Money

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

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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. 

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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. 

Worship

What's Catholic worship look like?

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Turning Out

The time everyone has been waiting for, especially the cows, has finally arrived. Turning out into our new pasture was a delight for cowboy and critter alike. All are happy. 

The grass really looks good this year. Dad has done a nice job irrigating. The weeds that presented themselves the first couple years, finally gave up. Such nice varieties of grass out here, along with a bit of alfalfa.

Before we turned out, Chief and I rode the fence just to double check all the gates. Looks good.

We still have some gates to build on our new fence line.

Eventually, we plan to fence out our pump house. For now, we'll just panel it up.

This used to be a gate that Grandpa used to run his sheep across the highway to the adjacent pasture. The cows kept messing with the gate, and we never used it, so we had the highway department fence it off. 

This corner of our field is information superhighway. The new fiberoptic line is going to intersect right here. Getting a right-of-way from Mom and Dad, they paneled off their up and coming structure. We'll see how longs these panels stay undisturbed. 

The pivot has been working strong. One drawback are these solid stem risers. They hang low enough that a cow might want to mess with them. Time will tell. 

Grandpa's gate into the horse pen is holding strong. 

So it was time to get behind them and turn them out!

Alleluia!

Then we chained open the gate into the pasture and opened the gate into the Sandbox as well. 

Then they have access to this shed for shade and shelter. 

It is well with my soul!

Good stuff. So thankful for this opportunity. It has been a great gift that Mom and Dad let me play around on their place. I'm thankful to God as well for orchestrating events to make this all happen in my life. The beauty of gratitude, is that it doesn't allow us to cling to worldly things. Today I have this chance, tomorrow I may not. Intentional thanksgiving allows us to receive gifts from God with open hands, freely receiving and freely giving. Thank you Lord. We'll keep on ranching in a free world!

Cattle Drive

The day we have been waiting for has arrived, hauling the cows and calves to Worland. Not going to lie, I've been nervous. Mainly just towards loading up. In this pasture there is no corrals. Our only option was portable panels. Which, have their place, but are also prone to cow wrecks. So we planned our work and worked our plan. 

All the cows and calves look great. They are getting close to out of feed, which lines up well for our plan to take them back home. 

Planning to haul out Thursday morning, James and I took Jim's 12' panel network and made a catch pen the evening before. 

The next day, Frank and I rounded up the herd. Three calves and one cow were on the wrong side of the fence. With some strategic planning, we got them all together again. 

With horse and 4-wheeler, we got them all caught with little problem. Separating the cows from the calves, was another story. 

Let's just say that alls well that ends well.  It took us a bit, and we had to play our hand well, but eventually we got the calves loaded in my trailer and the cows in Frank's. 

With a little extra room, we jumped Chief in mine. 

Then trucked it over to Worland to unload. 

First up was the cows. Talk about separation anxiety. 

Then the calves. Everybody's happy. 

Home sweet home. 

This might be a small move for mankind, but it was a big move in Neiber Ranch world. We'll give the cows time to mother up and settle down. Then, we'll kick them back into our irrigated pasture. God willing and the creek don't rise, these cows will never leave our place again. Having them in Buffalo worked out well, because most of the cows were first calf heifers, which need more man-time then older cows. Once we have the rest of our fence buttoned up, then we'll kick the pairs to the pasture. Should be fun. We'll find out.