Listen

Speak Lord, you servant is listening. 

           https://youtu.be/K33jUCAR5BI         

Snow Balls

I know winter does funny things, but this one always surprises me.

In the right contentions, snow will build up under horses hooves, making them walk around on bowling balls. Left unattended they can go lame. 

It isn’t just the cold that causes it, but 30 below doesn't help. 

This is more common when they are shod. The snow packs in under the lip of the shoe and keeps building. But bare feet can do it as well, though keeping them trimmed down seems to help. 

If it’s gonna be awhile before they fall off naturally, I’ll often give them some help. The pick side of a pair of fencing pliers works well. The horses are happy to stand for you because they want their footing back. 

Good for now. 

With conditions not changing for awhile, I don’t doubt that they’ll build back up in time. If so, I’ll chip them off again. I hate to see them walk around like this, it’s hard on their tendons. It also makes them skidish because they don’t have the confidence of sure footing. The joys of Wyoming winters. 

Feeder Wagon

With cow feeding season in full swing, different kinds of feeders are just on my mind. Remembering that Joe had an old feeder wagon stuck in the trees at his place I asked what his plans were for it. With no future need for it, he happily contributed it to our ranching cause. 

This Apache Feeder Wagon is a work of art. Made in Norfolk NE, a guy is able place several round bales at a time in them and let cows feed right through the bars. They also have a trough that serves to catch the hay that falls out of their mouths. 

Last week when Ernie and I went to bring her home from Hulett, Joe had already dug it out of the tall grass. The tires were shot, so we jerked them off and ran them to Belle for new rubber. 

Then Ernie and I tied onto it and drug in back to Gillette.

Once back, we stuck it in Dave's shop to give it a once over. 

About the only maintenance on it is the wheel bearings. Planning to drag it over to Worland, we wanted to make sure there was good grease in the hubs. 

Not wanting to do a full pack job, we just pulled the hubs off and packed grease into the inside bearing from the seal side. 

The outside bearings we were able to actually pack. This old school way is to continually mash the bearing into the grease on your hand until it starts to protrude the other side. 

Then reassemble. Tightening wheel bearings is a trick. I always mash them down hard and give the wheel a turn or two. Then back the crown nut off and ram it in until it dead heads, but don't tighten. Then back it off to the nearest hole and place your cotter pin through. You are always better to run wheel bearings too loose than too tight. 

Once serviced up, Ernie and I baled out early this morning to putts over the hill to Worland. 

Pretty cold out. But with a good heater and plenty coffee, we were in no hurry. 

Once back home, Mom had chilly and cinnamon rolls ready for us. That in itself was worth the trip. 

Good stuff. In ranch world a guy always has to be thinking ahead. Though this feeder is plenty big for our purposes now, it should serve well any future needs. Special thanks to Joe Ortner for wanting to see this ole girl be put to good use. Thanks especially to my side kick Ernie. In expeditions such as these it's best to never roll alone. At 40 mph for 200 miles, one runs the risk of falling asleep. With Ernie riding shotgun the conversation never wanes. Keep up the Good work, pal. There's many more miles ahead of us. Let's ranch. 

Gimme

Jesus is about faith. 

           https://youtu.be/T4EL9nIu-tY         

 

Anointed

Through our anointing at Baptism, we are restored to a life of grace. 

           https://youtu.be/2faNUz4YNsY         

Seek

Seek the guidance of Truth.

           https://youtu.be/CYiQni-00vw         

 

Seeking with Zeal

The secret of the saints is to seek the Lord with zeal!

           https://youtu.be/2lWPzdrJoZg         

History

Rooting ourselves in tradition provides security in life. 

           https://youtu.be/Q4aNPOiSvV4         

2023 Forever a Cowboy

His only bad habit is he don't know when to quit. Let's ranch.

           https://youtu.be/b-bA3b3eUZI         

For better quality, click the gear and bump up the pixels. 

Holy Family

Pray for us!

           https://youtu.be/VBN8tQhLHIU         

Ranch Sign

Some projects are just funner than others, like building a ranch sign to hang over our new set of corrals. Combine that with some Christmas cheer and we got us a Good time!

 Every scribe trained in the kingdom of God brings forth from his storehouse both the old and the new (Matthew 13:52). 

They say when Michael Angelo saw piece of marble he didn't see the stone, but the figure contained in the stone. And he saw it as his job to unveil that figure. I feel the same way when I see old barn wood and rusty iron. There is hidden potential in it and it's my job to bring it out. This 13' rough cut 2"x8" came off of Grandpa's old corrals. To use it as an entry marker into the new corrals just seemed fitting. 

LUNGREN BROTHERS CATTLE CO. was to be the slogan. With a little bit of calculation, we just stenciled out the letters. 

Routering them in really wasn't as hard as it sounds. Like in all things in life, just don't get in a hurry. 

No real mess ups, and thankfully everything is spelled right. 

Next came painting the lettering. Grandpa was a painter by trade so I knew somewhere in me was the ability to keep it between the lines. 

Not bad. 

Then came making the brackets to hang it from. A little strap iron with some 3/8" bolts seemed plenty stout. 

Of course, branding the ends was the final touch. Here Dad puts on his family's original brand, Reverse L Drawknife. 

The ole L hanging B came next. 

Then it was time to see if this dog would hunt. Once in place, we simply welded chain links to the bottom of the cross beam and then to the strap iron on the sign. 

Giddy up.

This was definitely a family affair in more ways than one. So, it was nice to have Uncle Lloyd on site to keep us encouraged. As we close out another year, my heart is filled with hope for the new year to come. Guess that's part of the cowboy way. But more importantly, it's part of the Catholic Cowboy Way. God is sovereign. Nothing can happen outside of His will. And as Scripture testifies, We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Therefore, ranch hard and be happy!

Net Wrap

There are many ways to feed a round bale, but few ways of doing it efficiently. Cattle can waste more hay then they eat. Rooting around, searching for something tastier, an open bale in a feeder they will destroy. 

Such was the case back home with Mom and Andy. Nice prairie grass, she's pulling out more than she gets in her mouth. 

 So we took what was left of that bale and threw in this round bale net. 

I'm a net guy. Whenever I can, I like to put feed in these nets to slow them down and make them waste less. They for sure work good on horses, but I've even had good luck with cattle. I just use a net with bigger holes.

Better. We'll watch and see. 

The kids are doing real well, but I think they are a bit bored. So we borrowed an old cow with twins from my brother. Gives her a good home and friends for our pair. 

Happy campers.

I think this will be a win win for everyone. Little Andy sure likes to have some friends to run around with. Though, I'm not sure they are as excited about life as she is. Time will tell. Thank God for the sunshine.