How to Walk a Pig, and Other Country Lessons in Country Living

It has long been the fantasy of many city dwellers to chuck the rat race and live on a farm and eat off the land. And that's exactly what the author, a freelance writer, his wife, a clinical psychologist, their son and their cat did when they moved to a farm in upstate New York. But it quickly became apparent that the days of milk and honey would not arrive automatically. We soon learn, with the Coffmans, the difference between Indian Summer and Squaw Winter (about a million cluster flies); the secret of walking a pig (tie a rope around its hind leg); the fun of animals such as pet dog Star (who steals a defrosting chicken); and the sadness of a cow's death after calving, or the slaughtering of a pig. There's the struggle and satisfaction of planting a garden and the joy of digging a pond where the family can skinny-dip in summer and ice-skate in winter. With the birth of a daughter, we see the children's growing love of animals (from cats to chicks) and what happens when a brew of baby hamsters escape their cages. Bemused, informative and breezy, this book will give a nudge to those who only dream of escaping the urban life. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Apr.)