Sojourn

Communion and Community.

           https://youtu.be/iFbfR8MXf1Q         

Seventh Calf

Our seventh calf came sometime during our last spring storm. Since they have been calving with such ease, I haven't been keeping too close an eye on them. On Saturday morning, I came out to find this little guy.

Nice little bull calf.

Spring sun is calling everyone to sit and soak it in. 

69 is our biggest heifer cow. Gentle giant. Good mother. 

We walked them away from the other cows to calf. 

Tall, like his mom. He'll do well in life.

Go forth and prosper. 

Good stuff. Starting to get into the second cycle of calves. This couple kicks off our last string of calving. Only four to go, now. Let finish strong and ranch on!

Backhoe Back

Last summer, our backhoe on the back of the dozer sprung a leak. Thinking that was the last straw, we parked it on the north 40. After we thought about it, though, we thought we could bring it back to life. Sure enough.

This old backhoe has a hydraulic steering motor rather than individual cylinders. It's been problematic in the past.

During some heavy digging two summers ago, we blew a seal on the bottom half of this motor.

Once we had it off the unit, we split the motor to see what we could find.

Sure enough, a shot o-ring.

This thing is impossible to find parts for. So we figured out the diameter of the o-ring and went to town to see what we could find. 

Money! We found the right o-ring in little ole Worland WY. 

Once put back together, we bolted it back up to the backhoe.

Ranch ready.

This dozer and backhoe combo have been a labor of love. The hoe attachment we fabbed on almost 20 years ago. Since then, we have fixed a lot of hydraulic leaks, like the one today. It's a contraption, but worth its weight in digging power. Definitely worth the $3.95 o-ring to keep it around the ranch. Now we just have to find something that needs dug up. Bring it.

Rock Garden

Years ago, we hauled Grandma's rock collection away from the house so we could put the lawn in. Today, we brought them back to the house where they belong.

This collection of river rock, sandstone, and random collectables, has been sitting around for about 20 years.

With all the outside work on the house being completed, we thought these old flower beds would make nice rock gardens. This one is on the front of the house. 

And this one is around the corner. 

Once we got to loading up the rock pile, we turned over a Black Widow right away.

Their tell-tell sign is a the orange hourglass on their belly. Don't mess with these dudes.

This was a family affair. We placed all the big rocks first.

Then scattered small gravel rock in between the big guys, to cover up the plastic we laid down to prevent weeds from coming up. 

Then we washed it all down to settle any dirt that came in with it. 

Same process on the side.

Native look.

The house now has a finished look to it. 

Done.

Fun stuff. Many of these rocks came from meaningful locations. Some, from North Dakota, where Grandpa was born. And others, Grandma just picked up along the way. Mom likes the look, and I'm sure her mom would too. Rocks stand the test of time. With them being around, we feel like we can weather life's storms. Ranch on. 

Bold

Come Holy Spirit!

           https://youtu.be/NUPoAkw6LKA         

Hauling Pairs

With a storm brewing, the boys and I decided to get our next three pairs up to spring pasture. We're starting to get good at this. 

The last three pairs are doing well. You can find them all over this pasture. They graze it like sheep, always on the move.

The next three were branded and ready to load. Clint used the "get big" tactic to make them travel. 

It worked.

We separated the moms and calves.

So we could load the calves first. Different tactic from last time. 

That way, we could kick the moms out first and they are more apt to stay put with a little pressure from Darin and crew. Then kicked the calves out to them. 

Mothered up in no time.

Much better sight than last time. 

Just ranchin. Cows and calves are looking good. Water is holding up as well. With grass growing strong, we are working on a good spring. Pairs do so much better on pasture vs. feed. I don't plan to touch these calves again, except for one more move to Worland, until we wean them in October/November. Until then, we’ll ranch on. 

Two Ways

Choose belief. 

           https://youtu.be/TahGEb-goAs         

Branding Iron

Little carries more meaning in cowboy world than brands. They symbolize, not just ownership, but a tradition that grounds a man in something deeper than himself. 

Better yet, are branding irons that have been held in hands and placed on cows for generations. 

This was Great-grandpa Adam's brand and iron. It is little, for calves. And you can see that it was hammered together by a blacksmith. Awesome to see it still in use today. 

# 12 - We call it the Reverse L Drawknife.

With a few calves to brand, Clint got it heating up in the fire. 

While Darin and I rounded up the critters. 

Cows and calves look real good. 

Then both of them put the sneak on, so we could tag, vaccinate, and brand each calf. 

Boot on the rib and brand on the hip. 

Works just as good as it did in 1950. 

Everybody's happy. 

Including Fr. Bryce.

Fun stuff. When I hold this iron, I hold history. I can't help but be thankful for Grandpa Adam, who came over from Russia/Germany and worked hard to buy a farm in Wyoming. And to Grandpa Lloyd, who took up ranching and kept agriculture alive in the family through the tough times of the 70s and 80s. And to Dad who owns this iron and helps support my cattle craze. Long live brands. And long live Catholic Cowboys. 

Spiritual Way

Think spiritually. 

           https://youtu.be/h794TW-4R6o         

Dying

We die to self to let God live in us.

           https://youtu.be/pnc9QNEfesE         

Redemptive Love

Our wounds are access point of God's mercy.

           https://youtu.be/T0vg_6XnNC0         

Hauling Cows

With three pairs branded and strong, we decided to haul them to pasture. No better place for cattle to flourish than with green grass and fresh water. 

Before we hauled them up, though, we had one more shot to give them. Devlin and Clint went in to catch the calves. 

Eventually we reverted to the rope to finish the job. 

Good catch by both. 

Then we jumped everything in the stock trailer. Cows first, then calves.

And took them up to the spring pasture and turned them loose. Bad scenario to deal with. We let the calves out first and they hit the ground running. We had to run the moms to catch up. If not... non-mothered up calves are not fun to chase around the country. 

Thanks be to God, all got settled.

Looks good. Should be a good pasture for them to roam. And a good pasture for us to saddle up and check on. Win win. Hopefully, we'll get some rain and keep the green growing. Regardless, this spring pasture will keep these pairs in good shape until summer rolls around. Let's ranch.