Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

17 October

Hurting Camera: No Flower Art, Tonite. I’m Praying For My Leica

by Jon Katz

I dropped my Leica while taking photos outside the food pantry and lost today’s photos. I’ve spent the last few hours on the phone with my Leica teachers. They are very good people; this day will come; it’s a precious and complex camera.

I don’t know what’s wrong with it except I can’t take any photos and don’t have time to search for replacements.

I’ll keep at it; the people who taught me how to use it are with me. This has made me a bit crazy, but I’ll figure it all out. I insured the camera, but I need clarification on what it covers or what I will do if it takes weeks to fix it. I’m just expecting the best.

I have an early morning meeting, so I’ll see you in the morning. I’m sorry about the photos. I love this camera. When I start to freak out, I think of all the people who lost their homes in fires and floods the past few weeks.

17 October

Veggie Day At The Cambridge Food Pantry, Refried Beans, Fresh Canned Beets. The Pantry Backpack Program Gets A Bright New Home Across The Street.

by Jon Katz

It’s Veggie Day at the Cambridge Food Pantry today, Thursday, October 17, 2024. The children and their families in the food program are grateful. They keep saying the Army Of Good is a great “blessing” to them.

The next wave of soup for the children from Amazon is arriving at the pantry today—THANK YOU. Your generosity has been overwhelming, with the traffic into the pantry and the flood of donations from the Army of Good breaking all previous records. Some have asked if the pantry offers food to people far away, and the answer is no. Cambridge Pantry patrons must live in the school district where the pantry is located, thanks to your support.

Responding to the freezing weather, Sarah is again focusing on the healthiest foods for the children of the pantry families; beans and beets are high on their list. The pantry is working feverishly to ensure these foods are as healthy as possible for the families’ dinners, and your support is crucial in these challenging times. Your contributions are not just donations, but the very foundation of the pantry’s ability to provide nutritious meals to those in need.

The Pantry can request food from the regional food bank, but it only occasionally resembles what they requested.

(Chicken Ramen dinners from the Army of Good for the Backpacks.)

Today, we moved the backpack food supplies to Cambridge Central School, which kindly gave the food pantry a bright and large classroom to store the backpack food and put it into the marked backpack bags.

The backpack program is a lifeline for many families, ensuring that their children have enough to eat over the weekend. We number the bags so the school aides can discreetly deliver food for the weekend to the 61 children whose families have requested it. In many families, food runs out earlier, and their children can get hungry. The backpacks contain soup, Ramen, and oatmeal for meals, along with protein bars, potato chips, popcorn, and snacks. Your support of this program is making a tangible difference in the lives of these children.

Sarah chose the items below to ensure the children got some vegetables. Beans and beets are considered among the healthiest vegetables. Cans make the vegetables easier to transport and safe to eat. If you can help the pantry children and families with beets and beats, that would be great.

The unstobbable Cambridge Food Pantry Amazon Food Wish List choices from Sarah for today:

Old El Paso Traditional Canned Refried Beans, 1 Can, 16 (Oz) (Pack of 2), $17.03.

Del Monte Fresh Cut Canned Beets Sliced, Canned  Vegetables, 12 Pack, 8.25 Oz Can, 12.72.

 

(the ever hard working volunteers pack the bags.)

First day at the pantry’s new school room for getting the back foods to the pantry family children for the weekend.  The school discovered that several children had little or no food for the weekends, so the backpack was created to fill the gap, and the Army of Good has been a tremendous and critical source to help fill the bags. Maria comes to the pantry every Thursday to help the volunteers. We hope some canned vegetables get to go in some of the bags. We supplied the noodles, Ramen chicken packets, and oatmeal packs today. Thanks for your food support; it has made a tremendous difference.

 

Note: The Cambridge Food Pantry Amazon Food Wish List can be accessed day or night by going to any of the links on this page or on the green buttons at the bottom of every blog post. The list is updated daily. When enough donations get enough items to last a week, they are taken off the list and replaced with other urgently needed foods. This program is greatly appreciated by the families that depend on the food pantry for much or all of the food they eat. The school keeps a close eye on this, and moving the collection and stuffing center directly into the school helps greatly.

 

Thanks for sending this soup.

17 October

Beautiful Morning At Bedlam Farm, Thursday, October 17, Made More Beautiful By The First Frost Of The Season

by Jon Katz

 

The hens follow the light, and so do the dogs.

Zip checks out the frost.

Fertilizing

 

Morning at sunrise is a photographer’s time, shadows everywhere.

St. Jospeph outdid himself this morning.


Fate on the move. It’s better to love sheep than herd them….

 

The sun just just got stronger.

17 October

Welcome To A Cherished Fall Ritual. A Suzy Fatzinger’s Mohair Shawl, “Feathers And Moss…” For Sale On Maria’s Etsy Page.

by Jon Katz
One of the sweetest rituals of Fall for us is our privilege of selling Maria’s friend Suzy Fatzinger’s beautiful shawls on her Etsy Page. Maria and Suzy became friends during one of our October open houses; Suzy was shocked to see her shawls sell out almost instantly.  Maria said she was happy to keep selling them.

Since then, the shawls have sold out on Maria’s Etsy Page just as quickly. Her wool, from her own goats, is unique.

Suzy lives in Pennsylvania with her goats, but we are staying in touch. Five more shawls are coming this year; one sold the other day, hours after it came. Her work is remarkable. Maria is very proud to sell them for her.

I’ve shared the details below: Maria said this about Suzy and the shawls on her blog yesterday. She decided to call the shawl above “Feathers  and Moss.”

Feathers and Moss is  21″x76″.  It is $175 + $15 shipping.  You can see it and buy it here.

Feathers and moss, birch bark and seeds… wings, and sunshine filtered through autumn leaves.

Those words came to mind when I looked at Suzy’s latest shawl.”

16 October

Flower Art. The Rise Of The Lily, A Farewell To Wild Flowers. Color, Sun, Dying Beds, Ode To O’Keefe, Flowers Know How To Live And Die

by Jon Katz

 

I wish people were all trees, and I think I could enjoy them —–,” Georgia O’Keefe.

This line (the quote above) highlights human relationships’ desire for simplicity and tranquility. It suggests that if people were more like trees, with their steadfastness and peaceful presence, they would be easier to appreciate and enjoy. The quote implies a longing for a world where interactions with others are free from complexity, conflict, and pretense, allowing for genuine connections and a sense of harmony.”   — The Blinkist Team, “quotes to support the creative journey.”

This rang a bell with me. O’Keeffe’s flower photos were about a dream for harmony and peace. The blind and foolish were obsessed with the sexual implications of her work and seemed to have missed the point.

I hardly dare wish the same for my flowers, but to be honest, I do

I look forward to seeing you in the morning. Tomorrow, I plan to set up my new Substack weekly column on aging gracefully and hope to publish it soon. The aging columns can be read only through a paid subscription, hopefully a small amount. The blog will remain free and daily, as will my farm photos and stories,  flower photos, and pantry work. Donations are welcome.

This morning, I had my last visit with the cataract surgeon, who declared my sight perfect and the surgery a complete success. I’ve decided to get a prescription pair of glasses that work as computer and book reading glasses. I’ll wear a store-bought bifocal for driving and going outside. The prescription glasses will cost $675 and be ready in a week.
I’m looking forward to getting them and seeing you in the morning. I’m going to the local central school to take photos of the new site for the Pantry’s children’s backpack program. It won’t take long.

 

 

I’m learning about black and white; sometimes, it reflects the souls of things.

Ode to Georgia O’Keefe and her shingle and animal head painting.

 

 

Lily in the sun, the soft light of flowers

 

The last days of the raised bed flowers

Lily in the sun with me

They are dying, the Garden Bed flowers. They die beautifully.

Rocket in the sky.

 

 

 

 

My Flower Art Partner keeps me company. Zip is my associate flower photographer.

 

 

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