July Was Busy But Wonderful

The month began with a fun visit from our daughter Marcie and her family.

They spent the first night with us, then headed up to Mount Rushmore on the 4th of July for a backpacking trip in the Black Hills.  They experienced natures "fireworks" that night as a rambunctious storm sent lightening, thunder and rain at them all night.  On their way to Mount Rushmore we went with them to experience "Carhenge".

 Some of you have been to Stonehenge, but in case you never make it to Nebraska to see Carhenge, we will give you a taste of what you're missing.

Gwen leading the way

Covered Wagon....covered in what?

The Four Seasons Sculpture

Benches are made from tailgates & wheels

This sculpture actually has a title

There was so much more to see....including a gift shop, of course.

When the Francis family came back from their backpacking adventure, we had them for another 3 1/2 days, so we took them down to stay in a charming cabin that we are working on for a Working Retreat.

Front Porch...Jason, Marcie and Kids helped Grandma paint it.

Kitchen Porch with a J on it

We have no idea what the letters stand for, but they
are certainly charming.

Back Porch with the letter L on railing

Letter T on railing

        

           Everything in the cabin was totally cowboy oriented.  This is the kitchen counter.

                                                     Plates and dishes

                                                        .  

                                               Yup, even the toilet paper holder suggests cowboys

                                               . 
                                                                Sign on wall by bathtub

James and Grandpa replaced broken
planks on kitchen porch

Girls painted the bench, a chair & table

Marcie & Gwen sanding bench to be painted

Paige flies kite.  Wind blew it off
the string and over to the next pasture.

Paint all dry

A nice meal after working all day.



A Francis creature emerges

The Francis creature roams the house


Church together in our tiny Branch


Impromptu talent show for Family Home Evening


Marcie's talent - knitting with eyes closed, hopping on one foot


Girls in loft....no, they didn't sleep up there!


James joins girls in loft



Highlight of the month was taking a few days off to drive back to Utah for our granddaughter Abbie's wedding to Josh Card.  It was wonderful to be there for that special occasion in the Provo City Center Temple.


The day after we arrived back from the wedding we reported to a job site 40 miles away at 7:00 am to help with a concrete pour.  We had two such opportunities this month.


A basement bathroom in one older home was begging for help


The floor tile had been removed long ago, and we happened to have a piece of linoleum that would fit the space.


After patching walls, painting and supplying the linoleum, a new light fixture, a new sink, faucets and toilet the bathroom was looking much better.  Bruce jokes that we are helping to build God's Kingdom one toilet at a time!


This bell pull was used by the cook in the basement kitchen years ago to call the cowhands to dinner.  The rope still activates the bell located on the roof. We haven't had time to patch the wall yet.


We replaced a lot of windows this month.  This one was at a scale facility used to weigh calves before shipping them off to a feed lot.  We replaced 12 other windows in two other houses as well.


Another toilet got new flooring to replace a rotted piece of linoleum and floor beneath.


The back deck at the ranch office got a facelift this month


We had to wait until after branding was over to get a cowboy to bring us four scoops of soil (actually sand...we live in the sand hills) to fill in spaces under a deck and around the foundation of a home

Bruce had taken off a couple of steps to access the space under the steps.

After the dumps, the work began as we shoveled the sand to where it was needed
around the yard.


Every property has a propane tank, and many of them have needed a fresh coat of paint.  Because of the hot weather I wore some lightweight pants....and they were black....which was a bad mistake.  The pokey weeds and bugs went right through them and the wind blew white paint on them. In the middle of the job the sprinklers came on which further delayed the progress.  Oh well!

THE SAGA OF THE WATER HEATER
I'm sure we mentioned that we are 2 hours away from our Home Depot store.  One family of five was in great need of a new water heater so they could have more than one shower per night.  Because the space was limited where the water heater goes we purchased the exact brand and capacity as the old water heater.  Before we took out the old tank we realized the new tank


 was taller and much wider than the old tank...which facilitated another 4 hour trip to town the next day.  A different brand offered a smaller size (same capacity) but it was still taller but only slightly wider than the original (shown above).  This meant that all the water lines, gas line, and exhaust system had to be modified...which Bruce was prepared to do.  But.....

we discovered that the floor under the old water heater was in crisis condition, having melted through the linoleum and charred the wood beneath, and so we had another trip (only 45 minutes round trip this time...on bad roads) to get some heat resistant backer board to put down first.

It all turned out well, and once again we were grateful that Bruce is slender and a contortionist.


I am sitting in a cool tree with my little friend nearby.  This is somewhat unique because trees aren't plentiful in the sand hills region, making it harder for birds to nest and kids to climb.

Don't ask....the picture tells it all.


Actually in our weekly trip to dump trash I mistakenly grabbed Bruce's favorite pencil while gathering trash and threw it in......while in there, Bruce asked me to grab a few other items of interest.

Until next time.....have a great month!

June Adventures at the Rex Ranch

June is definitely branding month. Each of the 18 ranches has a couple of brandings, and the cowboys travel around to help each other out.  The distance between the two furthest ranches takes 3 hours to drive pulling a horse trailer...much of it is on bad roads.  it's a family affair where the older kids are on their horses roping calves and the younger kids hand out water to the cowboys and play with their friends.

 It's not like you see in the rodeos where cowboys are chasing calves all over the place and scaring them to death by roping them around their necks. Instead they are roped by their back legs and secured by a collar around their heads.   It's pretty calm and humane. The wife of the hosting ranch serves a breakfast at 6:30, and then a big lunch around 11:00 when the branding is done.  Because each herd is large and the calves vary in age, each ranch hosts two separate brandings so it's a big deal for everyone involved and a lot of hard work.

Some of the roads here are flooded due to an underground aquifer, a rainy winter and spring, and a naturally high water table.  This road is how we would normally get to a ranch that is only 9 miles down our lane.  The alternate route is through cow pastures where you have to open and close gates, dodge cows at times, and the driving is pretty bumpy.  There is a bigger "lake" covering the same road with another detour, so it takes a good 50 minutes to drive the 9 miles.

Going a different route to the same property, we came across a damsel in distress.  She was driving on the road to one of her pastures when her 4-wheeler slid off the road into the lake and was tipping dangerously in the water.  We attached a chain to the front of the 4-wheeler and pulled her out. The engine started right up and she was on her way with a big smile on her face. When she saw our name tags she knew immediately who we were and what we were doing in the middle of Nebraska.

This is us on the way home from church getting a "Redneck Carwash" on our own flooded lane.

Growing up on a farm, Elder Fillmore knew the danger that a thistle could present to a property.  Once it goes to head, the whole pasture is full of them.  So as we travel around Elder Fillmore is ever alert, and if he sees some he will stop the truck, grab his shovel and bucket and dig up a thistle or three.  He'd determined to save the 228,000 + acres up here from the thistle curse...single handedly.


Here are a few pictures of some of the jobs we have been doing this past month.  Most of them involve Elder Fillmore up on a ladder, laying on the ground or in tight quarters.  I am either handing him tools, fetching parts for him, or painting and  plastering elsewhere in the house.

This was a project that I did on a Saturday.  The mailbox for the Ranch office was looking a little scruffy, so I gave it a facelift.  I couldn't do anything about the dents.



 

I got to dig four holes for a deck that needed to be built off the laundry room on the left. It wasn't hard because we live in the sand hills of Nebraska, so the soil is all sand.  Two of the boys who live here liked playing in the holes.



 Bruce took the project from start to finish with the help of his measuring tape, a level, a trusty saw, and his wife.

Bruce Installing a stove

Installing rain gutters

     























Replacing a broken dishwasher isn't usually a big deal, until you find that the pipes under the sink have been leaking for awhile.  Of course the needed part is an hour away.   

Water heater project.  Big heavy bunk bed in the way

Removing old vanity and sink

Drilling holes in bottom of vanity to accommodate pipes
Big vanity in a small bathroom....cramped working
conditions.

Finished vanity installation.  We also added a new toilet
and floor covering.

Hole in garage roof, letting skunks into house

Hole fixed

   

We helped with a concrete pouring project one day with 3 other missionary couples who are building a new house

These are just samples of our work projects.  We have also replaced a tub and shower surround, installed ceiling lights and fan, ballasts in light fixtures, repaired a sprinkling system and much more. Our to-do list is long!





















While Elder Fillmore was installing a new gas range, this charming young lady asked me to help her with her chores. We fed the cats and kittens, the dogs and new puppies, goats and sheep, and even the gold fish in a big trough.....but not the horses.  I was climbing over fences and lugging water and feed. It was quite the workout.  She gave me a big stick while climbing into the goat pen because there is a billy goat who can be most unfriendly.  She asked if we were going to sleep over so I could help her with her chores in the morning.  Tempting offer....but I had to decline.
On another work trip to their house to fix the sliding glass doors, the family was getting ready to leave for an animal fair where the two oldest (shown above) were going to show their goats.  (They both got ribbons, by-the-way.) . The new baby was all strapped into her carrier ready to be carried to the car, when the 2-year old came into the house covered in oil.
The dad had been changing the oil in his truck and left the pan of old oil unattended while he went in the house to get cleaned up for the fair. Curious child and warm oil equals trouble. While the mom and dad scrubbed down the little guy, I wiped oil off the floors and rocked the baby.  All in a days work!















Saga Of The Mushrooms -  We have enormous mushrooms that grow in our grass outside.  Elder Fillmore looked them up on line and found they were edible so he has been frying them up.  One day we noticed that some water drips through our bathroom ceiling every time the neighbors upstairs bathe their boys, so Bruce cut a hole in our ceiling to check things out.  A few days later we noticed a small mushroom in the tub.  Were mushrooms growing in the ceiling!  How could that be? Have the mice been nibbling on this mushroom?  Will Elder Fillmore try to cook the mushroom in our morning eggs?

Upon closer inspection we discovered the "mushroom" was a piece of dried construction foam that fell through the hole after the last bath upstairs.  Pretty funny!

We were asked to give the talks on Father's Day, which was pretty fun.  After giving some sage words of wisdom, and honoring fathers, I ended by giving snippets of comments that my own children had sent in to honor their father.  (He received the unabridged version for his Father's Day gift from the kids.)  When Elder Fillmore began his talk he commented that he felt like he had just heard the eulogy for his own funeral.  (We will definitely save the comments for the actual event.)

One last tender mercy to share.  After arising at 5:30 one day and working all morning in a remote location we made a trip to town to get building supplies for the coming week.  We took a different route which took us past historic Chimney Rock.

The whole day took longer than expected, so when we left Home Depot at 9:30 pm, we knew it would be 11:30 before we reached home.  After the first leg of the journey we were both struggling to stay awake, when we received a text from our daughter Jill who generally goes to bed earlier than 11:15 pm.  The message was simple, "Hi, how are you?  Love you!"  We were able to text back and forth (another tender mercy that we had reception on that long stretch of hilly, remote roads), and it totally revived us and kept us awake and engaged until we pulled into our driveway and toddled off to bed.  We felt that Jill had been inspired to send us that text at that moment.  The Lord truly looks after His missionaries!