HOME RANGE, Essays on the Land

HOME RANGE offers a view northwestern Wyoming as seen through the eyes of an artist who describes for us the smells, colors and textures of landscape. The distances between towns in the region are considerable, the land itself vast and varied throughout the seasons of the year. Spending countless hours on the highways allows ample time for contemplation and observation and the author shares her thoughts in some rather unusual ways as she sights cattle with mudball anklets, cloud-formed ships sailing the endless sea of the sky, and the staring eyes on the trunks of aspens. She takes a close-up look at the industry of ants in the red dirt of the prairie, deer methodically pawing though snow in search of windfall crabapples and the intimidating presences of bridges when seen from below. The author's views of her personal "Home Range" offer readers a different way of looking at their own surroundings even as they marvel at her unique perspective. Annette Chaudet is the author of two novels, Beyond the World and Montana Spring (written as Richard Magniet) and several books for children including The Nose Book, A Jungle Book and Prayers from the Manger.