It's Branding Time!

 It has been a couple weeks since we have posted. The weather was not good to us last week. Not as bad as other parts of the country, but cold, rainy and snowy, which prevented us from working on the garage. 

Instead, I spent several days learning how to use the 3D printer on my own! While I still have a lot to learn, I have learned the basics and enough to make a few things on my own. Here is what I have made so far.....First up was a tray and lure holder for the boat. This fits into my existing ram holders that were on the boat. 

My biggest print so far has been this rod holder. It has 5 parts, taking well over 24 hours to print, but cost me pennies compared to buying one in the store. 

How about this SD card holder? Previously just laying in a drawer, they are now organized. Then I printed this AA, AAA and 9v battery holder. Also, things that were just laying in a drawer. 

For you schoolteachers out there, riddle me this.... Spell check wanted me to change the "laying" above to "lying". We went to The Google and it says I should leave it as laying.....

But wait, there's more! A cup holder for the boat and a test tube holder by request for my son-in-law, Shane.

Last, but not least are these fancy ice fishing rod holders. I used a rainbow filament and will be the envy of all the other fishermen on the ice next winter!

These things are so cool, you can literally print just about anything you can think of for pennies on the dollar. 

I am enjoying it so much; I went ahead and ordered my own printer!

It is bigger, fast and more automated than Forrest's. And even has a camera! Here is a timelapse of a DeWalt Battery Holder that I made.....

We were also able to work on a project that I have been thinking about for a long time but was always a lower priority. Putting a wall in the woodshed so we are able to separate the dry wood from the wet wood. Previous to this we had no choice but to stack the wet wood in front of the dry wood; not ideal. We had to take all the wood out, put up the wall and then restack everything. Time consuming, taking all day, but it is now done!

The weather finally broke and we were able to get back out to the garage. When I last left you, there were three walls done, the only wall left was the front wall with the garage doors. Well, that wall is now up! Due to the length and weight of this wall, we did it in pieces.  We had a somewhat surprise visit by our son-in-law Shane who stopped by on his way from Pennsylvania to Salt Lake City. Not exactly on the way, but he was picking up Forrest who is going with him to Salt Lake. 

Shane spent a day helping us put the headers on the garage doors and sheet three of the four walls. It was now ready for the trusses!

Shane and Forrest left the next day on an extended trip to fish, ski and snowmobile in Utah and Montana, leaving Barb, Somer. Lily and me to hold up the fort. With the nicer weather, we have been spending an hour or so out in the gazebo in the afternoons. It is soooo nice to be able to sit outside without freezing! The dogs seem to enjoy it too. I cannot help but wonder what they are thinking as they look out over the landscape. 

I cannot forget Chloe, she is more of a people-dog and always wants up on someone's lap, while the others seem content to just sit by themselves. 

There is one last project on my "to do" list before I head to the farm; when Barb was working on the camper, she discovered 5 broken welds on the aluminum tubing that holds up the freshwater tank.

I am no welder, especially aluminum, so I opted for L brackets. That should hold it, we will just be careful not to haul it with a tank full of water. 

Two more projects for this post. Next up was a concrete pour over at Kevin's VRBO. He wanted to add a sidewalk and a sitting area for the guests to enjoy. We had to wheelbarrow 1/2 of it, the rest of it we could reach with the chute off the truck. 

Friday night my friend Chad and his son Cavin arrived from Wisconsin for a 3-day visit. Some of you may remember him as the former owner of Pasha Lake Cabins in Ontario. Chad and his son Cavin came out from Wisconsin for a few days. He even brought me a present in the form of an elk head!

The last project was one I really enjoyed. Branding time at the neighbor's ranch! As some of you know when it is branding time neighbors, family and fellow ranchers come to help. This is the third year in a row that we have been able to help, it is so interesting to see this aspect of the ranch lifestyle. 

I was responsible for vaccinating, Chad and Cavin were the brand runners, heating and bring the brands to each of the calves. Barb was part of the neutering crew. Guess what is in that bucket she is holding? Yup, and they save them for supper when they have enough. Somer came over to watch as well, Lily wanted nothing to do with it. 

Lastly, we had a little excitement in our week when we were sitting on the couch watching TV and all of a sudden the dogs started attacking the fireplace. There, in the fireplace, was a bird staring at us! I tried to sneakily get it out but of course it escaped and started flying around the house. Dogs barking, running around and chasing it! I was able to catch it with my fishing net after about 5 minutes of chaos! 

Our next post will more than likely come to you from North Dakota as I got the call that they are ready to start planting!