Louisiana II

After rounding up the cows yesterday, it was time to work them. 7am, we all met back at the Habetz Ranch to ride out, round up, and run through two different bunches of calves, getting them reading for fall weaning. A fun day was had by all. 

That's one big crew of Catholic Cowboys.

Once loaded up, we headed out.

First up was to gather the bunch we moved yesterday.

And push them through the gate.

That led to the working pens.

After they settled a bit, we pushed them into the corrals. 

Fall conditioning on the calves was our main bit of business. Adam, Josh, David, and Ronald, ran the important jobs. 

Calves look good.

After that bunch was done, we headed out to get the second group of critters. 

This time they were mostly Brahman. 

A little more on the obstinate said, it took all hands on deck to get them moving.

And pushed into the corral. 

Kind of a goofy looking cow, they work well down here because they are fairly heat tolerant. 

We'd grab a group of calves. 

And push them down the alley way.

Good stuff. 

In little time, we were all done and found some shade.

And a cold one.

Then back to the ranch for some shrimp étouffée. 

Awesome. Special thanks to Adam Habetz for having Lee and I out. Keep up the Good work!

Louisiana is the real deal. The caliber of Catholic Cowboys down here is stunningly high. Good ranchers and faithful Christians. Let's take a break for chasing cows and see what the rest on this great state has to offer. On to the next one. 

Lousiana I

Years ago, I crossed paths with some Cajun Catholic Cowboys out of Louisiana while they were in Wyoming for the National High School Rodeo Finals. Ever since then, we've stayed in touch. I always said that some day I was going to go check on them. Well, today was the day.

Once I landed in Lake Charles LA, Lee Kinney picked me up and gave me a quick lay of the land. Then I jumped in with Josh LaVergne and went to move some cows.

At a ranch down the road, they were fixin' to go move some cows.

So they gave me a horse and we got ready to ride.

But first, we had to watch Josh's son ride saddle bronc in Pendleton through the Cowboy Channel.

Then we headed out to the pasture. Plenty of green grass around here. 

Josh and Chris were my riding compadres. 

This is alligator country. See his yes sticking out of the water from the culvert? 

They cows wanted to go to the corner.

Most of them ducked out but a few we had to dig out and get them moving.

Then we bunched up all the pairs. 

Once gathered, we got them moving.

And crossed the highway to another pasture. 

Looks like everybody's done this before. 

Then we went up a gravel road a bit.

And kicked them into a new pasture. 

After all that fun, we went back to Lee's house, where some more family and friends awaited us. This time we had to wait until Mitch's grandson bulldogged in North Dakota.

Then we enjoyed some crawfish étouffée.

Good stuff, all around! Fun start to a little southern vacation. My goal on this trip is to connect all these Catholic Cowboy dots. Looks they are definitely cowboy and the more we visit it is clear that they are deeply Catholic, as well. I look forward to understanding this Cajun Catholic Cowboy culture more during my few days in Louisiana. Let's see what other experiences I can take in. 

Fr. Zane Pekron

The real Cowboy Priest.

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

Sweet Corn

I'm a corn guy! Growing up, my favorite food was always corn on the cob. If fact, the toughest summer of my life was when I lost my two front teeth. Traumatic! I always enjoyed eating sweet corn, but was never good at cooking it. Until now!

Speedy's, from Hardin MT, comes down once a week or so and sells Buffalo some sweet corn. Thanks pal.

For a single man of God, one ear will do. Boiling a pot of water or trying it on the grill is too much trouble. But the microwave!? Can do. Just throw it in there, husk and all, for 4 min. No more, no less. For multiple ears, the time has to be adjusted. 

Giddy up! The corn is beautiful and cooked just right. Hot to the touch, though! 

While she's still plenty warm, get it buttered. Probably the most common trick is the roll method. Growing up this was forbidden, though since we have left home I see Mom and Dad have relaxed the rules. The rolling works good but it does do damage to the cube of butter.  

My buddy, John, showed me the upside down fork trick the other day. Works good, the curvature fits the cob well. 

Once buttered, add a liberal amount of salt. 

Complement it with some elk steaks and a Coors Light, and you have yourself a Catholic cowboy cuisine!

Enough said.

One of my favorite summer memories was the API (American Petroleum Institute) picnic at Sanders Park that Dad would take us to each summer growing up. That was usually my first corn of the year. I think they had a bucket of melted butter that they would dunk a half a cob into before dropping it on your plate. Didn't get much better than that, in my five year old mind. The smell and taste of sweet corn brings back those memories and many more each time I enjoy a well cooked corn on the cob. Boiling it works, for sure. But if you're thinking efficiency, try the microwave.  Ranch on.

Holy Cross

On which hung the Savior of the world!

           https://youtu.be/r6KPv3s3S_s         

Forgiving from the Heart

Three steps. 

           https://youtu.be/ajtwpYwR2gk         

Powder River

The Powder River runs deep in cowboy history and right through Johnson County. I've crossed it's paths for years, but have never dipped my horse's hooves in its current. Until now. 

The Powder runs through the Powder River Basin. Along these breaks, oil and gas flow freely and the ranching is plentiful. Today I got to help roundup in this great basin. 

Mollie was my steed of choice. After we celebrated Mass and the sun broke, we saddled up and headed east. 

James Iberlin was rounding-up this pasture today. Needing another rider, he gave me a call. 

This has to be the driest year on the books. In Sheridan County, the Powder River stoped flowing at one point. Not far from it here, but still chugging along. 

Ole Powder River, you're muddy and you're wide. 

Back to work. Time to push cows south. 

Pairs were lining this river up and down. 

About this time, Hank jumped in the fun. 

I got sent on a side quest to pick up critters in the hills. "Just head them down the country road," were my marching orders. 

As we peaked over the hill, the valley below was lined with cattle. 

Back in the day of the coal-bed methane boom, the gas company erected some pivot sprinklers on this place to help distribute the water. What once ran 24/7 has now sat still for 15+ years. 

About this time, James and I met back up. More cows to push. 

The grass is short as stubble, but the cactus around here is big and bold.

Once all was gathered, we headed for the corrals. 

A good 300 pairs we pushed over the hill. 

Then down to the ranch house that lies below. 

The other guys helped roundup and push on bikes. Stay out of the bulls' way! 

At last, the gate we were all looking for.

Fun stuff. An unfortunately dry year for ranchers around here. You can't throw in your hat, though. Ranchers have to roll with the punches and improvise as they go. James and company are shipping calves a month early to give the ground all the breaks they can. It was great to ride along this river and spend time in this basin. This is a tough year. But it's not the first dry year. All it takes is rain at the right time to get this grass back on its feet. We'll see what God gives us next spring. In the meantime, cowboys along the Powder River continue to ranch on.