Like the rest of the country, Monday afternoon, I sat glued to the television watching the unfolding tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma. Like everyone else I was dismayed by the destruction and loss of life, especially the young children, but I was not surprised. I also realized that as sure as night… Read full post »

Any of you who have blogged on Open Salon for any length of time probably know BuffyW. It has been my great good fortune to call this fine lady “friend” for the past seven or eight years, long before our Open Salon stint.

She is not only my friend online,… Read full post »

A few of you might remember the entries I wrote about Squeaker, the sickly newborn pig we tried unsuccessfully to nurse back to health. If you remember that, you will also remember that Booker, or little baby-loving dog, adopted the pig as his own.

Booker would lay next to the… Read full post »

Yesterday I was sitting on the porch, minding my own business, enjoying my morning. Just another peaceful day in paradise. I didn’t get to enjoy all that peace for very long though. Mel came out on the porch and informed me that she was going to go ahead and feed the… Read full post »

No matter when I write a blog entry, I always picture a certain scene.

It is late afternoon and the Summer sun is streaming through the trees....

You, the reader are sitting with me here....on my front porch and just having a good conversation.

I don't deal so much… Read full post »

They say that hindsight is 20/20 and that is true. I can look back now and see that the incubator was a bad idea. At the time though, when Mel proudly showed me the thing she had picked up second-hand at a yard sell, I was all for it.

The incubator… Read full post »

I can tell a lot about a person by watching his horses. That may sound strange to a lot of people, but actually the way horses act in their home pasture mirrors the sort of treatment they receive from their owners. Their actions also let me know just how comfortable their… Read full post »

There is an unwritten rule among McClain men that has been passed down from generation to generation. You never talk about, or plan excessively, a fishing trip. If you do, then it is guaranteed to turn to crap at the drop of a hat.

So it was with me when I… Read full post »

As anyone who has read my blog any length of time can attest, I am a simple kind of guy. When it comes to hygiene this is especially true. Now don’t get me wrong, I like to smell good just like my more citified counterparts, but the products on the market… Read full post »

Spring has finally taken it’s rightful place upon the land now and with its arrival I find it harder and harder to sit at the computer and write these blog entries.

Saturday was almost perfect. Temperatures in the high sixties with a gentle breeze and I found it impossible to stay… Read full post »

There is something almost Zen-like for me in the simple task of the morning feeding, especially on beautiful Spring mornings such as this one.

I am accompanied this morning with my two faithful companions, Booker the barn dog and my oversized mug of steaming coffee. Booker, as is his habit,… Read full post »

This is an update on our baby mini-pig, Squeaker who was born two days ago and who has been fighting for life. He was the runt of the litter and sickly at birth so Mel and I had brought him into the house so we could bottle feed him and try… Read full post »

Animals, like humans, develop their own personality and we as their human masters need to take the time to study the animal in order to see that unique personality as it unfolds. Once you get the knack of doing this, it is easy to know how your animal charge will… Read full post »

The title of this piece comes from one of my favorite hymns and on days such as this one I find myself softly singing the refrain as I go about my chores with the smile on my lips reaching all the way to my heart.

“It is well, with my… Read full post »

Back in the dim, dark ages when I was in my early 20's, my brother, Mongo (his nickname is the stuff for another blog)decided to take up Bow hunting.

Now Mongo always managed to rope me into his goofy hobbies and stuff so this was no exception. He convinced me to go… Read full post »

Hey you ladies out there. C'mere a minute, I have something I need female type input on.

I'm a guy, I see things from a guy point of view and I rarely give much thought about the differences between men and women in everyday, trivial stuff. But, today is different and… Read full post »

Back in the dim past...about 1980....I did what I always do when the world closes in on me and "stuff" threatens to overwhelm me...I got away.

The sorid events leading up to my personal withdrawal from the modern world are, at this late date, rather unimportant. Suffice it to say...I had… Read full post »

As I have said before I consider myself a storyteller first and a writer second. I learned the art of storytelling from my uncle Frank who wove his tales around the campfires throughout my childhood and beyond.

Since beginning this blog I have felt that this is as close to telling… Read full post »

My last entry I wrote a entry about my fourth anniversary here on Open Salon which a few of you may have read so today I thought it would be interesting to do something completely different. Today I want to write an entry in my own voice. I am so damn… Read full post »

Four years ago I wandered into the big city streets of Salon.com searching for yet another place to set up shop with my simple little blog. I was still doing my blog on Writing.Com but I was looking for a wider audience for my words.

It didn’t take me… Read full post »

Seven thirty on a Saturday morning is normally a time of gathering one’s thoughts, planning the day, and relaxing over that first aromatic cup of coffee. Or at least that was the plan and I was well into it right up until the moment that Mel came out of the bed… Read full post »

It has been my experience in life that if you ride out the bad times, sooner or later, something good comes along. This holds especally true with storms...real storms...like the ice storm we had the other day.

The good thing about ice is that it will melt. The sun will… Read full post »

I have never retreated from age, or given in to the failings of an aging body. I have always insisted that I could still do what I did when I was twenty or even thirty. My theory has always been that if you once admit your age, then from that time… Read full post »

I had a dream last night. Now that, in and of itself, is not that unusual. In fact, back in the day, when I wrote primarily fiction, the majority of my stories had their origins in my dreams that are often quite vivid.

Last night I dreamed I was at… Read full post »

So this is what you get with sixty-four trips around the sun….not bad. I find, after all this time on the planet, that while I don’t have all I ever wanted, I have all I will ever need and what more can any man ask for.

I was lucky enough,… Read full post »