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.

Hauling Water

The spring pasture we want to use has a poor water supply. So, if we want to use it, we need to haul water. A few head, we can keep up with. But, once all 11 pairs are up there, we are going to need some volume. So we went on the hunt for a water truck, and I’ll be darned if we didn’t find one. 

Our buddy Paul located this 1997 beauty in Wright WY. 

So Peter and I jumped in his pickup to go take a looksee. Not bad.

Runs on propane. Which isn't bad in general, just that you have to go to town to fill up. 

So we made the deal and wheeled her home. 

The next day, we got busy plumbing it in for our water trough needs. 

Clint lent me a hand and got her filling up. Probably 2 hrs to fill it all the way up. 

Then we took it and a fiberglass trough up to the pasture. Devlin and Charlotte got it all leveled out for us. 

We just hooked a simple garden hose float up to it. Takes a while to fill, but is a simple way to keep it maintained. 

Money. 

Ranch ready.

Good stuff. This set up will be real handy for the next month or so. Then the cows will go over to Worland. We'll see what to do with the truck after that. I'm sure we can get our money back out of it. However, with a dry summer looking at us, it might be a great commodity to have on hand. We'll see. For now, let's haul some water!

Why we do What we do at Mass

Every Advent and Lent, I try to teach some sort of class. This Lent, our topic was Why we do What we do at Mass. Using the Second Vatican Council document Sacrosanctum Concilium as our guide, we went through the Mass, part by part, for six weeks. We all enjoyed it, and we thought you might too. 

Introductory Rites:

           https://youtu.be/R7HzNzJ3wKY         

Liturgy of the Word:

           https://youtu.be/IcUubK8K9RM         

Creed and Offertory: 

           https://youtu.be/E7mAObvW7T4         

Sacred Art and Music: 

           https://youtu.be/fNVbbuMLjtw         

Liturgy of the Eucharist:

           https://youtu.be/cfi00e7ZIeM         

Holy Communion and Dismissal:

             https://youtu.be/P9s9os8Jvt4           

Good stuff. I really enjoyed teaching this class and learned a lot. My greatest take away, is that our current liturgy, known as the Mass of Paul VI, is a more mature form of the liturgy, because it requires full, conscious, and active participation by the lay faithful in the pews. Ranching intentionally. 

Mysterious Mercy

Mercy is God's greatest attribute. 

           https://youtu.be/jFt1Mej55UA         

Paul Casey

Fun stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca7n2QNhsZg

Sixth Calf

Finally, we got some color. Grandma had her calf today. Little grey heifer. Cool critter. 

I like color. Mom is a Red Angus/Charolais cross, who is yellow. Her first calf was red, second smokey white, and now this grey. Nice calf.

When I arrived, Mom was excited. Baby was stuck under the fence. Even if she did get out on her own, she would have been on the wrong side of the fence. 

Thankfully, we got her pushed back through. Both were happy. 

I'm happy too.

Good stuff. Grandma was our herd starter. We bought her to fatten and eat, and that fall she calved instead. Ever since, she has produced nice calves. Now that she has calved, we can start to move some pairs around. Ranch on. 

Face of God

The Eucharist is the Face of God.

             https://youtu.be/naDd8Pkn9fM           

Apostles

Encounter the risen Lord and share that encounter with others. 

           https://youtu.be/m2cP2czGIw4         

Brandings Begin

With only 11 cows to calve, we have to squeeze all the fun out of them we can. Three pairs are strong and ready for green grass. So we gathered the boys and stuck an iron on them.

Old school, wood fire and Great-grandpa's branding iron. 

No need for a horse when Pete's around. Just leg 'em and flip 'em. 

With Peter on the head Pete on the end, these three blacks were easy business. 

We tagged them and gave them a couple shots. 

Banded the bulls. 

And put the Reverse L Drawknife on the left hip. 

Should work. 

Turned them back to mom. Pretty low stress...

For all of us. 

Fun stuff. Easter joy knows no bounds. Spring time is all about birth and rebirth. Whether it's baptisms or brandings, we are going to celebrate our Lord's victory over death at all times. With eight calves to go, we should be able to get in two or three more brandings. Let's ranch. 

Run

Encounter with the Risen Lord makes us run to the next one. 

           https://youtu.be/FOusRdy_7VI         

Awesomeness

Nothing is impossible for God!

           https://youtu.be/GiWzGNHjTaM