Let’s Not Skip a Beat!

Welcome to your weekly insight into the ranch—straight from my perspective. From Pennsylvania boy to Colorado ski hound to Texas rancher, here’s what went down this week.

Monday – Business as Usual

The usual routine: packing up your orders and making sure only the best Black Angus beef makes it from our ranch gate to your front door. Every box is packed with care—the kind you only get from a family-run operation.

Tuesday – A Baling Bust

I set out to bale hay with our John Deere, which, as always, had a mind of its own. The tractor is an older model with quirks—one of them being a battery that probably needs more than just a pep talk. By the time I got it running, nature threw another curveball. The humidity dropped, leaving the hay too dry to bale. Instead of forming tight, round bales, it crumbled into dust.

You can catch the full saga (and my ensuing rant) in my vlog linked at the bottom. The short version? In ranching, effort alone doesn’t count—results do. If we don’t get the job done, people don’t eat. It’s a harsh reality that some don’t understand.

Since baling was a bust, I turned my attention to another project: fixing the feed Hummer we take into Palo Duro Canyon. Sam and I assessed the issue—the massive hopper on the back was starting to punch holes through the aluminum bed. The plan? Weld square tubing from the frame up through the bed and reinforce it with a crossbar.

Wednesday – Making Space

Before reinforcing the bed, we had to deal with an obstacle: the Hummer’s oversized fuel tank. Luckily, we run it off a reserve tank in the bed, so removing the main tank wasn’t a problem—just a pain. Military engineers sure made use of every inch of space, wedging the tank above the driveshaft. Sam had it out in no time, so we could lower it with a jack and move forward.

Thursday – Southern Engineering Strikes Again

With the tank out of the way, we got to work cutting and welding the square tubing for the cross brace. It wasn’t pretty, but function over form, right? Once the brace was in place, we repositioned the hopper—only to find that our 'solution' had created a new problem.

The hopper pushed into the fuel lines of the reserve tank, ripping a line clean out. Diesel started pouring everywhere. Sam reacted fast, stopping the leak before it got worse, but we still had a mess. Cue the kitty litter. We spread it over the spill, let it soak up the fuel, then swept it all out.

Friday – Wrapping It Up

While we didn’t finish the project entirely, we made solid progress. The hopper won’t tear through the bed anymore, and soon, the Hummer will be ready for feeding runs into the canyon again.

Now, I’m taking a break from welding and wrenching to write this newsletter and finish up a video so you can see it all unfold. Check it out below, and I’ll see you next week!

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