Hi I'm Mike and this is Our Wyoming Life
Haying continues and for the first time in our almost 10 years here on the ranch I decided to keep
track of my hours for the last week.
With the tally completed, Over the last 7 days I have averaged 14 hours per day for
a total of 98 hours.
Needless to say, I now remember why I have never kept track of my hours before and I
never will again.
So with 98 hours under my belt I decided to take a break from haying today, we still have
about 200 acres to cut and we will get back to it soon.
With all the concentration on haying its easy to forget that there is still a ranch to run
and what may have been a day off quickly turned to a full day of work.
Starting with this little lady.
I found her last night, laying in the pasture.
Dehydrated and weak, could barely stand and I scooped her up and brought her back to the
barn and I'm in the process of nursing her back to health.
Shes definately dehydrated and weak with a terrible case of diahrea, so she has gotten
a bunch of medicine to this point including scour pills, electrolytes, and penicillin.
Hopefully she will start to feel better soon.
So with haying going on and everything else I was actually at a loss for material to feature
in a video this week but then Erin reminded me that the fourth of july is coming up and
our annual 3rd of july party is just around the corner and we needed to start getting
ready for that.
So todays video is not about this little one, even though she is important and we will check
back in with her from time to time, todays video is about the fire truck.
This is a 1955 Howe Fire Cruiser, we purchased it back in 2012.
Up until that time it had been in use in a small town in montana called Ophiem.
It was actually in use up until that time and the finally retired the old girl from
their fleet.
We went and picked her up and brought her home where she got new tires and some replumbing
that bypassed her old pump system with a modern water pump that actually sits in the back
and takes care of spraying the water.
Some may ask why we have a firetruck on the ranch, but being out of town, if we do have
a grass fire it can take the local fire department quite a while to get out here so this is our
first line of defense.
I had a friend of mine from montana, who is a fire chief, come down and give us a lesson
on how to used the truck and how to be most effective in combating any fire we may have.
Also the truck makes a good water truck and if we have a stock well go down, a well that
gets water to the cows, we can also use it to refill and stock tanks we may need to.
So it serves a dual purpose.
The reason we are getting her out now is not only because we are coming into fire season
but also because of the 3rd of july party that I mentioned earlier.
We invite a few friends out on the night of the 3rd and bbq and blow some crap up.
We do it on the third because on the fourth we take the kids to the parade and tend to
end up at the fireworks in town so its a good compromise.
So during our party and the festivities the fire truck will be standing guard, ready if
any stray embers get away.
But before we get that far we need to get her out and ready.
Shes spent the winter in an old shed where the peacock likes to roost so first we get
her to the shop and give her a good spraying off.
Then I head back and check the calf again, looking good, just relaxing but alert which
is a good sign.
Also, I noticed last year that the flashing light on top isnt working so we will try to
fix that.
A small belt that rotates the light has broke and what good is a fire truck without lights,
it should be an easy fix using a rubber band to replace the belt.
Ok, that didnt work.
But luckily I live in a house full of girls, so a hair tie might just do the trick.
And there we go, working lights.
Its officially a fire truck.
Now all we have to do is put the pump in, using the trac.tor to lift it up and into
the back and hook it up via hoses to the tank.
We add little fuel and 500 gallons of water , which while its filling gives us another
chance to go and check our sick calf who even though is tired still seems to be doing pretty
good and so are we, water is full and the fire truck is good to go.
Ready to combat any dumbassery that might occur while we light off fireworks on the
third.
The kids love the fire truck and grace even helps add flags to the back, making it a true
4th of july ride.
The fire truck is ready to go and I just had an idea and you can tell me if you think its
a good or a bad one.
I was debating live streaming some of our fireworks and bbq on the third.
Not sure if anyone would be interested in seeing any of it but if you are let us know
in the comments, as long as I dont have too many beers I'll probably remember to do it.
Thats it for this week, I'll keep you updated on the status of the calf in the barn, Sunshine
and if any wants to hang out with us on the night of the third, I'll see then.
Please like, subscibe and comment as always and have a safe and happy fourth of july.
I think the fourth is one of the best holidays we celebrate here on the ranch, its a great
time to get together, without all the work of branding or preg checking or sorting calves.
We get to sit around, have some great conversation, maybe even break out a guitar or two and celebrate
living in this great country.
Speaking of great country, we love Wyoming and wouldnt live anywhere else and we really
want to thank you for joining us, in our wyoming life.