Thursday, April 16, 2026
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
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.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
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.
Monday, April 13, 2026
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Saturday, April 11, 2026
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!
Friday, April 10, 2026
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:
Liturgy of the Word:
Creed and Offertory:
Sacred Art and Music:
Liturgy of the Eucharist:
Holy Communion and Dismissal:
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.
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
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