Mother Walter and the Pig Tragedy

Here, set quietly and with understanding are the phenomena of American rural living: the personality of tractors, the ins and outs of keeping warm in winter, fall fairs, spring sugaring, a young veterinarian's marvelous skills, the pleasures of watching a well-trained herd dog, the ways of planting corn, slaughtering pigs, milking cows, the extraordinary (and, alas, unusual) success story of a group of organic farmers known to their neighbors as "the chicken s**t people," flashbacks to the farming past, a glimpse of barn swallows defending a weak sister from the attack of a hawk, a country cat earning his keep, old timers' farming lore, the facts of life for city people who want to move to the farm.All is told, first hand, with enjoyment and humor, with sadness and compassion. Here's the good and the bad of it. Read...and you are down on the farm.