On March 8, 2023, I presented a program at Cold Spring, Minnesota, sponsored by the Cold Spring Library and Historical Society. My topic? The Rocky Mountain Locust Plagues of the 1870s. I stumbled upon this most interesting chapter of history while researching ABERCROMBIE TRAIL and POMME DE TERRE. It felt natural to continue this series 11 years later by moving my characters to the 1870s during the locust infestation. You can read more about it in BIRDIE and BLOOMING PRAIRIE. Hard times make for good fiction.