Old McLarsen had some Farms
  • Reads 1,315
  • Votes 72
  • Parts 25
  • Time 4h 49m
  • Reads 1,315
  • Votes 72
  • Parts 25
  • Time 4h 49m
Ongoing, First published Feb 14, 2015
"You two become farmers? You must be kidding!" How little our friends really knew us. Sure, that's how life had been for the Secretary and the Building Supervisor... but those were the keywords - "had been". 

An opportunity had arisen to learn farming, working for a friend for 18 months on a 6,000 acre cropping and sheep farm he'd inherited... our 'apprenticeship'. Once our rural sojourn began, it continued until today on our small retirement farm.

Here are the tales of our journey, filled with humour and pathos; joy and a few sorrows, too; and woven throughout, our absolute love for the land and the animals we have shared our lives with. Each chapter is a 'stand alone' providing a choice for a quick read 'on the move' - or a more leisurely and relaxed involvement with my words.  

Enjoyed this first book in my 'Old McLarsen had some Farms' series? Now  there's 'everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask' about a decade of dairy-farming in South Australia in my second book - 'The Milky Way'.

This first book is available in ebook format at Amazon, and through Smashwords and their outlets, and I have been pre-recording excerpts for local radio. These are to be broadcast soon and I will be able to share them on Soundcloud in far superior quality than my amateurish sampling there just now. 
I have also begun a couple of different kinds of memoirs - 'Just Moodling About... My Favourite Things', and another - 'Growing up in the Fifties'
And -  'Wishful Thinker' - my first collection of short/short stories and anecdotes . My writing skills don't extend to the creation of deeply hidden allegories or metaphors. I like it this way and hope you understand my simplicity of choice.

I welcome your thoughts on my stories. This  way I can learn and write in the future, so please don't be afraid to express 'the good and the bad' (maybe not any 'ugly'). And please don't hesitate to share and/or vote to show your enjoyment.
All Rights Reserved
Sign up to add Old McLarsen had some Farms to your library and receive updates
or
#463memoir
Content Guidelines
You may also like
Southern Charm by anj6232
26 parts Complete Mature
Jessie White stands out from the crowd. As a Southern woman, she defies the typical expectations for a twenty-four-year-old. While others her age might be in college or embarking on new careers, Jessie's upbringing on a ranch alongside four brothers equipped her with skills many would balk at. She's adept at horseback riding, calving, stall cleaning, and more. Fiercely independent, Jessie refuses to rely on any man, a resolve hardened after heartbreak at the hands of Max Lane, a rancher's son, two years prior. Jessie has resolved to take up bull riding, a skill that appears to be a family legacy. Her lifelong dream has been to ride a bull before an audience, but now, her ambition has shifted to rescuing the White Family Ranch after a substantial portion of their funds vanished and debts began accumulating. Max Lane's family is eager to buy the White Family Ranch, but Jessie refuses to let him take away the one thing that sustains her. Being a beauty bartender owner and a female bull rider makes things challenging. Everyone says she can't do it because she's a woman, but Jessie is determined to prove them all wrong. Initially skeptical, Trace Black doesn't recognize her potential until he witnesses her mount a bull for the first time. Although he may appear arrogant externally, that pales in comparison to his internal complexity. Trace and Jessie are initially oblivious to their chemistry, though it's evident to everyone around them. As Jessie gathers the courage to express her feelings to Trace, the things she dreads occur. However, it doesn't make matters worse; it alters everything profoundly. *WARNING* Book contains language, child loss, trauma, etc. Thank you for choosing my story! If you enjoyed it, please follow, comment, vote, add to your reading list, and share it with your friends. Check out my other stories! I appreciate you! :)
𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 📸 by jammyjess20
9 parts Ongoing Mature
...We were so caught up in the shared moment of care free joy to notice the midnight grey Toyota pickup truck speeding directly towards us. Meters before impact dad finally caught on to what was about to happen, despite it being day the approaching vehicle's headlights blinded us as our cars breaks slammed on, the sound of the tires melting away as the rubber tires scraped against the pavement filled the air and the scent of burning rubber overwhelmed my nostrils, despite our efforts the brakes didn't slow us down, we were to late. There was nothing we could do as we collided head on..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attempt two at writing a book lmao, summaries without spoilers are not my strong point but here you go: After a tragic child hood accident Astra is left utterly alone, forcing her to make a massive move across the states to live in Tennessee with her grandmother. A few years pass and Astra finds it difficult to deal with the trauma she experienced as a young child, but surrounded by friends and throwing herself into education she starts to heal, until she meets Jason. In the beginning Jason was a kind, caring guy who seemed genuinely interested in getting to know Astra, but not everyone is who they seem to be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TW LIST!!!! (there's alot) swearing PTSD/past trauma Character death Violence/ injury detailing Stalking Kidnapping Depression, anxiety Panic attacks Alcohol and drug usage Over thinking Self harm/sabotage Survivors guilt Potential homophobia HEAVY Eating disorders If there's anything you think needs to be posted as a TW then let me know, also please don't read if there is anything that triggers you. Some of these topics are personal, don't be afraid to reach out if you need to talk or ask anything :) Also this is my first solo writing project so any feedback positive/negative is appreciated, writing tips for anything too, hope you enjoy. - jammy :) 24/09/24 - ?
Dan Barns: Problem Solver by mj_shadowrider
15 parts Complete
Book 1 of Dan Barnes Series. I am a single male with a degree in science and engineering. My name is Dan Barns, I was in the army for four years, worked in the private sector for five years with a six figure salary and was bored out of my mine. I grew a great nest egg, but I was not cut out to wear a suit and tie and then attend meetings everyday. I wanted so much more. I am six foot even, and I weigh around 186 on a bad day. My hair is brown with natural black streaks, and I have a nice tan. I love the great outdoors. I grew up as a single kid with a single parent who worked all the time. I aced science every time and fixed things for my mother and myself because of a lack of money. I never knew my dad, but once a year, my mother would get a check for my upkeep. My dad was a well traveled man and never stuck around after mom had me. Things were tough, but we made it. I got scholarships for my doctorate in both fields. I graduated as a doctor in six years. Problem that shaped me into the man I am today was, my mom died when I was 16 and I deicide to test out of school, joined the military, spent four years as special operative, and into college as an adult, I tested out of some of the easier classes. I kept the house because it was paid for and was in mine and my mother's name. I kept her truck, because it was also paid for and it helped when I need to remember her. I was twenty seven when I walked across the stage for my diploma and was sought after by some very big companies. I worked for one of these companies for five years and then I was bored. I retired at thirty one. I laid low, putting around my house, helping my neighbors, and helping out at the boys and girls club coaching basketball. For two years, I stayed in my own little piece of the gulf. I did not spend a lot of money, I fixed things, sold electric back to the electric company, and had fun with the teens. With the history now told, we can begin with some of my adventures.
Yellowstone:  Love and Cowboys by martykate1
102 parts Complete Mature
Some people are born to be on the back of a horse, Coralee Dutton for one. She's the youngest daughter of John Dutton's older brother Benjamin. John inherited the ranch because he was a rancher while his brother wasn't. There are no hard feelings, Benjamin is happy with his life and the brothers have a deep love for each other. Coralee has been showing horses since she was young and has gotten quite good. She started as a barrel racer and is now into reining horses. She is at the ranch because John wants to buy her a top quality horse to show and he's asked Travis Wheatley to bring some to the ranch to show her. Beth Dutton has always hated Coralee. Coralee is younger and prettier and resembles the tragic Elsa Dutton. She hates Beth's drinking problem and tries to stay out of her way, drunk or sober. She believes Beth is unstable and that only makes it worse. Travis has had his eye on Coralee for a long time. He wants to go out with her, hell, he wants to sleep with her but she means more to him. He's a playboy and a rogue and he knows it, but maybe he could change his ways if she just gave him a chance. He's older and feeling the need to settle down and Coralee could make him change his ways. For those of you who know my writing, I rarely try to include events in the original story, to me that's not creating it's copying. I noticed this when I wrote my Mummy story. To me that's kind of cheating. So, you can this story "based on" Yellowstone if you like. Travis is a character in the story and since Rip and Kayce are basically taken, I used him. Also, there are a lot of Rip or Kayce stories here, I wanted to write something else. Readers: I know ranching, I know horses, I studied equine science. Our instructor used to hire us out to his friends to drive their cattle for them. I participated in a cattle drive celebrating the San Antonio trail. This made this story more fun to write
Sing To My Heart by JH_Studios
48 parts Complete Mature
Note: They are humans instead of animals. Sorry to anyone who thought it would be like beastars or like we got teleported to their world. This is a reader insert and they are all human. Will include swears, triggering/disturbing tropics, might have some heated moments. Read at your discretion. I don't own any of the characters or songs used in the story. Any songs that I say belongs to the reader is just for the story. All rights to the songs and characters (expect y/n) go to the rightful owners. Also this story was inspired by @OneArtsyGamer03 ,please go check out her stories since they are amazing. This is my original story but there are some similarities to her's, so please go show her stories some love because she definitely deserves it. Runawaying from Redshore city wasn't my plan but I felt trapped in that city. You never could make it unless you had connections or were from a famous family and that's not how I wanted it to go. I love to sing and my best friend got me into dance. Now I love going with the flow and letting the music take over my body. I ran away from my home with nothing but my skateboard, guitar and a back full with anything I could shove inside of it. Now I live in a studio apartment, making my own songs with choreography for them and casually posting the audio of the song or the actual dance video on the internet because why not. I work at a skate shop to help pay my bills and to stay out of trouble with the police since I've gotten in trouble with them a couple of times for street performing without a license. But like my best friend used to say, "You're only in trouble if you get caught" and I never did, so now I just chat up with them to pass some time or to help someone. When I heard of a singing competition I thought it couldn't hurt. I mean I might be able to win a nice prize and get some more publicity for my music, which was more important to me then some cash prize but it would be nice.
You may also like
Slide 1 of 9
Southern Charm cover
Falling For A Cowboy (NOW ON GALATEA) cover
𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 📸 cover
Dan Barns: Problem Solver cover
Right Back On cover
Yellowstone:  Love and Cowboys cover
Sing To My Heart cover
The Mare Shifter Book 1 cover
Firefly Night cover

Southern Charm

26 parts Complete Mature

Jessie White stands out from the crowd. As a Southern woman, she defies the typical expectations for a twenty-four-year-old. While others her age might be in college or embarking on new careers, Jessie's upbringing on a ranch alongside four brothers equipped her with skills many would balk at. She's adept at horseback riding, calving, stall cleaning, and more. Fiercely independent, Jessie refuses to rely on any man, a resolve hardened after heartbreak at the hands of Max Lane, a rancher's son, two years prior. Jessie has resolved to take up bull riding, a skill that appears to be a family legacy. Her lifelong dream has been to ride a bull before an audience, but now, her ambition has shifted to rescuing the White Family Ranch after a substantial portion of their funds vanished and debts began accumulating. Max Lane's family is eager to buy the White Family Ranch, but Jessie refuses to let him take away the one thing that sustains her. Being a beauty bartender owner and a female bull rider makes things challenging. Everyone says she can't do it because she's a woman, but Jessie is determined to prove them all wrong. Initially skeptical, Trace Black doesn't recognize her potential until he witnesses her mount a bull for the first time. Although he may appear arrogant externally, that pales in comparison to his internal complexity. Trace and Jessie are initially oblivious to their chemistry, though it's evident to everyone around them. As Jessie gathers the courage to express her feelings to Trace, the things she dreads occur. However, it doesn't make matters worse; it alters everything profoundly. *WARNING* Book contains language, child loss, trauma, etc. Thank you for choosing my story! If you enjoyed it, please follow, comment, vote, add to your reading list, and share it with your friends. Check out my other stories! I appreciate you! :)