Well, gentle readers, after all these years and wondering where the “middle of nowhere” was, I finally believe I located it. It was this way: Larry called me a few weeks back and told me he had what he thought was the horse I had been looking for. I knew I was talking to a cowboy simply because we were “speaking cowboy” and a feller always recognizes when that takes place. Larry told me he was 85 years old and had been ridin’ this ol’ pony for 20 years and he was one solid, broke, do anything, go anywhere ranch horse. I was concerned about the pony’s age but Larry struck me as a man that would not lie, not only about his horse, but anything else. “Well now Larry, where is this horse located?” I asked. “I’m 30 miles south of Brush, Colo.” I knew that country to be ranch country for sure. “Just bring yer saddle Mad Jack and come and ride him, you will like him. He’s the horse you been looking for.” (I paraphrase.) “What do ya want for this horse, how big is he and what’s he look like?” I pondered. He answered all those questions and I decided I did in fact need to go check this ol’ pony out. I took neighbor Jim with me as he knew some shortcuts and we made it in about three hours. Larry and I pondered price, age of horse, horse’s ability, health, the current gold standard and arrived at what we both thought was a reasonable price.

Larry agreed to deliver the horse and I believe he did because he and the wife just might could use a little trip to somewhere out of the “middle of nowhere.” They delivered the horse the next day and we had a pleasant visit over coffee, I paid him and when they left I knew he for sure was “a cowboy’s cowboy.” Folks, I got a good lookin’ bay that for sure looks like a cowboy’s horse and he has lots of energy but broke, broke, broke and user friendly. Neighbor Jim had sold me a horse for a dollar recently as he just had too many and had bought another. This horse has a slight health issue, but another broke, solid ranch horse with some age on him as well and a good looking bay also. I mean, how lucky can a feller be? I’m fixin’ to tell ya!

I’ve been wanting a dog to tell all my stories to and to keep me company this winter. Neighbor Braiden came by the other day with a stray Border Collie that showed up at his place. He and his wife, Dakota have two dogs already so they were checking with the neighbors to see who had lost a dog. Nobody fessed up so they asked me if I would want her. I affirmed that I would as she was very docile, and sweet, sweet, sweet. She was also dirty, been on the run and really needed a home. I don’t like dogs in the house, at least until now, and so here we are. She got a bath, a new home, lots to eat and lots of love. I did catch her layin’ up in the middle of my bed yesterday and, nope, that ain’t gonna’ happen. We’ll work it out. She sleeps in the laundry room with a night light, a radio and a fan and seems to get along just fine. I think she must have come out of the “middle of nowhere” as well. Glad I got her, two new horses, a new dog and a new lease on life, how about that?

Stay tuned, check yer cinch on occasion and remember the quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put’er back in yer pocket. I’ll c. y’all, all y’all. ❖