Utility Room

Before we can get to working on the upstairs of the barn, there is still infrastructure down below to be done. The greatness of this project is that it allows us to clean up all aspects of the barn, like the wiring. 

The first stall to the left as you walk in the barn is going to be our utility room. Grandpa used this room to house oats for the horses. It was also the only access to the loft, by the ladder on the west wall. A couple years back, we plumbed water and sewer up under the foundation and landed them in this room. When it is said and done, this is the only room downstairs that will be insulated and heated. It is here that the water heater and water softener will be housed, and where the plumbing and wiring will take off. 

This summer we tore down all the interior walls that surrounded this room and poured a good concrete floor. 

After coming up with a game plan for the entire room, we mounted some plywood that will serve as the outside wall against the horse stanchion.

To give it a little support on the back side, we mounted some horizontal 2" x 6"s. All of this is used lumber, of course. 

However, we did have to buy some new OSB plywood and foam board for the inside. 

The 2" foam board went up nice and will serve as the only weather barrier on this wall. 

Over it, we mounted the OSB. This will be the finished look inside the utility room, though we will paint it all once the rest of the room is put together. 

Probably the hardest part of this project was planning all the details to come, like the plumbing. We left two floor joists open, where the drain lines will come into this heated room. The plan is to enclose these joists all the way to the other side of the barn loft. 

Now that the north wall was all secured up, we could return to the wiring. The barn lights and outlets needed cleaned up. 

First step was to mount a new breaker box. The main line comes from the house up the hill. We have three big jobs to be fueled by this box, the main barn, the loft, and the corral utilities. 

We ran a feed line to the barn light switch, which served as a junction box for the rest of the barn. Reusing the old wire, of course. 

It's fun to start fresh with clean wiring in the breaker box. 

Let's ranch.

This is a great place to be going into winter. We needed to get the wiring put back together in order to heat the water tanks in the corral. In order to do that, we needed to get this new wall built which required a concrete floor first. Now we can play around upstairs with a knowledge of where the plumbing is going to go and with the power in place. I sure hope living in this barn is going to be as fun as working on it. We'll find out someday. Until then, there's more work to be done. Onward. 

Side Dumping Dirt

After doing a little barnyard landscaping this summer, we had a good sized pile of dirt to deal with. Knowing that Oldman Winter is around the corner, we decide now is the time to move it. For a job like this, the right equipment is essential. Nothing post 1980 will do. 

This pile of fill dirt was taking up some valuable room around the barn. There is always somewhere around the ranch that could use more dirt. 

The location of choice was the east line in the Sand Box riding arena. On the pasture side of the retaining wall, the bulls do a number rubbing on the powdery dirt. Consequently it has been eroding away. Looks like a good place for some fill dirt. 

It in-turn made a bigger gap on the last rung of the fence line. Putting the dirt here would kill two birds with one stone. 

First step was to windrow the sand out of the way. This way we could reuse it. Getting it down to dirt would also make it easier for the haul truck to back in there. The 1979 JD 450 dozer did a good job. 

The dump truck of choice was our 1973 International side-dump. Not that we have a lot of other options to choose from, but this guy is the right truck for the job. 

Our loader of choice was our early-1960s JD 4010. When you are using equiptment to move dirt, which wasn't made for moving dirt, you want to take special care to operate nice and easy. 

No need to over load, especially with short runs. In situations like this, I put the dirt to the up side. 

This way there is not a lot of pressure on dumping door on the side of the box. If you don't have any dirt against the sideboard, you can leave the back chain unlatched. 

Then, when you get backed into place, all you have to do is reach out the driver's window and give the front chain a fling, unlatching the sideboard and turning your dirt loose. 

Then you can start dumping without ever getting out of the truck!

Side dumps definitely have their place. This would have actually been a tougher job with a standard end dump. 

Climbing back out of the Sand Box isn't easy with a single-screw truck. Thankfully, this girl is equipped a 2-speed rear-end. When driving in sand you want to avoid spinning your tries. To do so, you need momentum. If you were to try and grab a gear with your clutch in sand, you'd loose speed and bog out. With a 2-speed rear-end, simply pull the red switch on the gear shifter once you have some good speed. Then left off the gas quick, allowing the slack to shift the rear-end to a higher gear, then get right back on the gas. This is a great asset when needing more speed without loosing momentum. 

After about six runs, we were done hauling. 

Then we took the dozer and leveled out the piles. Keeping quite a bit of dirt inside the arena. 

While pushing plenty through the fence so the bulls have some new dirt to play with. 

Then just backfilled the sand. 

Thankfully, Hank showed up to help with the finish work. 

Not bad.

Good stuff. This job needed to be done. No sense in waiting around. Just grab the truck, tractor, and dozer and get to it. There are probably less than 5 side dump trucks around the county that still get used. They are not always user friendly, as there is no other way to get the sideboard back up than with manpower. However, they sill have their place. There is no other truck I can think of that would have worked as well in these circumstances. Our equipment may be old, but it still gets the job done. One down, many to go. Let's ranch. 

Fr. Brandon Guenther

 Good guy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ6t1cCwqiE

Power and Authority

Comes from poverty of spirit.

           https://youtu.be/i2Ia7LPnHrg         

Louisiana III

If you are going to go to Louisiana in September, you better go gator hunting. Scott Broussard lined up an alligator hunt for us today. We were not disappointed. 

Lee, Scott, and Neil all came up to Wyoming last year for our Catholic Cowboy Way retreat. It was fun to get together again. This time on their home turf. 

Scott has connections. Derrick manages this clubhouse on the marsh in south Louisiana. He, and his boy Brooks, were our hunting guides. 

Our water of choice was the Intercostal Waterway. Wild country.

To hunt gator, you set a hook with rotting meat hanging a descent distance above the water. Those gators will come and leap out of the water, swallowing the hook that has a rope on it that is tied to a tree. Derrick set five baits. This one was't taken so we took it down. 

But this one was!

We saw the gator from a distance. Big looking guy. When we pulled up he had limbs broken down and the rope all tangled up. 

Once untangled, Derrick started to real him in. My job was to shoot him when he got to the surface. Mission accomplished. 

We used a .22 and put a bullet in the top of his head when he came to surface. Tough target, all sloshing around and such. Once dead and before we brought him in, a couple more bullets were added to the equation. 

Nice looking gator. Biggest of his season so far, Derrick said. 

This was cool for all of us. It didn't matter who pulled the trigger, this hunt was a team effort. 

Once docked, we off loaded him with a mini-ex. 

So wild. I was a bit indifferent as to whether I got a gator or not. After four unsuccessful traps, we were starting to think we might not get one. Knowing that was a disappointment, I talked to God about this. In my heart I heard Him say, "What do you want?" To which I thought and replied, "I want a gator." Recognizing this desire, I prayed a prayer that we find one. Right then Derrick hollered, "We got one!" All glory to God! 

After we loaded him in the truck, we hauled it to down to Scott's processing plant. 

Mainly a crawfish operation, they do buy and have alligators processed and sell the meat. The big question for all of us was how tall he was. 

10' 3". That's a good sized alligator. They can get up to 14'. 

Then we lowered him into a crate. 

About the only thing that has value on a wild alligator is the meat. The hides aren't of value because they are usually beat up from fighting for survival. 

To cool it down, the guys threw ice in him. 

And loaded the crate with water. 

Thanks, Scott. That was a hunt of a lifetime! The fun thing about it is that it wasn't just for me. This was a team effort and all of us enjoyed the thrill of a big catch. Alligators are becoming a problem in these parts. With the market down because of commercial raised gators, guys aren't spending the time and money to hunt them. Consequently, they are coming further inland and even eating calves when the opportunity arises. If we are going to live in harmony with nature, we have to manage the population of wild game. Thankfully, our successful hunt has the added bonus of providing meat for people. Thanks be to God for a fun time in beautiful country. Let's ranch on!