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FORT ANN -- He writes the words, his wife
corrects the grammar, and between the two of them, the
laughter rarely ceases.
"She's my editor -- I have to listen to her," said
Joe Peck, author of "A Cow in the Pool and Udder Humorous
Farm Stories."
"He lets me correct the spelling, but if it's about
content, we have to have a focus group with our
children," added his wife, Pat Peck, at a book signing
for Joe's new book, "A Tractor in the House and Other
Smashing Farm Stories."
The lively couple, who own Peckhaven Farm in Saratoga Springs,
set out their books and charmed customers Saturday at Walkers
Farm, Home and Tack store.
Joe Peck, with twinkling eyes and the high color that comes
from a lifetime of being out in the sun and wind, said there's
plenty of humor to be found down home on the farm.
"We've got 100 dairy cows, 70 head of replacements, 100
acres planted in corn silage and 150 acres in alfalfa,"
he said. "I was born and brought up on the farm. It's
been in my family since 1806."
His first book, self-published in 2000, sold about 3,000
copies locally and contained about 100 short stories about
life on the farm.
"It was really popular as a Christmas present for farmers
or retired farmers," said Joe Peck. "Then we were
really surprised to find out that kids like it a lot,
too."
His career as an author started out with a monthly column
written for a Cornell Cooperative Extension newsletter, Joe
said. After 15 years of submitting the column, he decided to
compile his collection into a book.
"A Cow in the Pool," with cartoon illustrations, is
based on an actual event, Peck said, as are most of his
writings.
"It was winter, and there was snow on the ground,"
he recalled. "One of our tenants came screaming that
there was a cow in the pool. A young cow had gotten loose, not
seen the cover on the swimming pool and was in there, up to
her nose and eyes, like a hippopotamus."
With the help of one of his sons, the halter on the cow was
somehow attached to a front end loader and the 1500-pound
swimmer was hoisted, unharmed, to terra firma.
Cows, he added, are steady, docile creatures as long as their
routine is exactly the same every day. Change things up a bit,
Peck said, and their actions can become humorous.
"Every morning, I let six cows out in a row," he
said. "This morning, I held two back to do something with
them. When number five cow didn't go out, around swung his big
head to look at me, completely confused, as if to ask 'now
what happens?' It can be comical."
Peck said that the basis for his humor is looking at a common
event and seeing it from a different perspective. He recited
as an example the marriage vows he re-wrote for a farmer and
his intended, with new lines like "in long labors and
short back rubs, burnt cookies and grey hair."
"A Tractor in the House and Other Smashing Farm
Stories," (223 pages, $14.95) can be purchased at
Walker's Farm, Home and Tack in Fort Ann, at County Power
Products in Greenwich or at Border's Book Store in Saratoga
Springs.
Another book-signing will take place from 1-4 p.m. today at
the Peckhaven Farm, off County Route 67, at 178 Wagman's
Ridge, Saratoga Springs. For information, call 584-4129, or
visit www.JoePeckOnline.com. |
