Life at the End of a Dirt Road

"Life at the End of a Dirt Road" is a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant but always interesting view of life on a working cattle ranch. With wry humor and insight, the author recounts a vanishing way of life played out on a 1,700-acre ranch in Northern California during the mid 20th century.

Mostly written from the author's perspective as an impressionable ranch kid, the book vividly describes how he learned to gig frogs, craft slingshots, milk cows and execute chickens. The reader will peer over his shoulder as he faces hair-raising perils, both real and imaginary, whether it's fetching a jar of jam from the creepy, spider-filled cellar; fending off werewolves with a shovel while irrigating after dark; or negotiating the bewildering customs of a box social at school.

The reader also will meet unforgettable characters, both critters and humans, from Shep, the mighty ranch dog and his obsessive, doomed pursuit of porcupines, to Mrs. Salvadori, the wife of the previous owner, who reportedly motivated her husband to build her a new house by burning down the old one. The result is a humorous, illuminating and richly illustrated account of life at the end of a dirt road.