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I’m what some might call a ridge runner. I live in the Ozark Mountains where my wife, Marnie, and I enjoy country living with a view. It’s not unusual to have deer, turkey, bobcat, fox and the occasional wolf or coyote wandering on our property. Enjoying the outdoors is a major part of our lives.
We’ve been around horses and cattle most of our lives. Too young to drive, Marnie would hike to a local stable and groom horses just for a chance to ride. I was lucky. My folks had horses since I was a youngster, so I was always around them. One of the things I promised Marnie when we married was that I would get her a horse of her own. The opportunity came three years later, when my parents bought a small ranch.
The folks weren’t living on the land, so we bought three acres next to it, along with a rundown old farm house. Three horses and forty or so head of cattle later, we were ranchers tending one hundred seventy acres.
We later learned that our house was once the only stagecoach stop between Batesville and Little Rock and that the farm was located on the site of a civil war battle. Some of the tales we heard from elderly people that lived in the area have stayed with us and will serve as inspirations for future books.
We lived on the place for ten years, until business pulled us back to the city. For another ten years, weekends were still spent mending fences and taking care of the cattle. That finally ended with the demands that a new business placed on both of us. Thirteen businesses later, we retired.
We still find the time to go to local rodeos where some of our friends, their kids and grandkids compete. There is an event nearly every weekend, most of which are just a few miles away. I’m not riding now, just watching. Still, it’s always easy to be around and write about the things we love the most.
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