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Sunset at the Temple
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We’ll start off the week with last Sunday evening. Walt heard the Bishop talking about moving his cows from pasture to pasture and loved the idea of helping out. He really loved riding the horse and herding cows before. Since this event starts at 4 am, we decided spending the night would be the best plan. We got to the Ranch around 7:30 pm and the Bishop had just gone to bed (just him). He keeps the Sabbath and therefore, doesn’t do hay on that day. Almost everyday we have been getting storms in the evening. Not a good thing if you’re waiting on hay to dry so it can be baled. So the Bishop’s plan was to get up at 12 am and get the day started. Bless his heart. The rest of the family stayed up and visited with us until about 9:30. It would be a very early start and we needed some rest.
Walt got up at 4 am, but I got to sleep until 4:45. Sort of. We put Walt’s things in the bathroom so he wouldn’t have to wake me up, but somehow he still needed to get some things, and came in three times. He bought a cowboy hat, finally, a few weeks ago, and now was getting a chance to wear it. Every time he left the room, I would see a silhouette of my cowboy in his hat. He makes a good looking cowboy.
Becky and I got outside about 5 am and headed for the side by side. The rest had saddled up their horses and were putting them in the horse trailer to take to the pasture where the cows were currently holding up. There was one big problem both Sunday night and that whole day - mosquitos. I think I have shared before what determined creatures they are in Wyoming. At the ranch, even more so. Sunday when we got there, they were swarming us. I ended up with about 10 bites on one ankle within 15 minutes of being there. Monday morning was even worse. The kids looked like they were bundled up for winter, nope - protection against those blasted mosquitoes.
We all headed for the pasture by 5:15. I understand now why ranchers/cowboys always wear jeans and long sleeve shirts. You have to be prepared for the weather and the working conditions. To ride in the side by side, I needed a jacket in addition. There’s nothing to block the wind and we got about 35-40 mph. It was pretty awesome to see the sun rise. There has to be some perks in getting up that early. The Bishop’s favorite time of day is daybreak. He sees it every day.
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| 4 am at the ranch |
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| Sunrise at the ranch |
So we spent the morning moving cows. Walt on horse back, and Becky and I in the side by side. It works pretty good to cover all the terrains. Found out that bulls are the hardest to move. They don’t want to go and take their sweet time doing it. The heifers and calves go much better. I didn’t see Walt the whole time. He and Aspen were together. When the calves were all moved. We put the horses in the trailer and then went to find Walt and Aspen. I found Walt combing a field, looking for his phone. It had fallen out of his pocket while trotting with his horse. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite sure exactly where. That is a lot of area to cover. I didn’t know how we would ever find it. We decided to pray together. As I walked, I would wonder if the Lord would answer our prayer. It took about 45 minutes, but he did find it. Talk about miracles!!
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| Herding cows |
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| Oakley on her horse |
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| Tal - wearing his - not cowboy hat |
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| This is Aspen after herding cows since 5 am. It's only 9 am at this time |
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| My cowboy - looking for his phone |
We’ve mentioned briefly about haying. It’s haying season. There seems to one for everything - calving, branding, and haying. As we ride around we see lots of fields with hays stacks lying around. It almost looks like they are growing bales of hay. I have learned that hay doesn’t grow very tall when it is time to cut it. (Swathe it). It is cut while still green, allowed to dry and then baled. Most people around here use round bales because they just use a machine that unrolls it our for the cows to eat. It’s pretty cool.
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| Got a picture of a baler (in the left corner( |
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| Hay Season |
We left the ranch about 1 pm. They still had a few heifers to find, but we needed to go and get cleaned up for another appointment. We had our appointment, which included dinner. Then I dropped Walt off and headed for Family Home Evening. There are several widows in the ward that meet together once a month. Walt went the first few times, and then bowed out since he was the only male. I don’t blame him.
We were able to have the mission pay for an additional air conditioner for our place, thank goodness. The one we had just wasn’t keeping up with the heat. With the one running, our place was still 80 degrees. This week was pretty hot, so we were especially grateful. The other issue we’ve been having is with our internet. Wehn we got back from the wedding, it was barely working. I’ve spent several calls and lots of time, trying to remedy the situation with our internet company. They decided a technician needed to come, but still no one called to schedule an appointment. We spent a while on Tuesday at the library using their wifi. So glad they have it available. We also spent time at the Bishop’s house in town using their internet while we waiting for the a/c repair man to fix their air conditioning. It was 96 degrees in their house when we got there. He was able to fix it after two appointments. We were happy to be able to help them out. It’s difficult when you only live in a house on the week-ends. We’ve been there - done that.
Thursday was our busiest day. We had our weekly District Council meeting in the morning in Gillette. So glad we get to go there and get our groceries. We’ve been using the Walmart pickup and it really saves us time. Then we had our oil changed, and a hair cut for me. One of the sisters in our ward has a salon here and thought it would be a great way to get to know her better. She reminds me a lot of Barbara. She did a great job and only charges $20. Nice!! Then we got our dinner, and headed off the Bingo. It’s been a long time and they really missed us. One table kept winning all the games - two ladies trading off. That’s really unusual. Our last event, was our Missionary Correlation Meeting. It was a busy day, but got a lot done.
Friday morning we headed to Billings for the temple. We met the A/C guy at the Checketts and were finished by 10:30. We got to the temple just in time to be ready for the prayer meeting at 4 pm, with only one stop for gas and a quick bite to eat. We stayed with the Baker’s this time. They are finished with their mission on August 12th. They’ve been serving for 23 months. That’s the max a couple can serve. We think that would be too long for us. It was a nice evening of serving at the temple. We even got the opportunity to chat with the temple President while we waited for Sis Baker to be finished. We were all treated to an amazing sunset afterwards. Such blessings!!
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| President and Sister Gormley (Temple President and Matron) |
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| Elder and Sister Baker and us. We will really miss them. |
Saturday, we went as patrons and were finished around 12. We got our free loaf of bread from the Harvest Bread Company and enjoyed lunch at Cafe Rio. It’s been a while for us. We were able to make it home by about 6 pm. We’re always so done being in the car by the end. Not looking forward to a trip to Denver on Wednesday - 4 hours, to fly to PA for the wedding reception. We’ll be excited to see everyone, but will be ready to be done with traveling. We have almost a whole year of just being here before we travel any large distances again. Remember the rule - no funerals while we are gone!!
We’re really excited about seeing all the family. Kate and Drake are in PA already and are staying with Abe and Anya. That’s a house full. Then on Thursday, the grand total will be 14 of us in one house!!! Good thing we love each other!!! See y’all soon!!
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| Elders Leavitt and Kerr teaching at District Council (Role-play) |
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| Murial on side of building in Downtown Newcastle |
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