Eternal Perspective

Jesus was always focused on eternal life.

           https://youtu.be/iBEa8yiAMds         

Copper Time

Back home we've acquired quite a bit of oilfield reda cable. This heavy gage electrical wire is used to run submersible pumps and other motors around oil and gas production. If there's a weakness in it they just get rid of it. And if you know the right guy, you can pick some up for pretty cheap. Having it on hand, we've used it to power all sorts of things, mainly different buildings around the place. I've had a string of in sitting around the rectory, so I thought I'd see how hard it would be to strip and recycle the copper. Let's find out.

There's probably 100'+ of cable here. Stiffer than heck and super hard to work with. But for the right application, it's gold.

8 gage solid copper with and an extra ground wire. 

I simply took my sawsall and cut it into 3' lengths. Then the pushed the guts up from one end, grabbed it on the other end, and pulled the wire out of the conduit. 

Then separated the insulated wire from the ground wire. The shiny copper sells as #1 copper and the tarnished as #2. #1 is worth more.

Then I grabbed a cold one and went to stripping. With a good sharp utility knife, making one pass across the insulation wasn't that hard. 

Then simply pull the two apart. 

3 or 4 hours later and we had it all stripped. Our Blessed Mother approved. 

45 pounds of copper at $2.35 a pound = $106 of cash. 

Not bad. I'm sure the Lord can find a better use for that money than being coiled up in the corner. I'm also all about reusing the earth's precious recourses. Copper, like many minerals in the ground, is a gift from God. It's here for us to use, not abuse. Instead sitting back on the north 40 or throwing it away, might as well get it back into production. 

Harvest Moon

Whether you're farming or ranching, September is harvest season. So it is with Lungren Brothers. Wanting to get going on butchering our herd but not wanting to bring them all home yet, Jared and I went out to them.

I've slaughtered cows in the pasture before, but you have to be careful because they'll turn into a herd of elk on you if you don't do it right.

Already bringing one home a couple weeks ago, three of the other four were already in the corrals. So we just cut ole 60 out and laid her down. The cows have really summered well. 

It was good to have Jared on board. He's helped me a lot with different projects, but this was his first cow hunting experience. 

#60 was about as good of a cow as I've processed. She's off of Peg and Lee Isenberger's ranch south of Wright. I bet she put on 300lbs on Black Hills grass this summer. 

Meat's not meat until it's in the truck. 

Back in business. 

I look forward to doing some cutting this fall. #57 has been hanging for two weeks now. I like to age them for 21 days before I start to cut. If we do a cow a month we should be done by the end of December. Just in time for snowmobiling season. 

Dog Days

With the dog days of summer upon us it’s been hard to find anything exciting to do. Fixing this old gate for Colleen Caulk is about as fun as it gets anymore.

Her son Jim is in town doing some home repairs. Colleen houses my horses for the winter so I wanted to pitch in where I could. 

The gate was just sagging, so I set out to rehang it. 

Lag bolts were my fastener of choice. 

A few bolts in the other side of the hinge and we were set. 

They plan to paint the fence too, so fixing the broken board was also in order. 

Back in action. 

I’m always happy to help reset a gate. Sagging gates are my pet peeve. I was also thankful to find something constructive to do during these hot, end of summer days. On to the next one. 

Live Like you were Dying

See death as the goal of life.

           https://youtu.be/gB6TSERljfQ         

Forerunner

John was beheaded for proclaiming the truth.

           https://youtu.be/sGB4yooCZgY         

Authentic Humility

You be you, bro.

           https://youtu.be/suJXVIYz2ek         

Authentic Authority

Apostolic authority is a gift from God.

           https://youtu.be/tdAc3SiCkCs         

Queenship

I'll be your cowboy!

           https://youtu.be/g9N19l306I0         

Persistence

... In prayer pays off.

           https://youtu.be/SaJw6rnAGkQ         

Cow Heart

I don't get too exotic on eating the innards of a cow, but I do enjoy a good cow heart. It's actually not too wild.  A heart is just another muscle. The main difference between it and any other muscle is that a heart never gets to stop.

No messing around here. The heart of a cow is close to 10" in length.

I'll usually clean it up at the sink and then split it. It's cool to see the different chambers. 

For cooking purposes I usually cut them into 3/8" slices. The fat is also not that great so I'll trim most of it off.

You can cook it a bunch of different ways. Breading is very common and very good. I find just seasoning the heck out of it to be real good as well. 

Then just throw them on the grill. 

Muy Bien! 

Back when I was ranching we ate heart quite a bit. I enjoyed it then and still do today. If I were to describe the texture, I would call it dense. A heart never gets to rest. Always is it pumping blood to the rest of the body. Therefore, it is pure muscle. If you ever get the chance, give cow heart a whirl. Not only does it make a good meal, it also makes you appreciate the beauty of bovine anatomy. 

Radiator Ranch

After 11 years of service, ole White Horse decided to spring a radiator leak. I nursed her along until I final had a minute to tackle this project. 

One thing I’ve always liked about this truck is her simplicity. She’s right on the cusp of all the crazy car gadgets. With that in mind, I feel confident to take on most any repair. 

So I borrowed Dave’s shop and pulled out my trusty tool set that I put together in high school, and got to work. 

All the plastic on these rigs can be intimidating, but the more you remove you realize that they still have the basic components of a truck. 

Certain things are new and challenging, like these oil cooler lines. 

But after a little investigation, they just have an e-clip that holds them in. 

Eventually we got to the point of unbolting the radiator and pulling it out. 

Here’s the problem. Where the aluminum core attaches to the plastic reservoir is a common place to start leaking.  

Looking good. If I don’t go with OEM parts then I choose Napa. 

While we’re this deep I decided to change the thermostat as well. 

And the hoses too. 

Going back together usually takes a bit more effort. 

Here’s a trick Mr. Reachard taught me in shop class: don’t start adding 50/50 coolant right away. Because I’ve been adding water to the truck for the past couple weeks, the block was all water. Knowing that this is around a four gallon system, I first added two gallons of straight concentrate. Then topped it off with 50/50 so we retained a strong coolant ratio. 

Back in black. 

I enjoy mechanicing. Some guys’ minds just work that way and I guess mine’s one of them. But I’d also rather do things myself if I’m able too. Saves a bit of cash and gives me a chance to sharpen some old skills. This radiator project came just in time as things are heating up. Now we can stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. On to the next one!