Senses of Scripture

Literal and Spiritual.

           https://youtu.be/QBL7qj_DIfY         

Cattle Company Day 2026

Friday was a big day on the ranch. Bulls to pull, cows to brand, and calves to wean. A fun day was had by all.

And of course, it had to be done on horseback.

But first, breakfast. Thanks, Ma. 

Sunup is when the work got started. Horses were ranch ready. 

Mollie is no stranger to working cows this fall. 

And the old reliables were ready for whatever came their way.

Giddy up!

This 25 acre irrigated pasture has served the herd well. Dad did a good job keeping it watered.

The calves look great.

With a little pressure, they started to head for the corrals. 

We've found opening the gate to the sandbox encourages the cows to go through the gate because it's something new. Once in, we closed the gate to the big pasture. 

Bringing them back in the corrals, we cut out the bulls. 

These two did a good job, but it's time to go home now.

We jumped them in the trailer and hauled them to my brother's place for the winter.

Next up, cows and calves.

Once penned, we put the horses up.

And cut the calves on foot.

Once everything was separated, we built a fire.

With one cow to brand, we got my brother's iron warming up.

In the meantime, we ran all the cows through and poured them.

When ole Skunkface came through, we put the G reversal L on her front shoulder. 

That'll work.

We will butcher this cow within the month. 

Once the cow work was done, we got the feeder ready for weaning the calves.

To do this right, we had to get another waterer set up for the cows.

The cows will feed in the pasture and go in and out of the sandbox for water. Crossing the gates should allow for this travel while keeping the calves in the corral.

Then we kicked the nine calves and one yearling out of the working pen.

Straight to hay they go.

And eventually to their mothers across the fence.

This is what we call gentle weaning. The biggest stress that comes from weaning calves, in my opinion, is being separated from their mothers. By keeping them just across the fence from each other, they at least know where mom is. Then, about the only stress each of them go through, is not being able to nurse. That, they'll get over in a couple days.

Fun day on the farm. Cattle Company Days like this are tough to beat. Weaning is like harvest time in ranch world. Getting to do it on horseback with my old man, is just icing on the cake. What to do from here... we'll see. Might sell a couple steer calves and run the rest as yearlings. Got to keep the fun alive. Ranch on.

Sunday

An invitation that is an obligation.

           https://youtu.be/Vm6z6ece1iE         

St. Paul

And his letter to the Galatians.

           https://youtu.be/9T-uDHoThBg         

 

Mr. Lee Kinney

Thanks for the hospitality, brother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ateBxWWahGY&t=1287s

Evolution of the Rosary

Contemplation of the Christian Mysteries. 

           https://youtu.be/h2wNNdcYmeg         

Solitude

Listening to the voice of Jesus.

           https://youtu.be/eLDmVJMlJY8         

Neighbor

To be neighbor is to be compassionate.

           https://youtu.be/4-ADTYJdw4k         

St. Francis

Pray for us to be servants like you.

           https://youtu.be/Jy2bUKMRCc8         

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. 

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.