Death, Judgement, Heaven, or Hell
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Monday, March 28, 2022
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Saturday, March 26, 2022
JD 450
I love yellow iron. Guess that's why one Sunday morning in 2004 as I was riding my bike to Church this John Deere 450-C dozer caught my eye. I turned around to check it out and immediately the wheels in my head started to turn. It went up for auction a couple days later and I bought it. She sure has brought a lot of joy to my life over the years.
It was originally used by Mountain Bell as telephone cable installer in Montana.
The ditcher unit we would use to install poly pipe for developing springs. I eventually took it off and fabbed a backhoe attachment on to it. With hydraulics, the sky’s the limit.
We also have a drawbar where we can pull all sorts of other tools.
She was handy to have around the farm, but once I entered seminary, I thought the Carmelite Monastery might have a better use for it. In 2013, some of the family and I made a pilgrimage up to Meeteetse with her. They got some good use out of her, but for her last years there she had been sitting still, and not in running order. So we went back up and got her.
The main problem was oil getting into the water. Eventually this turned into water getting into the oil as well. This both/and had us stumped. We tried a head gasket and later had the head rebuilt. None of which solved both of the problems, though ever since we rebuilt the head, oil no longer was getting into the water. So we decided we better tackle the inevitable, o-rings at the bottom of the cylinders.
Taking the head off was no problem. Pulling the jugs was another story.
This time we had to pull the skid plate, which then exposed the oil pan, and eventually the crankcase. We took a chance and left the pistons in the cylinders as we pulled them.
Dad was lead mechanic on this job. The top o-rings did look bad. But we still weren't too sure that was the problem.
Reinstallation really went about as smooth as one could expect.
Earl
So we fired her up and put her to some spring work. Problem solved, thanks be to God!
Bring it.
Sometimes I think golfing might be a simpler hobby to have, but I just don't think it'd be as fun. I've always loved moving dirt. Dad and I have been working on or with dozers since I was a kid. It's good father/son bonding time. We are certainly glad our little 450 is back on the ranch. I'm feeling like she's gonna get a bit of use this spring and summer.
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Be Aware
Don't under estimate the packages the Lord answers our prayers in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf_Hf9wDtdY
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Friday, March 18, 2022
Spring Cleaning
Coming out of winter, spring is actually a dirty time of year. Hence the need to get things cleaned up. The horses' winter coats are almost gone. They wintered well. But their hooves definitely needed tending to.
Mollie, on the left, turns 4 this year. While Chief will be 10.
Horses are no easy keepers and their feet are a prime examples of that. Their hooves are basically our finger nails. They need cleaned, trimmed, and filed down often.
The first order of business is to clean the sole with a pic.
Then take your hooked knife and scrape the sole clean from all the built up junk. This also exposes the white line against the hoof wall, which guides your trimming.
This year I'm going to try going shoeless. For as much riding as we do, the horses really shouldn't need shoes. But to do so I want to leave the hoof longer than usual. So I trimmed it down about 3/8" up from the white line.
Rasping is the finest science. It's better to leave the hoof high and bring it down to the proper level with the rasp. This also levels it all out.
I find it super crucial to bevel the edge of the hoof up after trimming so it doesn't splinter.
Much better.
Two horses with four legs makes for eight hooves to trim. Me and my back need a break. With Covid being over now, I went ahead wormed the kids with my leftover Ivermectin horse dewormer. Hope they like the taste better than I did. Spring is in the air. Let's ride.
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Monday, March 14, 2022
Ranch Ready
It's better to be waiting on spring, than spring waiting on you. So in anticipation of warm weather, rain, and new cows, I headed down to the Bell corrals to get the feed situation straightened out.
You ain't no rancher unless you have the family brand burned into your side boards.
Dad and I had some hay stashed away back home from last summer. Just as pretty as the day we baled it.
Hank even showed up to pitch in.
A little different placement this year. I'm pretty confident, or at least hopefully, that the herd outside the corral won't mess with our stack. This'll sure be a convenient spot to get to it. And yes, I did put steel posts on the outside corners.
Now all we need are some cows.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
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