Those of you who have read my blog for any length of time know that when we started Almosta Ranch we were strictly doing horse breeding. But, for the last two years the horse market has tanked like a Bernie Maddoff investment plan and we have been forced to downsize.… Read full post »

I have been online very sparingly over the last couple of weeks. It seems that this blanket of malaise has covered me of late, like a faceless discontent or an itch I can not scratch and has left me with little desire to enter the online circus.

If I had… Read full post »

The day dawned unusually warm with temps above freezing and by noon the thermometer read a balmy fifty-degrees. According to locals, this happens quite a lot in Southeast Missouri and, after a week of temperatures ranging from fifteen-degrees to highs of thirty degrees, it felt like Springtime to me… Read full post »

Of all the jobs we have to do on Almosta Ranch, the most rewarding of these jobs is bringing of new life into the world. Babies, whether they be human or animal,… Read full post »

A funny thing happened yesterday on the way to Open Salon. IT OPENED!

Now that might not seem like a big deal for some, but for me it was a huge deal. You see, for the past two months I had fallen into the sad habit of trying to… Read full post »

It happened a few weeks back, before my ailing leg caused me to be housebound. I was out in the barn feeding the animals. I had just finished spreading hay beneath the run-in shed so the horses could graze out of the cold wind and I paused for a short rest.… Read full post »

Orykoi Bowl issued an intriguing Open Call which I just had to try my hand at. Friday, the 21st of December is reportedly...by the Mayans at least....to be the last day, the day the world will end. So how will I spend this week?

I am, by nature, not given to… Read full post »

I have good news, but it's not Sunday. Is there any rule that says I have to wait until "Good News Sunday" to share it?

Thought not.

 I thought about posting it on FB and I still might, but it just seems so...I don't know....PUBLIC. I mean I got folks stopping… Read full post »

This quite possibly may be the shortest blog I will ever write. It is inspired by the latest entry made by L in the Southeast that rightfully won an EP and her reply to my comment. So, Lezlie, this one’s for you.

I have an obligation and a responsibility,… Read full post »

We have all had them at one time or another haven’t we. I am speaking of one of those special moments in time. One of those rare moments when many unrelated circumstances come together to form an indescribable moment of low comedy. Today I had one of those. I’m still trying… Read full post »

My wife and I were married in 2001 and in the intervening years we have many of what my love likes to refer to as “Adventures”. One of our biggest adventures began five years ago when we took the plunge and decided to relocate to Missouri from Texas, the place… Read full post »

Me and Shadow Dancer, together at last.

Those of you who follow my blog may remember a few months ago when I wrote “Unrequited Love”, an entry about my beautiful, black Tennessee Walker named Shadow Dancer. In that entry I wrote about the frustration of not being able to… Read full post »

Kerry is this what you envisioned for Open Salon? Are you and the other Grand Poo-Bahs proud of such rampant mediocrity? It is time for you to either fix it or shut it down.

Lots of errors occurred!

An error occurred, then the error handler crashed while trying to handle the… Read full post »

As some of you may remember, a couple of weeks ago Almosta Ranch was blessed with the arrival of a litter of puppies. Though the pregnacy was unplanned and not something we wanted, we recognized that the fault was ours, we only had two dogs unfixed and they, of course, found… Read full post »

Men and women who live close to the earth and to nature like farmers and ranchers do tend to develop a sixth-sense when it comes to the weather. Being one of those who has lived close to nature almost my entire life, I too have developed this warning sense.… Read full post »

After three and a half years, more or less, of being a member of Open Salon I find that I have been remiss in my manners and of following the teachings my mother drummed into all her sons. She always taught each of us to say "Please" and "Thank you" and… Read full post »

 In this entry Wally tells us about his old buddy, Billy Bob Rabinowitz, the leading chicken farmer of Buzzard Neck, Texas.

One of my closest friends back in Buzzard Neck, Texas is Billy Bob Rabinowitz. Now Billy Bob, besides being the only Jewish cowboy in Buzzard Neck, Texas, also holds the… Read full post »

Those of you who have the stomach to read more than two or three of these little tales of mine must think that being a People-Greeter is the worse job in all of Wal-Mart.

You would be wrong.

There is one job which is light-years ahead of mine in the… Read full post »

*Note: The Wally Files are stories from the old blog of my alter-ego, Wally M. Geezer. Wally writes about Wal-Mart, his home life, and his old friends in Buzzard Neck, Texas and always with humor. I hope you enjoy this series of stories and most of all, I hope you get… Read full post »

 Wally M. Geezer Circa 2009

Back in 2009 I was a new member of Open Salon. Brimming with ideas and a boundless enthusiasm for the writing craft, I hit the ground running. Slowly, ever so slowly and over a number of months, I built up a very small following…people who came… Read full post »

“High and tight, Pops; give that boy a man’s haircut.”

A couple of months ago I heard my father’s voice echo in my head. I was sitting in a barber’s chair in downtown Doniphan. Now for years my wife has taken care of my haircuts but on this… Read full post »

It happened about sixty-two days ago and last night it was finished. Neither Mel or myself slept more than an hour last night as this natural order of things played out to its inevitable conclusion.

As I said, it all started two months ago and I remember the day vividly.… Read full post »

That title is a true statement as any woman will be quick to tell you and because we are all pigs at heart, then it is your's truly who gets to take care of Gator when he needs a little exercise.

 Gator, the head He-Pig of Almosta Ranch, needs to… Read full post »

Two weeks ago today our little boy, Toby graduated with honors from Almosta Ranch’s beginning course. You can read more about Toby, the little colt that could, here.

To say that Toby was a fighter is a gross understatement. Rejected by his mother at birth, we didn’t expect him… Read full post »

I almost made it. The planning was flawless, it was the execution that fell short. Compared to my Plan, the Normandy Invasion seemed like a spur-of-moment jaunt across the Channel for a day trip.

All I had to do was to catch the Hillbilly Limited, leaving Poplar Bluff at two-thirty the… Read full post »