Almosta Ranch is like a caterpillar undergoing a metamorphosis and when all the changes are done, it will be a professional, paying, horse ranch known far and wide for the champion blood-line of its horses who will excel both in the show-ring and on working ranches, doing the hard work of… Read full post »

A cold Sam Adams, Boston Lager on an unseasonably warm Fall afternoon.  Guilty pleasure? Not when you've spent all day building fence, removing old fence, and operating heavy equipment. 

I had forgotten just how good a cold beer tastes after a day of hard, honest labor. I had also forgotte… Read full post »

The Manitoba Herald - as Reported by Clive Runnels - August 1, 2010

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the Tea Party are prompting… Read full post »

Through out history there have been many epic battles which have given rise to great heroes, heroes who have strode across the fabric of history in all their mythic glory....This is not the story of one of those.

 It is, however, the story of an epic battle waged early in the… Read full post »

There are times when the human spirit seeks sanctuary, a place to rest away from the incessant pressure of everyday life.  I have always been one to whom a sanctuary is of paramount importance. I learned long ago that if I stay connected constantly to the world around me, I listen… Read full post »

Friday morning I awoke at the usual hour, climbed out of my bed and did my morning ritual as always. Then I took my first cup of coffee out onto the front porch to greet the new day.  That is when it first hit me....today was not just any day. Today… Read full post »

It's been a busy week and a half; getting ready for retirement, fence building, land clearing, and preparing to build a very large barn. I have had very little time on the computer and I have missed this place and all you good folks. 

After opening my email today though… Read full post »

Most of us, at one time or another, have wondered..."What could I do with a million dollars?" Well I have a question for you. What could you do with a million words?

The reason I ask that question is that this morning I found myself over at my old writing site… Read full post »

My Mother-in-Law loves the Game Show Network...don't ask.  Well this morning she was sitting in her chair and watching one of those mindless game shows while I sat at my desk and worked on the computer.

The volume was up and I overheard the game show host ask the excited… Read full post »

Today my son left the house early. He is headed over to a neighboring farm to attend country folks answer to Country Club dances, High Teas, and other ritzy social events city slickers so enjoy. Out here in the country though they have "Mule Cuttings."

That's right, a group right out… Read full post »

I have always known that, for me, getting into Heaven was going to be an uphill battle. I am realist enough to understand that I have just done way too many bad, bad, things in my life for ole St. Peter to just welcome me in with open arms.

The thing… Read full post »

Recently there was an Open Call issued entitled: What is Wrong With America.  Now normally I would avoid such open calls with a passion because all the answers usually devolve into political rants of one side or the other. It is usually said that if everyone were enlightened and liberal, the… Read full post »

I have long held that the cosmos is ruled by a malignant little troll with a rotten attitude and a love for practical jokes.  I also have it, on good authority, that the most important thing a man  can do in life is fool the troll.

By fooling the troll, I… Read full post »

I have always believed that a man should know his limits and not push his luck.  Well that's not completely true, when I was a teenager I was like all teenage boys and thought I was ten foot tall and bullet proof.  It took time and a few hard life lessons… Read full post »

I am beginning to believe that the worse thing I can do for my blood pressure is to allow the TV to remain on a cable news channel past nine a.m. central time.

I made that mistake this morning and sure enough, I was rewarded by a "news" story dealing… Read full post »

A long time ago, when I was much younger and my personal mouth muffler had a tendency malfunction, I once had the job as the overnight supervisor at a large grocery store.

I enjoyed the job at first; I was in charge of a couple of dozen stockers and it… Read full post »

Every week around here there are a few open calls issued by one writer or another and though I enjoy reading the answers to those calls, I rarely answer one myself...until today that is. 

Today I read Oryoki Bowl's Open call: What is a Wife. It was well written and… Read full post »

After my last blog about Dolly, my pygmy fainting goat, there were quite a few questions about the breed from readers so I thought I should devote a blog to introducing you to the breed.

According to Uncle Billy's Encyclopedia of Farm Animals and Other Prom Date Alternatives for People in… Read full post »

Yesterday I had a meeting with management.  Now normally that sentence would be followed by a couple of paragraphs of bad news, but not this time.

This time was very different because I was the one that called the meeting.  It was time to inform them of my future plans. Notice… Read full post »

To those of you who say that animals don't have the ability to reason like humans I say: Balderdash! Animals think things through just like people....better sometimes, the thing is their thought process is done without vocal support.

Case in point.....Not long ago I was sitting and watching our colle… Read full post »

"The only thing constant in this world is Change".  My old daddy use to use that line on me all the time when I was a kid, growing up in East Texas. To which I would always answer: "Uh?"

Now, at this late stage of my development, I get it. I… Read full post »

She walks up to the back of my easy chair, bends down and puts her arms around my neck. She gives me a soft kiss on my ear as she hugs me.

"Baby?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"You remember that lady who bought the goat from us last year?"

"Yes, what about her?"… Read full post »

Nobody loves music any more than I do and that fact has at last driven me, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. 

I knew that something momentous was going to happen yesterday...I just had that feeling-that tickling at the nap of my neck-strange times were upon me. I knew… Read full post »

What do you remember from your second year of life?  When you were two years old, innocent and wide-eyed and toddling into a bright new world, what images remained seared into your cortex to surface many years later in your adult life?

I wonder.....Will a thirty year old Aric, tall and… Read full post »

Yeah, I know there are some of you out there who just sit down and pound out great entries in a matter of moments without breaking a sweat, then head out to tip-toe through the daises like some freaking forest nymph, with narry a care in the world.  Matt Paust comes… Read full post »