An Owl on Every Post

In this memoir, first published in 1970 and long out of print, Sanora Babb recalls her family's attempt to practice dry-land farming in eastern Colorado in 1913. Leaving the relative security of a small town in Oklahoma, the mother of and two daughters travel by train and wagon to join the father and grandfather at their isolated dugout. Here, Senora (nicknamed Cheyenne) gradually comes to love her withdrawn grandfather and to appreciate the harsh beauty of the prairie environment. Cheyenne's experiences range from rare encounters with other settlers to the constant threat of hunge to warm and mystical relationships with animals. They are related with a child's sense of wonder and played out against the background of the plains--clear air, vast distances, rapid changes in light and shadow, and sudden, dangerous storms.