Father's Heart

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is an image of the Father's Heart.

           https://youtu.be/RHRgzX0CJdg         

Foster Branding II

When opportunity knocks, I take advantage of it. The Fosters were branding again, so I arranged my schedule to at least make the short-go. 

Not for the faint of heart. We were to ride out at 5:15, which meant that Chief and I leave the church at 4:30.

However, we had a rain delay and didn't leave the trailers until 6:15. 

In southeast Sheridan County, the railroad runs pretty strong. Horses out here have to get used to crossing the tracks. 

To say the least, they have been getting more rain than Johnson County. Country looks great. 

We trotted a couple miles until we hit the cow pasture. 

Then split up and started to gather. 

The wind was blowing pretty good and I lost my hat a time or two. That is one critique about cowboys that wear straw hats, the are always chasing them. I was the only one wearing a straw hat today. However, I was not the only cowboy to have my hat blow off. 

Rollin, rollin, rollin.

Eventually we all started to converge. 

And head the entire herd for the truck and branding pen. 

Once there, we mothered up for a bit.

Then headed into the pen. I hollared to Clark, "It's about to get western!" And it did. However, all the calves made it in, thanks be to God. 

Then we lit the stove and got ready to brand. 

The A team went into the pen first. 

Gerald got the cool horse of the day award. Solid bay. 

Nordforks are the branding instrument of choice around here. Work good, when applied right. Good job, Chase. 

Just ranchin'. 

This is where the cowboy rides away. 

Having a late afternoon wedding rehearsal back at the home place, I had to leave the branding shortly after noon. I am confident that they finished up just fine without me. Fun day. Definitely worth getting up in the 3:00 hour to take part of it. Grass looks good and cows look better. Must be doing something right. Ranch on, Paul and Laura. 

Money

 Put our money where our mouth is and live our faith.

           https://youtu.be/BVAueMD0pMo         

Well Repair

It doesn't matter what time of year it is, water is the name of the game. In the winter, you fight to keep it open. In the summer, you make sure it never quits. Whether it is in the field or through the trough, all action ceases when the water stops. 

At the bottom of our field, lies Grandpa's well. Well water is scarce at this end of the county. Great-grandpa's first well was terrible water. Grandpa's first well was deep and the same quality. This well was drilled some 50 years ago and has been barn burner ever since. Sitting at only 50' deep, it not only has potable water but also has a volume that won't quit. 

However, the pump is not indestructible. A couple weeks ago, the pump of 25 years went out. After replacing it, Dad never felt right about its performance. When we looked it over today, we noticed that the pump would never quit running as it tried to build up the 100 pounds of pressure it takes to get water up our hill. So we decided to pull it. Before doing so, good to make sure the power is dead. 

Thankfully it is not very deep and we can pull it by hand. 

It is always good to have a security rope attached to the submersible pump when it is installed. Dad held tight as I cut the poly  instead of messing with the hose clamps. 

Then just kept pulling until all was out of the casing. 

Now we could look at it in comparison with the original pump. 

Turns out the new pump still has a 1hp motor but is higher volume and less pressure. Thankfully, we found a pump that is higher pressure with lesser volume. All we had to do is change the motor from one pump to another, which is the bottom portion of the submersible.

Then reattach the 1 1/4" poly. The best way to get it to slip over the barb fitting is to heat up the poly first. 

Bam. Back in the hole we go. 

She fell right back in and we were able to plumb it all back together.

Then wire it up. 

Money. 115 psi is great. 

That will get water up the hill to the house and down to the corral at the barn. 

If you stay tough when troubles arise, you can see them through to the good that God wants to bring. Our original pump was sufficient, but died. The second was adequate but could never take a break. This new one has good pressure, plus more volume than the original! With a garden and critters to water on top of normal house held stuff, compromised water pressure is not tolerable. Alls well that ends well. Thankfully it worked out while I was home to help Dad and that they had the right pump in town. We ranch on. 

Swathing Hay

By keeping our cows off the pasture until recently, the grass got tall and way ahead of what 12 pairs can nibble down. So we made the executive decision to swath and bale the hay. 

For that, we turned to my brother's New Holland. Being the first cutting of the year, we took time to service it up. 

Air filters on swathers are always a concern. 

You can get by with blowing them out on a regular basis. Always blow an air filter from the inside out. 

Greasing this moving-part machine is an important duty. I left that to the expert. 

Right tire pressure is important as well .

If it's the first time out for the season, Dad likes to squirt a little oil on the sickle bar. 

After she was serviced up, I stocked the cab to get me through the morning.

And then headed down to the field. 

With a pivot sprinkler, it is always easiest to flow the curvature of the tracks. It's wild how many critters you kick up when mowing pasture grass. Lots of pheasants living down here. 

Bird's eye view. 

With grass, we like to keep the windrows wide and flat. Helps them to dry quicker. 

Six hours later and she was done.

Great hay. 20% alfalfa and 80% grass mix. Great for horses and cows alike. We'll hopefully bale some little square bales and there rest round bales. I'm thankful we have a little grass to work with. It's a dry year for many in Wyoming. May God grant us all wisdom to make good decisions in moving forward. We ranch on. 

Corpus Christi

Presence, participation, providence. 

           https://youtu.be/45agaekzIpY         

Ninth Calf

Our ninth and final calf came to us last night. We have been waiting all spring for our little miracle calf, Andi, to calve. We were convinced that she was bred, but the last due date from when we pulled the bulls last summer would be June 1st. Well, I guess the Lord wanted the calf to cook a little longer than the normal 283 day gustation period for cattle.

We saw Andi horsing around unusually last night before the sun set. So we weren't surprised to wake up to a new born calf this morning.

After breakfast, I went down to see what we have. Mom was around, but the calf was nowhere to be found. In this tall grass it could be any where.

So I just stood back and let mom lead me to it.

Sure enough. Ditched it in the tall grass.

Like a little new born antelope, I could have stepped on the darn thing! White... that's cool. 

Bright eyed, I had to see its sex. Bull calf.

However, when I disturbed his peace, he let out a beller that made mom come running! Once I turned him loose, he was like a little fawn bouncing across the prairie. Spry little guy. I like him. 

Life is good.

Saved the best for last. This was a pretty fun case-scenario. We have been thinking about moving our calving date next year to May/June. This way our pasture will be ready and Mom and Dad can keep an eye on things from the house. This combination this morning really confirms that this move looks to be a good idea.

I'm also glad this calf is colored. Nothing against black calves, but a whole herd of them gets boring. Give me some color! We had two of our 9 first calf heifers not calve this year because they didn't breed up. Not a problem. One is already in the freezer and the other one we'll put there this fall. Thanks be to God for a wonderful calving season. The warm weather helped make it a breeze. Now, with our irrigated pasture up and established, we should be looking at a great summer of grazing. Ranching in the 307.