Writers on the Range: Tips for a new Westerner

Hurray, you've moved to the rural West from a crowded subdivision or city where the traffic has become an out-of-patience game, and now you want to fit in.

You want to learn how irrigation ditches work, build a hen house, and grow fruit trees, wine grapes and a garden. You also want to take a hike at a moment's notice, or at least look like you're ready to do 10 miles.

How do newcomers manage this transition? Western writer Zane Grey never wrote a Code of the West, but it was clear from his novels that subtle rules operated in the 19th century. Key tenets were fair play, respect for the land a...