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 »

Today is the Fourth of July and I have spent the morning reading blogs concerning the holiday. I was struck by the number of folks who wrote about how they wished they lived somewhere else. Some were celebrating the fact that they had left this land of oppression to find homes in… Read full post »

There once was a place , a magical place for those who knew of it. It didn’t really have an official name but was called simply the River Bottom by those like me who loved it.

To be more precise, it was a stretc… Read full post »

For all intents and purposes I have been rendered computerless   for the past week. My laptop is in Intensive Care and we just got Mel’s working yesterday.

With two laptops sick, we were forced to our final fallback plan…..a ten year old desktop that hadn’t even been tur… Read full post »

She is an absolute treasure and she is the reason I get out of bed every morning with a smile on my face, no matter how I feel.

She is a kind and gentle spirit to whom people and animals alike are drawn to. I have watched in disbelief as… Read full post »

                                   

Oh please, just stick a sock in it will you. I am sick to death of your whining an… Read full post »

The victim lay on the back porch, body ripped and torn and barely recognizable as Mel’s faithful companion, Ms. Shoe….first name House. We both stood over the body in muted horror. It had been quite some time since a crime of this level of violence had happened here on… Read full post »

I posted this in 2009, shortly after joining OS.  The project it pretty much complete now and upon my death my children will be given copies to pass along to their children. 

 Four years ago I sat down and wrote the first of what, so far has been five letters to… Read full post »

A few folks who have come to know me through this blog have expressed their envy of the fact that I live on a horse ranch surrounded by beautiful creatures. I will concede the fact that I am indeed surrounded by beautiful animals but there is one very important part of… Read full post »

Three years ago I was new to the site and I posted one of my short stories which garnered six rates and four comments which surprised and pleased me to no end. So I figured I would repost it today to celebrate the OS Fiction Weekend. I hope you enjoy the… Read full post »

Today I received this heartfelt plea for help via my Open Salon in-box.

Attn: Dear Mr Torman, (She didn't get the memo that I no longer blogged under that name I guess)

Good Day and My compliment to you and your entire household,My name is Mrs Zainab Ahmed i am contact… Read full post »

Around Almosta, when Mel yells out from the front porch that dinner is ready I come running, just like I did as a little boy and Momma use to call me inside to eat.

The same is true for all the animals on the ranch....When Momma calls, they come running.

They… Read full post »

Yesterday I was reminded once again why I would never live anywhere but in the country. Out here where the roads are often dirt and there’s a ten mile trek to the nearest store to get milk and bread, there is an element of self-reliance that runs deep in the people.… Read full post »

Toby at six hours old.....

Toby at two days old after we taught him to drink from a bowl...

Surrogate mom leading Toby back to the barn after a feeding session. If we manage to keep this baby alive for seven days, he may just make it...with some luck.… Read full post »

Day two has dawned and the colt is still with us. We are hand feeding him every three hours around the clock. About two o’clock this morning I told Mel we needed to just give up on the struggle to get the mom to feed the baby and concentrate on getting… Read full post »

Won't be online much today, the life of a rancher demands my time. Six hours or so ago one mare had a foal. The mother rejected the baby. At the same time another mare, our best brood mare, who has no baby this year, stepped in and took over the baby.… Read full post »

As much as it pains me to admit it, the fault for this sad state of affairs lay solely with my wife, Mel. It is a fact that she has always favored her baby boy over all our other children and she has not been able to stop herself from… Read full post »

Every man likes to think that he is the center of his wife’s universe, the sole recipient of her love and affection. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to my wife, Melinda.

I’m not complaining mind you, I knew the truth going into the… Read full post »

 Midnight. The day was hot and the night cool and too perfect to be in bed so Mel and I walked out to make a last check on the livestock.

Around here we call that normal. Time, in the country in general and here on Almosta ranch… Read full post »

I woke up this morning and took my first cup of coffee out onto the front porch to enjoy the cool breezes and the songs of birds. I was lounging in my chair and slowly sipping the hot brew, lost in the peace of the moment when a thought… Read full post »

I’m a low-tech guy in a high-tech world. This is not a condition that came upon me with advancing age though, I have been this way all my life. I can remember, at the tender age of sixteen being labeled something similar by my dear, sweet mother who, exasperated at my… Read full post »

“Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war!” This is one of my all time favorite Shakespeare quotes and, curiously, it came to mind a few days ago in a way that left both Mel and myself almost helpless with laughter.

It all started innocently enough,… Read full post »

Yesterday, while most folks were busy hiding Easter eggs or visiting with family, Mel and I were on the road going to meet the two latest acquisitions of Almosta Ranch: Sparkles and Rosie, two Juliana Pigs.

Sparkles is only six weeks old while Rosie is about three months old. Neither… Read full post »

 "Honey, you need to get out here and see this."

Now when I hear these words spoken by my sweet wife who has just come in from the barn, I know I have trouble. The only question in my mind is what form with the trouble take. Will I have a… Read full post »