Croutons on a Cow Pie, Volume II

by Baxter Black, Bob Black (Illustrator), Don Gill (Illustrator)

This book is one of Baxter's favorites! His second big hardback collection filled with some of his most popular The Oyster, Buckskin Mare, Range Fire, Freckles Advice (this one was read at Freckles Brown's funeral by Ty Murray).Four authentic cowboy artists, Charlie Marsh, Dave Holl, Don Gill and Bob Black took this book to a new level! it makes it tough for our readers though ... "Do I look at the picture first, or read the poem first?"

Genres: Poetry, Humor

201 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Baxter Black (January 10, 1945 – June 10, 2022) was an American cowboy poet and veterinarian. He wrote over 30 books of poetry, fiction—both novels and children's literature—and commentary, selling over two million books, CDs, and DVDs.

Reviews

[Clint Flatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great collection of Cowboy Poetry.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baxter Black writes very funny poems, and equally humorous vignettes of cowboy life in the 21st century. Both are very evident in this book. Black was a large-animal veterinarian in rural Wyoming & Montana; now he describes himself as "full-time cowboy poet, ex-vet, starvin' cattle feeder, and sorry team roper", which pretty well sums up the subjects of his poetry as well. Pick any page in the book and find entertainment. He did a poem about using roadkill to make fur coats, to appease those who think it cruel to kill animals to use their skins/hides/fur:
"Make it a habit to pick up your rabbit
don't leave him to dry in the sun
For the sake of a garment, recycle your varmint
It's tacky to just hit and run"
This is his Solomon-like solution to satisfy the fur wearers and the PETA people. It's also hilarious. He also tells you how to tell farmers from ranchers, and has a cowboy's guide to vegetarians. To keep things balance, he also has a vegetarian's guide to cowboys. If you are looking for some light verse to while the day away, or for an expression of the modern cowboy, Black is the poet for you. I like his stuff quite a lot.