To be neighbor is to be compassionate.
Monday, October 5, 2026
Sunday, October 4, 2026
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Another Phase Converter
We are going to get our meat locker up and running if it's the last thing we do! I finally found an electrician that will take on the project of converting the trailer to single-phase and wire in the phase converter for the three-phase cooling compressors. However, he said one phase converter won't run both compressors. We need a rotary converter for each compressor!
So back to Phoenix Phase Converters we go. Identical to the last one, except this one is rated at 15 hp instead of 20.
To do mount this, we took off the single converter and brought the rack home.
Needing to extend it to fit another compressor, we cut one end off with the cutting torch.
Then added a 38" extension of 2"x2" angle iron. Butt welds are my least favorite weld. All the stress is dependent on the weld. I stand by my welds, but I'd rather stand by the steel itself and let the weld hold the supporting steel together, if that makes any sense. Regardless, I can run a butt weld. In this case, I bevelled the ends down to a 45° for good penetration from the mig welder.
Looks good, anyway.
So we hauled it out and had Devlin and Charlotte help mount the new rack.
Once bolted up, we set the phase converters in place. No easy chore. A pretty solid 200 lbs each. Definitely a two men and girl job.
Giddy up.
This better work! I'm actually fairly confident it will, but it has not come without cost, in various forms. Next week the electricians come out to wire everything up. That's when we'll see if this dog can hunt. Hopefully so. We have a cow back home that is ready for the freezer. If you are going to own a meat locker, you might as well have it operational. Let's ranch.
Friday, October 2, 2026
Day Work
It lined up great for me to help the Fosters wean their claves and sort their cows today. Beautiful fall day in Sheridan County.
Verona Corrals, right along the BFNS railroad, north of Clearmont was the location of our work today.
The job started at daybreak with pushing the already rounded up herd into the corrals to be sorted and shipped.
Good set up, the cows walked right in.
First up was pulling a couple bulls.
Six of us were horseback, sorting through all the different bunches of cattle.
The calves look good.
In the corner here is what is called a calf screen. Only a calf can fit through and it is a natural way to separate the calves from the cows.
Sam did most of the detailed sorting on horseback.
The rest of us just kept the alley full.
Mollie was my steed of choice today. She did great.
The main objective was weaning the calves. Moms go by.
And calves go in.
While the others were sexing and shipping the calves, we were sorting the cow herd.
This is a pretty busy railroad track. Interesting cargo to watch go by out in ten-buck-two.
Eventually we got all the mother cows sorted into the different bunches they needed to be in.
Meanwhile, they weighed the calves.
And loaded them on the trucks to go to Worland for the winter.
Good work, sister.
Fun stuff. Day work riding pens is good for both horse and rider. Mollie does pretty good cutting cows, believe it or not. She isn't very cowy, but she is fairly responsive with my commands. Once again, I'm thankful to the Fosters for the call to lend a hand. Let us know when the next one is and we'll be there. Ranch on.
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Train Bell Repair IV
As promised, Darin and I would come and repair the train bell again if we had to. I was hopping the last fix would do the trick, and it did for a while. But a couple weeks after the last repair I drove by and saw that the bracket was broke. Not wanting to deal with it then, we waited until people started telling us that it was upside down again before we took action. This time, I'm pretty confident we won't be back for a while.
Darin was surprised and said, "We're not working with amateurs here!"
Our bracket was found nearby, lying on the ground.
The orange color is the quick rust of the cast-iron. That's the main reason why it broke. When cast-iron is used in a position that it wasn't created for, it just looks for a reason to break. No doubt kids jerking on the rope didn't help.
Rocking it hard enough gets the arm stuck between the bracket, upside-down.
New idea: put some half-circle clamps with some bar-stops, keeping the bell from rocking too far.
2 3/8" tubing and 7/8" sucker rod should do the trick.
Just weld them up.
Drill some holes.
And bolt them together.
When the arm rocks, either way, it has a pretty hard stop to deal with. We should be safe for a while.
Back in black.
The fun is starting to wear off of fixing this train bell. But one thing about Catholic Cowboys, we don't quit. If something goes haywire again, we'll be back to tend to it. Until then, ring on Buffalo. Ring on.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Monday, September 28, 2026
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Harness Rack
This ranch is a playground for me. Everywhere I turn, there is one more opportunity presenting itself. Today, it was finding a new home for our horse harnesses.
Our single horse pulling harness has been sitting in the barn collecting dust for the past several years. Now that we have a saddle room up and running, it was time to build a rack and give it a new home.
Dad bought this guy new back in 1990 for the Wyoming Centennial Wagon Train.
There's actually no need to build a new rack when Grandpa's old saddle racks are setting right here.
Not going to be used in this old location, we pulled them down. Good simple design. Should work for the harnesses.
Coming up with a plan, we mounted them on the saddle room wall, offsetting them from the saddle racks below.
Harnesses don't get used much anymore around this ranch. So putting the racks up high is not a problem.
The nice thing about using a saddle rack for the harnesses is that it helps them keep their form. The unique thing about Dad's harness is that it's a breast puller rather than a collar pulling harness.
Works for me.
While we were at it, we decided to find a better home for Grandpa Murdoch's old harnesses.
We just doubled them up on one rack. We had to put an additional board on the bottom to hold the hames.
Giddy up.
Never rule harnessing a horse out! Just when you think the harnesses are retired, the idea of fitting Mollie for the buggy comes to mind. Why not!? We'll keep it as an option if the need arises. Until then, the harnesses will be ready and waiting. If nothing else, they will complement the west wall of our saddle room. Ranch on.
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