Autumn at the Ranch submission.  It is October, a time of looking back and giving thanks for a harvest of blessings.  For Joe Cartwright, this is impossible.  The autumn marks one year since he lost his beloved brother, Hoss. Needing to escape, Joe heads out to visit to Carrie Pickett.  He never makes it.  Instead, Joe finds himself lost and alone and badly injured. Half-dead, he works his way toward a plume of smoke rising in the distance.  Little does Joe suspect that what he finds at the end of his journey will change his life forever.

Summary:  A WHB or prequel to 'Between Heaven and Earth.' Have you ever wondered what happened when Little Joe climbed Eagle's Nest as a five year old boy that could have been so traumatic it resulted, not just in a fear of falling, but in total amnesia that lasted for nearly 20 years? This is my take on what happened when Ben Cartwright was told to 'Bring Marie'.

It's a race against time, and to the victor goes the spoils . . . er . . . the calf. A WHB for "The Lawmaker"

What did Joe's sweethearts think of his dalliance with Julia Bulette? This is the story of Joe's romance with Truckee Strip's Amy Bishop and how Julia played a role in their relationship--a relationship which started long before the Truckee Strip episode, by the way.

This is a WHB The Burma Rarity. All we know is that Ben drew Clementine’s name from a fish bowl at a picnic prior to the episode. This story attempts to shed some light on what happened at that picnic to make Ben so non eager to be around the Widow Hawkins.

It is spring, and the winter has passed. Five-year-old Little Joe wanders off to find his mama who died couple of months earlier. This is about the incident that is referenced by Ben to Little Joe in the episode "Between Heaven And Earth". I originally wrote this story back in 2001. I entered it in a Bonanza fan fiction contest, but it didn't win. I recently came back to it and rewrote it for the Spring Awakens Challenge.

Ben Cartwright's meeting with Alpheus Troy and the other mine owners did not go well.  They want his timber and he won't give it to them.  The rancher knows Troy will do whatever it takes to keep his mine running, and when he arrives home to find out Little Joe is missing, he fears the worst.  A prequel to 'A Rose for Lotta' that takes place in the hot dry dusty days of summer.  My answer to the 'In the Heat of the Moment' summer challenge. 

Hoss exhibits, once again, his ability to find friends in the strangest places. A WHB for "The Tall Stranger"

We meet Mariette in the Bonanza episode, Badge Without Honor, and learn that the Cartwrights consider her part of their family. This prequel describes one way that situation might have come about. 

A WHN and WHB for Bonanza's 13th season story 'Bushwhacked'. Have you ever wondered why, in his fever dreams, Little Joe saw his big brother Hoss holding a gun on him and pulling the trigger? This is my idea of why such a thought would have entered Joe Cartwright's head.

Adam recalls his first meeting with an old friend. A WHB for "The Ride"