Archie Brubaker lives in a house filled with bones—he’s a paleontologist. He’s collected many of the bones for himself, all over the American West. He used to be a college professor, but he moved to Arizona after his wife, Ada Mae, died. He chose his house, in part, because of the towering cactus, “
Señor Saguaro,” that stands in the backyard. Señor Saguaro is almost dead, and elf owls nest inside him. Archie talks to the cactus like a person.