We are almost done with the Schoolhouse Studio. Ben finished sanding and spackling today and Maria and I painted the ceiling. We moved some stuff in tonight and Maria and some friends are moving the rest Sunday morning. Got a smile tonight out of one  message from a woman in Kansas. “How come I always see Maria working in all of the photos? Seems to me like she is a hard-working woman while you gas off and take photos!”

I read this to Maria and we both laughed.  I do a lot of photographing and gassing off, for sure. And Maria does lots of chores and works hard all of the time. I don’t think I would last a week on the farm without her. I do have to say that in the last month, I’ve done so many chores my feet barely move anymore.  There were six  hours of chores today, starting with the pre-dawn raid on the chickens, ending with watering Rocky at 8 p.m. I have always loved the notion of the farmhand and I wonder why old school farmers always could afford one and I can’t.

It’s odd but Maria and I both love farm chores, and we especially love doing them together.  We do them two or three times and day, and neither of us likes to miss any. And hey, somebody has to record this for posterity. Saturday when we were moving, I sat down to blog while Maria was hauling boxes around. I have to record this for people, I said, it is the last days of Bedlam Farm. She gave me a look that would cut through a steel bar and I put up a photo and got up. I understand, she said, but it still ticked me off.

“This is what happens when you have the camera,” said Maria. Good point. I wonder what would happen if she bought a new one.