Rants from the Hill

On Packrats, Bobcats, Wildfires, Curmudgeons, a Drunken Mary Kay Lady, and Other Encounters with the Wild in the High Desert

By: Michael P. Branch

Narrated by: David Marantz

Welcome to the land of wildfire, hypothermia, desiccation, and rattlers.

The stark and inhospitable high-elevation landscape of Nevada’s Great Basin Desert may not be an obvious (or easy) place to settle down, but for self-professed desert rat Michael Branch it’s home. Of course, living in such an unforgiving landscape gives one many things to rant about. Fortunately for us, Branch—humorist, environmentalist, and author of Raising Wild—is a prodigious ranter.

From bees hiving in the walls of his house to owls trying to eat his daughters’s cat—not to mention his eccentric neighbors—adventure, humor, and irreverence abound on Branch’s small slice of the world, which he lovingly calls Ranting Hill.

©2017 Michael P. Branch (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Loved the humor

I expected a book to be about the nature and logistics about the life in the high desert. Was pleasantly surprised to read such fun, full-of-humor story about the family itself. I liked all the stories about the girls, pets, hikes, celebrations, etc. I loved the way Mr. Branch described his daughters' personalities, it was a joy to observe their role in in his life.
Learned so much about so many tings: environment, history, geo-specifics like weather, seasons, fauna and flora, etc.
What made me rate it 4 stars is the overwhelming barrage of speech on climate change, and lack of any description of the wife/mom of the family. The queen of the house remained in background and wasn't made to seem like an important role in their story.
I LOVED the humor throughout the book.