulled out of a lot leaving behind some drill stem. This is gnarly stuff, but works well for gate uprights. 

So I tracked down my buddy John Flocchini who owns the lot to see what they were going to do with it. He said they had no plans with it and we were welcome to it if we wanted to horse it around. So I called Luke and he came over with his Kenworth and we got to work. 

On average, the joints are 30' long and I figure they weigh about 500lbs each. So we backed White Horse up to each joint at a time and chained them to the lift arms. 

Pretty important to double check each hook before you get to lifting to high. On this set up, you want to make sure you also have the same length of links on each side. 

Then just lift them up. 

And back up to the truck. 

And set them down and unhook. Worked good for all 27 joints. 10 sticks we had to stack on top of the bottom row. 

Looks good. 

Good load. We're pretty thankful for John and his generosity. And he's just glad to see them get put to use. A win win. Like I say, you can never have too much pipe siting around. Luke'll get some good use out of these joints and I may just think up a project or two as well. On to the next one. 

Remnant

Remain faithful. 

           https://youtu.be/xMMM2BTIwfw