hi I'm Mike over the past few weeks you
and I have been following farmers
markets farm-to-table dinners and trips
away from the ranch well now it's time
to get back to the nitty gritty of ranch
work on the project list on our wyoming
life
it's September and a majority of summer
is behind us yes it is sweatshirt
weather here the high is only like 50
degrees and oddly enough it's time to
start getting ready for winter here on
the ranch now farmers market continues
into October
we still have hay coming on a regular
basis and soon we'll have the cows back
home and we're gonna start preg checking
and sorting calves but for today we have
another project entirely during our
annual farm-to-table dinner the project
list got erased luckily I did get some
pictures of it before that happened but
it does give us an opportunity to take a
look around and see what's needs done
before the snow flies which surprisingly
might not be that far away today we're
going to concentrate on the main part of
the ranch around the buildings and the
sheds and get some sort of idea what
needs done and why then hopefully we'll
be able to get out and get something
done so let's get started with a blank
slate
the project list is an ever-growing list
of things that need done around the
ranch and as we complete each project we
cross it off as we remove items we're
constantly adding them so it looks like
a never-ending task but for me this is
the best way to keep track of what needs
done when and why we're gonna get
started with a few vehicles that we're
gonna have to deal with before winter
there's the fire truck I don't like
leaving it out during the winter so you
know during the summer we keep it
available and filled with water in case
we needed it but as winter approaches
we're gonna have to do something with it
and that means winterizing it and
putting it away the same goes for the
Model T
the Model T and the fire charge is going
to be stored in the barn and the shop
across the highway from our house after
we get them winterize we're gonna have
to move them over there but first we
need to clean out the shop which is full
of items that really just needed
somewhere to go and that's where they
ended up the temporary storage they're
all gonna have to be moved out and
organized and then the Model T and the
fire truck will be stored away while
we're cleaning out barns and shops we're
also going to have to clean out the barn
and the sales barn on our side of the
road with farm-to-table and all that
kind of stuff happening all the stuff
that was here in the main shop has been
moved out there now we have hunters
coming next month who will actually
utilize the space as their hunters
headquarters so all of this stuff in
here is going to have to be organized
and cleaned up for them the barn also
needs to be cleaned before winter in
case we have any animals that are gonna
have to be moved in there and live in
there for a little while another thing
to add to the list is the chicken house
the chicken house is kind of a mess I
really haven't had that much time to do
anything with it over the summer and it
really is deep cleaning before winter
hits right now we have 60 chickens and
eight ducks living in there and the
chicken run outside they can kind of
move through a boat
they're gonna start laying eggs soon so
cleaning it is required along with a few
repairs of roosts and nests of that sort
of thing we experience some wind damage
to our pig shed so that needs fixed
we're gonna end up having to get some
wood to do that as well as fixing the
portion of the awning that got ripped
off
lumber 10 that kind of thing out and a
lot is our big cowshed where cows can
actually go in and get away from the
weather that's gonna need some extensive
cleaning also now most of that's gonna
be done with the Bobcat going in and
scooping out manure and then filling it
up again with new material and bedding
we also have a water issue that I'd like
to get fixed before first snow and
that's a broken hydrant we're gonna call
that cow hydrant and basically what
happened was that hydrant broke we have
to replace it went broke I had to move
their water tank to a temporary spot so
once the hydrants back up and running
will relocate the cows main water back
down to the new hydrant and get it out
of that spot up in the lot and down
where it belongs along with that we have
a bunch of hay that we have made this
year and we're gonna have to move that
out of the fields get it gathered and
stacked
I am redoing the project list that got
erased
yeah can I add some stuff you want this
can I put some stuff up here sure feel
free we just make like a garden category
or you just why not under here just add
it to the list and just like that the
list grows
give me that okay ad stuff is needed I
guess that's why it's here now let's go
move some a today we're going to be
using the 6420 tractor with a spear on
the front of the tractor to lift and
move bales but we're also gonna add a
spear to the back to do the same this
will allow us to move two bales at a
time each one of these bales will feed
one cow for about a month they weigh
about 1400 pounds apiece and if we start
multiplying by 150 cows for 6 months of
winter they start adding up pretty
quickly over the entire winter we'll
feed well over 500 bales to these cows
just our cows throw-in the Bulls and the
horses heifers and steers and we'll feed
almost a million pounds of hay in one
winter more if the winner is hard or
harsh enough we stack hay in strategic
locations around the ranch but never all
in the same place there are a couple of
reasons for that one is the ease of
feeding most of our hay will be stacked
in the hay yard which is located
adjacent to where the cows will spend a
majority of the winter easy enough to
grab bales and feed other haystacks will
be formed on the other side of the road
for horses and bulls and some will be
stacked closer to the house for when
weather is really bad
and visibility may be low allowing us to
feed quicker closer and safer the other
reason we stack in different areas is
for insurance purposes
if something happens let's say lightning
hits or fire destroys a hay yard we
don't lose all of our Hey
ra isn't sure against that but if we did
lose all of it I'll ensure the insurance
company wouldn't be thrilled with us and
we wouldn't either the hope would be
that if something destroyed a hay yard
we'd be able to feed hay that we saved
until we could get more hay in so we
gather hay bales out of this field and
we'll be stacking close by this will be
our stack yard that will be very close
to the house for ease of access and bad
weather
and yes it's boring a lot of
back-and-forth going on I could use a
trailer but with this field so close by
the time that we the time that we would
save by using a trailer really doesn't
make it worth it as we move farther back
on the ranch we're gonna have to move
hay farther and farther that's when a
trailer is really gonna come in handy
the project list for me is really a
lifesaver
anytime I'm looking for something to do
or I kind of feel unmotivated I can just
look at it and know exactly what needs
done and what I need to do now honestly
looking at it can sometimes be a little
bit overwhelming
I don't feel too bad that it got erased
it's kind of a fresh start and it's
gonna fill up fast especially if I don't
hide that marker from Erin thanks for
coming out with us today as we continue
to explore the ranch life and escape the
ordinary if you have any suggestions for
projects or ways that we can do them
feel free to leave a comment we read and
try to answer every single one and at
this point I almost feel like we're in
this together as where as that sounds if
you can please join us on Thursday as
Erin and I are reunited for another live
stream at 7 p.m. mountain time right
here on YouTube they're always a lot of
fun we get to hang out with you answer
questions and keep you up-to-date on
what's going on around here
and after Dallas I have a few new ideas
that I'd like to bounce off you anyway
so I hope you can make it don't forget
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notifications until then have a great
week and thanks for joining us in our
Wyoming life