Hi I'm Mike it's a cold and gray Wyoming Tuesday morning
hunting season is almost over the weather's not supposed to get any better
so it's time to start cleaning out the sales barn and get a bunch of equipment
put away on the project list on our Wyoming Life
welcome back to the project list a series that comes out every Tuesday
please subscribe and follow along as we tackle this list right here behind me
it's constantly growing and well I guess that's pretty much normal around here
any time of the year but a big part of the project list is being flexible and
prioritizing some projects can wait until we're looking for something to do
others need done right away but some are very much weather dependent we're pretty
much done with fall all two weeks of it we actually wondered if fall was even
going to come as we had snow back in the mitigating of October but eventually
mother nature while she cooled her jets and the weather is kind of straightened
out for a bit over the past couple weeks we've had temperatures averaging in the
high 50s to low 60s that it looks like is all done more snow is on the way we
have nighttime lows into the 20s for the next few days and temperatures only
getting up into the 30s and 40s if we're lucky when it's wintertime
around here which apparently it is then it's time to start putting equipment
away it's kind of like putting your toys away when you're done playing with them
and most of the stuff that we put away for winter we're not going to be using
again until spring but some of it we will with that in mind we just can't
throw all our toys in the closet and hope that mom doesn't find them some
equipment will need access to and with a lack of storage options around here we
have to be pretty smart about how we do it not only is this the project list
behind me but this is also the sales barn right through this door our largest
story storage area for well stuff for the last month or so it's been used
as a hunter processing and storage facility but now we're gonna take it
back and we're gonna jam it full of as much stuff as we can and sometimes to go
forward it feels like we're going backwards
this barn used to be used for cattle sales up until the 90s since then it's
been pretty much storage but before it can be storage again we need to clean it
up a little bit everything's set up for the hunters
needs to be removed and put away a carcass hanger is removed from the
rafters and tables and chairs are put away
well maybe put away might be too strong of a word let's just say stash somewhere
else even our trusty scarecrow slim who's
here to supervise this entire project gets a little bit of attention and we
switch out his hat for the one we blew up just a few weeks ago that looks
better trash mostly feed bags are removed and
burned in the incinerator then a few tons of feed that I've been
storing in here has to be moved out to make way for bigger equipment and make
it more accessible when we need it luckily the Bobcat is back up and
running on all four tires and with it we make short work of getting the 8 tons of
cow cake out of the barn and set aside for a while while we come up with a game
plan anything we don't need in here right now
we can get out like this insulation which I need to put up in the garage
we're gonna move it where we need it and the nice thing is that it'll actually
block in my Firebird so if I want to drive it I have to get the insulation up
and installed tarps are pulled up and anything in the way is moved on to the
side with that the sales barn is ready for winter guests and first up is the
baler with a lot of rubber the winter Sun will wear off baler belts pretty
fast so storing it inside only makes sense getting it in though is a bit of a
trick as our door doesn't offer much clearance and backing it in is like
backing in a small trailer small movements make a big
change in the direction you're going but once it's in place then we can
disconnect it from the tractor when we're clear then it's time to park the
4055 in here as well space is limited and since we shouldn't need the 4055
during the winter we can put it as far back as we can of course slimmer than
the way but that's easily fixed and he finds a new place to hang out out of the
way but still with a good view
next up is a 64 10 this tractor will probably see some work this winter so we
want to somewhere where you can still get it out but by putting it in next we
can ensure that it's put away and still accessible and we're going to help it
fit a bit better we're gonna remove the bucket and leave it outside this is a
newer loader than we have on our feeding tractor and disconnecting the bucket is
pretty simple all you have to do is pull one pin take off the hydraulics and back
away our brooding box for chickens is in the way but that can be moved we
shouldn't need it until next spring and now we can bring in the tractor this is
kind of like playing Tetris or if you were like me dr. Mario I always liked
that one better with our tractors in place it's time to start bringing our
feedback in this will be fed up pretty quickly after snow hits as the cows will
receive about 300 pounds of it every other day if I do need to get the
tractor out before we feed it up well then I'll probably have to move it but
for now this is the best place to put it and I'm doing it now because I also want
to do it with less equipment in here less to back into as you can't see much
out of the back of the Bobcat next up or four-wheelers I'm certain we're going to
need those this winter so they go in next somewhere where we can get them out
pretty quickly if we need them right up the middle
the 445 tractor with a lawn mower deck is brought in it as well and a smaller
lawn mower that we use for yards and places where the chance of hitting rocks
is much less
the International 606 is gonna live an ATAR this winter and it like normal it
fires right up we get in and we put it to bed last but not least the workhorse
the Bobcat is wetter did maybe a little crooked to make it fit
the batteries for all this stuff is a concern over the winter almost
everything parked in here is going to get a trickle charger to make sure that
batteries are in tip-top shape when it comes time to pull them out I have a
heavy gauge extension cord that I think my mother-in-law actually got for
Christmas lights it's been commandeered by the ranch and is now used as a handy
way to plug in all the chargers for winter this court has an outlet every
few feet and by stringing it all throughout the area I can pretty much
get an outlet by each vehicle each one is plugged in and made sure to be
working with all that the barn is full tractors lawnmowers and four-wheelers
are ready for hibernation however short it may be
we don't have a lot of storage here oddly enough I could use an equipment
shed we still need to get the Model T put away in the fire truck as well as
all the wagons they're gonna go across the road in a much smaller barn over
there and that's when we really get to squeeze in thanks for joining me for a
few hours this morning you know it doesn't seem like much of a job but by
making sure that all of our equipment is taken care of and inside we have a
better chance of not having problems in the spring winters here can get a little
bit rough and no one likes to see a tractor sitting outside in the cold
truth be told they don't like it much either now this is only the beginning of
winter eyes around winter rising around here we're gonna get everything in fuel
additives will be used as well as block eaters but it's this really gives us a
good jumping-off point and it gets me out of the cold when it comes to doing
the more work autumn / winter we'll have a bunch of tractor maintenance to do and
I hope you can join me for that as well speaking of live stream it's live stream
week here and if you've never had a chance to join us for a live stream I
really encourage you to do so they're a lot of fun we get a chance to sit down
with you and hang out for a little bit we answer questions we get your advice
and we show you more of what happens behind the scenes around here and a
bunch of stuff that never makes it into a video that happens on Thursday night
7:00 p.m. mountain time and I hope to see you there you won't regret it I know
we never do I'm gonna get some lunch I think I just heard Aaron pull in from
picking up Lincoln for preschool and then it's gonna be time to get back to
work come back and hang out again and please subscribe so that you can come
along with us and explore the ranch life escape the ordinary until I see you
again have a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wilding life
you