Cast of Characters

Desert Survivor

I'm an ecologist, rancher's wife, mother, writer, and dreamer. I love being outside and seeing it through the eyes of my son. I also love ice cream. I try to eat it daily; it makes surviving the desert heat a lot easier. By the way, this is about the only photo I have of me that I haven't taken myself. Someday maybe I'll post one where my face isn't half-shaded and I'm not wearing a paint-stained ballcap. Since my husband has a hard time turning on the camera, that day may not be in the near future.

Desert Boy

My intrepid and rambunctious son, whom I'm trying to help survive. He likes to eat dirt. A lot. He also likes to run away from Mommy to get to the nearest mud puddle, tractor, or dog food.

Desert Girl

Desert Girl entered our lives in February 2010. We expect that she will soon be having lots of adventures in the high desert.

Henry

Our spirited puppy dog who chews on everything. He's Desert Boy's sidekick, whether Desert Boy wants him to be or not. Desert Boy probably tolerates him because Henry lets him eat his dog food when Mommy's not watching. (This is still true two years after writing this!)

My Husband

A good-natured guy who puts up with most anything. He's dissipated most of my preconceptions about ranchers. For example, he doesn't ever wear a cowboy hat and doesn't like horses.

Our Ranch

A family-owned cow-calf and hay operation. My husband, his brothers, and father run it, and it pretty much runs most of their lives. We live on the ranch in a hundred-year old ranch house that has slightly tilted floors, but we don't notice most of the time.

The Cousins

Desert Boy has 11 cousins, six of whom live in the same community, providing him lots of opportunities to play and learn bad habits.