In just a few days, on June 27-28 (and on Columbus Day Weekend in October) we will hold an Open House, a two-day celebration of our lives, of art, of our love of animals, our love of one another, our love of encouragement and inspiration. The first Open Houses were held at the other Bedlam Farm, a grander stage for sure, with 90 acres, sweeping view, four restored barns. We had more than 1,500 people come to the first and second Open Houses, our neighbors were shocked, and they were grant events.
Lots of artists, two security guards, off-duty cops and firemen to handle the traffic, a completely different cast of animals – Rose herding sheep in the two big pastures, Simon greeting visitors, Lenore getting hugged nearly to death, Frieda barking and lunging in the back yard. Our original idea was to showcase the work of artists, including Maria, resuming her career as a fiber artist after a long and difficult hiatus. We restored our beautiful old Pig Barn, it was now a beautiful gallery. People came from everywhere.
Things are different now, yet in many ways the same. It is still a showcase for art – Maria and six other gifted artists will showcase their work – quilts, potholders, cartoons, beautiful Batiks, paintings, sculptures made out of beautiful old things. George Forss the famed photographer will be available for portraits – this is the biggest bargain in the art world. Tyler will be helping people to park, there will be two Porta-Potties for those who need them. We can’t offer food, but the Round House Cafe is just down the road, great and healthy and tasty food for the hungry. Connie Brook’s beautiful bookstore – Battenkill – is just a couple of miles away. Anyone who wants a book signed by me can stop by Battenkill or call the store in advance (518 677-2515) and order one. Maria will also be selling a few.
The Open House was a dream. That our farm could encourage the creative, light the creative spark, celebrate the creative part of all of this. It doesn’t matter where it is held, the dream lives on.
The animal cast is very different. Simon, Frieda and Lenore are gone. Chloe the new pony is just as sociable as Simon and loves carrots and apples just as much. Lulu and Fanny are a bit more refined than Simon was (or Chloe is) bu they can be bribed as well. Red will be doing his quite wonderful herding demonstrations, I will also show how I am teaching Fate how to work with sheep. Fate is already a rock star, that will be fun.
Maria is featuring poetry this time as well as art – the October line-up will be different, except for the animals. We ask, as always, that people do not bring dogs or other animals, it is disruptive to the creatures here. Children are welcome, if the stay close to their parents. We have a lot of animals and people running around.
The poetry line-up is impressive. Doug Anderson. Mary Kellogg. Tom Atkins. Kate Rantilla. They will all be reading from their work and selling it. Our friend Mary will be marking publication of her third volume of poetry, “How To Dance.” We are so honored to be publishing her work. Pamela Rickenbach of Blue Star Equiculture, who was hoping to be here with some draft horses, will be coming in October, not June.
My friend Joshua Rockwood, the brave and determined New York farmer so unjustly accused of animal cruelty will be dropping by to speak. I hope Ken Norman will come by and talk about his work and life as a farrier. My friend Scott Carrino will be away for this Open House, but will be at the next one In October.
Our neighbor Tyler Lindenholl will be on hand both days to help with parking and crowd control. Our wonderful house and pet sitter Deb Foster will be on hand to help with the animals. We can hardly imagine life without her. Neither can the animals.
Maria’s sister Fran will be returning to show and sell her mini-gardens.
It is a two-day event. Maria will set up her studio as an art gallery and hold forth there will Kim McMillan and the other artists. I will be in my role as animal handler, doing herding demos and conducting horse and donkey tours. I will give my annual report on Bedlam Farm and discuss my next book, “Talking To Animals.”
This farm is peaceful and compact, beautiful on a smaller scale. It is not so grand a stage, yet it is the right stage for Maria, for me, for us. Sometimes you do need to be knocked down a peg or two before you can see life clearly. I always think of the other farm, it has just been sold, and we struggled to keep it going for nearly four years. It has pretty much wiped out our savings, yet it was nothing but a gift. We met one another there, I came to life there, I found out who I was, the point, really of the hero journey.
So the Open House is filled with meaning. It is a reflection of life, and it’s crisis and mystery and wonder. The Open House comes almost to the day on the first anniversary of my Open Heart Surgery, and this will surely be an easier summer than the last one was. I am lucky to be alive, and happy to be alive, and eager to share our lives with you for these two days, and again in the fall.
I hope to see some of you in June, others in October. For those who can’t make it, there will be the usual flood of photos and videos, nothing much happens in our world any longer that is not recorded and shared. Details of the Open House can be found on Maria’s website.