Angelic Musings

Angels help us relate to God.

           https://youtu.be/cJl_sBtCM0A         

Contentment

Compassion is the remedy for complacent. 

           https://youtu.be/p0qTQzMO53U         

Stairway to Heaven

Ranchin' is not about the destination as much as it's about the journey. Wanting to take the next step on the barn project, we set out to set our steps. Good day.

After setting the septic tank last summer, we wanted to get the stairs and door into the barn loft before winter hits. The plan: parallel the gable end with the stairs, land on a platform, and eventually punch a door into the barn through the loft hatch. 

Before we started drilling, it was crucial to plan for the right height and distance from the center of the hatch before placing the platform. 

Last fall we scored this oilfield tank catwalk and stairway. Great material to work with. 

Earlier this summer we tore the railing off the catwalk, cut the floor in half, and bolted it together. Making a 9'x4.5' platform. Good stuff. 

Today we hauled it down and got to work. We drilled and bolted the inside to the loft floor joists. After leveling it off a bit, we placed some temporary 2"x8"s to hold up the outside edge until we can drill in some pipe uprights. 

Safety first, around this ranch.

Then we grabbed the stairway and doctored it up.

Thanks be to God, everything lined up real nice.

This material is so universal. Holes everywhere to give you options of how to bolt things up. 

Money. Dad spent years climbing these stairways and gaging tanks. Kinda cool to see it come back around. 

Back in the day, when a truck came and hauled off a load of oil they left a run ticket in the jar bolted to the stairs. We'll keep it on hand for special requests. 

Giddy up.

Good start. So fun to walk up here. No more climbing the wall into the trap door from the inside. Next, we can more permenatly secure the platform with some pipe pillars, and then frame in a door. After that, let the snow fly. Ranchin.

Perplexed

Seek Jesus in faith, not out of curiosity. 

           https://youtu.be/wnWHpHNB_Ow         

Cultured Cowboy Coffee

Spending time in Rome, I developed a taste for coffee of a different culture. It's usually Folgers in the morning, around here. But occasionally, a shot of espresso in the afternoon hits the spot.

I've seen this kind of stovetop espresso maker before, and used one in Rome. So I picked one up before we flew home.

As well as a little espresso to go along with it.

I think I probably dig the engineering behind it as much as anything. Just fill the bottom half with water.

And load the top part of that with coffee grounds. I'm shooting for more of an Americano, which is a shot or two of espresso, topped off with hot water. Basically, how I achieve that is with a full pot of water and half full of ground espresso. 

Then fire up the stove. 

This is crazy cool. It's like a reverse percolator. When the water boils below, it pushes up through the grounds in the middle and channels to the very top and spills into the upper chamber. Fun. 

Voila!

Here's what the force of that boiling water does to the coffee grounds. 

Giddy up.

I don't mind a little culture in my coffee cup. Actually, I first got turned on to an Americano in college seminary. It’s a good cup of coffee, every now and again. Taking time to go through the motions to brew this bad boy helps you appreciate it a little more. Makes a guy slow down and smell the coffee. Ranching steady. 

Good News

Is life in Christ.

           https://youtu.be/ZL4H3J917es         

 

Work the Word

Let your light shine.

           https://youtu.be/GX9ljpSzaoU         

Paradise Ranch Men's Retreat

A year ago I asked if Clay and Leah Miller at Paradise Ranch if they would be interested in hosting a men's retreat. Sure enough. They had desired, in a real way, to give back to God what He had given them. After months of discernment and preparation, we made the Paradise Ranch Men's Retreat a reality. 

Nestled on the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains, Paradise Ranch has been helping guests have fun for over 100 years. It was a real privilege for us to be able to take advantage of the natural beauty, cozy accommodations, and genuine hospitality for our first annual Catholic Cowboy Way Men's Retreat. 

The chapel was completed in 2004 in memory of Sam Pope, a former employee who died young. It overlooks the iconic Fan Rock. 

Didn't take much to get it fixed up for our Catholic liturgical purposes. 

The cabins were equally as accommodating. Good stuff. 

We gathered about 30 men for this shindig, some from as far away as Louisiana. 

The retreat was a hybrid between silent and social. A few talks a day and plenty of time for prayer and conversation. 

The chapel was a good 1/4 mile away, and on top of a hill. We made this jaunt at least three times a day. 

We spent about as much time in the cafeteria. 

This place is professional. They closed for the summer last week, but kept a crew on hand to serve our needs. Beautiful.

Everywhere you turned, there was something that drew you closer to God.

One afternoon, my buddy Lance Mudd gave us his testimony and a little horse demonstration. Powerful stuff.

That evening, the PR team treated us to a picnic in the pavilion. 

Friday afternoon, my buddy Darin ran up the first batch of my newly released book: The Catholic Cowboy Way of Prayer. I'd been working on this project for the last three years. Good to have completed and in hand. I went with an independent publishing house. I'm hopeful that it will be helpful. Great timing to have for our CCW retreat. You can get it at Barns and Noble if you like.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-catholic-cowboy-way-of-prayer-bryce-lungren/1148319322?ean=9781662967788

Saturday afternoon was time for recreation. Our talks were all centered around listing to God's voice in our hearts. This recreation afternoon was in an effort to listen to God's voice in our humanity. Some of the boys went hiking.

Many of us went fishing. 

French Creek goes right by Fan Rock. 

Adam was my PR fishing guide.

He helped me land my first fish with a fly rod. 

Most of the guys went horseback riding. PR runs about 100 horses. 

After our recreation day, they kicked the horses out to pasture for the fall. Cool stuff.

Most retreat centers serve the best food first and once the guests have had their fill, an inferior food. Not Paradise Ranch, they saved the best meal for last! Thanks Clay. 

Money. 

On Sunday, we invited all those involved with the operation of the Ranch to join us for Mass. Beautiful. 

30 men signed up and 30 men showed up. A Good time was had by all. 

One final pool picnic to close out our time together. 

Amazing. This retreat was truly a win-win. All the men, including myself, had a rejuvenating retreat. We just seemed to be surrounded by God's presence. So tuning in to His voice in our hearts and humanity, was no problem. I think the PR staff had just as Good of time. Nice little cool down after a pretty wild summer. 

Many plants were planted on this retreat. The talks sowed the seeds, the silence granted germination, the camaraderie watered the soil and God provided the growth. Hopefully we can keep this garden tended to when we get back home. I'm hopeful. These boys take their faith seriously. Watch-out world, Cowboy Catholicism is coming to town! Let's ranch. 

Godly Ingenuity

All for the greater glory of God!

           https://youtu.be/g8xKMDNq3Fw         

Tire Rotation

With a few highway miles awaiting me this week, I decided it was time to rotate the tires on White Horse. Usually the tire shop you bought the tires from will rotate them for you, but that place is back in Gillette. No problemo. 

Good tire rotation really extends the life of your tires. Not sure how often they say to do it, but every 15k miles or so is probably good. Been too long for us. 

The wear pattern on the inside of the front tires is of concern for me. This back-and-forth cupping usually means you have a tie-rod end out, or something that is causing the front wheels to not work in unison. For another day. 

Safety first. Our drive has a slight incline. Don't need any runaways around here. 

Once we blocked up the front, we jacked up the back and set her on stands. Then we could jack the fronts up independently. 

Thank God for airguns. 

Pulling the tires is always a good opportunity to look over the brakes. Good shape. 

My rotation pattern is backs to front and cross the fronts when you go to the back. 

Here's a trick with big tires that you need to lift off the ground. Stick your foot under the tire before it gets to the lugs, and roll it over it. Then you can give it some lift with your foot. Or you can use a tire-iron. 

I like to set the lug nuts on with the airgun and wrench them down with my long ratchet. I can almost hear Mr. Reachard yelling in my ear, "You have to torque those nuts down!" We work with what we got around here. 

Now is also a good time to grab the neighbor kid and check your tie pressure. 80psi in back and 70psi in front. 

While we were at it, we dusted off the interior. 

Ready to run. 

Good stuff. An ounce of maintenance is worth a pound of cure. I'd be happy to have the tire shop rotate my tires for me, but they aren't around. I could pay someone, but why-for when you can do it yourself. Besides, gives a guy a chance to check on his rig. Tires are where the rubber hits the road. If they are in good shape, the chances of not making it home for dinner are a lot slimmer. Let's ranch.