The following story appeared in the Spring 2004 edition of Saratoga  Living Magazine and is reprinted with the permission of author Ann Hauprich  (www.annhauprich.com)

Saratoga County author Joe Peck doesn't mind if people say he's "milking" his life as a dairy farmer for all it's worth -- just as long as they "laugh until the cows come home when they turn the pages of his book." Aptly titled "A Cow in the Pool & Udder Humorous Farm Stories," Peck's knee-slapping 230-page collection of musings draws upon his experiences at  Peckhaven Farm. 

Except for his post-secondary years at Cornell University,  Peck has always lived on the historic family farm which is set on a rise  halfway between Saratoga Springs and Schuylerville with dazzling views of Vermont.   It is here that his 100 registered Holstein cows (one of whom really did  fall into the Peck's swimming pool!)  yield more than two million pounds of  milk a year and where 100 acres of corn and 130 of alfalfa are grown and harvested annually. 

With so much growing and flowing going on around the old Peck homestead, one can't help but wonder how the dawn-to-dusk farmer ever found the time to take on the added responsibilities of self-publishing and promoting a book.   Since his book -- featuring drawings and caricatures by Ballston Spa  native Andrew R. Taormina -- rolled off of the presses two year ago, Peck has not only gotten the cows milked on time, he's also attended book signings in settings ranging from libraries to feed stores and enlivened  speaking engagements on behalf of the National Speakers Association and  Toastmasters. 

In addition, for several years Peck wrote a humor column for a number of  rural publications including American Agriculturalist magazine, which reached 35,000 farmers monthly. He's also penned more than 150 columns, written free of charge for Cornell Cooperative Extension's agricultural news magazine that circulates in several Capital Region counties. 

It's NOT udder nonsense to note that Peck's book was a family affair. Wife  Pat, a retired nutrition educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension, plowed through the word processing maze while daughter Sharon, a professor of reading at SUNY Geneseo, helped weed through and organize the stories into chapters. Son and business partner David tackled extra chores on the farm while his father wrote. Son-in-law Sean Kelleher (wed to Peck's other daughter, Toastmaster Debbie Peck Kelleher) designed and maintains the author's colorful web site: www.joepeckonline.com.  

"It helps to have a sense of humor to work on a farm," muses Peck. "We're  busy. Everything has to be done on time, all the time. The cows have to be milked twice a day. You don't leave them waiting." Unfortunately, he  observes, people are often so busy, they don't take time to see the lighter side of farm life -- such as the heifer falling in the pool in the  middle of winter. 

An example from the pages of Peck's book explain how this was especially  funny to a neighbor, who watched it happen from her kitchen window.  "There's a cow in the pool!'" she shouted.  "Now, that's what I call bad news,'" he replied. Should he dial 911, call a vet or try CPR? The cow came out unhurt after being hoisted by a tractor. She was exceptionally clean and white, Peck observed. After the incident the family put a fence around the pool and keeps the gates locked. 

The author is proud of the fact that Peckhaven Farm dates back to when the first Pecks settled in Saratoga County in 1803. Originally owned by Henry and John Wagman whose sister married Amos Peck, the farm originally had other crops and barnyard critters.  But since the only way for a modern farming operation to survive is to specialize, Peck chose cows whom he describes as "big animals -- not necessarily stupid -- but not awfully bright. Creatures of habit . . . as long as you do things at the same time everyday, they'll go along."  Sometimes, however, they don't understand what the farmer wants them to do  and it's then Peck says, it's "easy to lose your temper but more fun to  see the funny side." 

Of course, in Saratoga Springs, folks now like to spell that Funny Cide!