30 June

Maria Saves Another Garden

by Jon Katz

We went to the Williamstown Theater Festival this afternoon, saw a play, then came home. I decided to make the first Bedlam Farm Garden Pizza of the summer – a pizza whose toppings are almost entirely taken from the new vegetable garden Maria dug out this Spring.

Maria  had an hour to kill, so she went out and dug out the wildflower garden, moved a half dozen flowers in and out of it. She has really gotten into gardening this year, something she shunned a bit at first.

It has become a creative task for her, as well as an outlet for her boundless energy. And she loves being outdoors, I think she would pitch a  tent and sleep out there if she wasn’t stuck with me.

She knows the name of each plant and flower, figures out the best spot, makes sure I water all of then regularly. The house is now ringed with prospering and colorful gardens, the gardens have never looked more beautiful and grown as rapidly and fully.

Yesterday, we painted the peeling steps leading to the back porch. Ray Telford, skilled in carpentry, came to fix the back door (it slams), remove the gutters on one section of the roof (they leaked continuously) and fixed the base of the back door.

We’re both blogging now.

Tomorrow,  I go to Albany to WAMC Public Radio to record an hour with the BBC radio documentary unit, they are doing a documentary on life on the Internet and renting a studio. I’ll be talking to them for an hour starting at 1:30.

Wednesday, back to Bishop Maginn High School, I have a load of stuff for the Silverstein Art Brigade, including books for Asher and Issachar, and some money for artists Blue and Paw Lway Shee.

In Williamstown, we recently discovered a wonderful and amazingly inexpensive kind of book store, Chapter Two Books, a non-profit  selling “lightly, slightly used books.” This is boon to the Army of Good, they have a good selection of large print books for the Mansion, and we found some beautiful and inexpensive art books for the Bishop Maginn Art Mob.

The bookstore is run by volunteers from the Williamstown Library, they have nearly new books of all kinds in excellent shape and for very little money. I got a puzzle for the Mansion as well.

This is a godsend for me, the Mansion residents are desperate for large print novels and Sue Silverstein can use some new art books in her classroom library. I go almost every week.  Below was my haul Sunday for  $47.

3 Comments

  1. I have been meaning to write these words for years. I believe you to be the only blogger who writes with total honesty–telling of your beliefs, your feelings, your likes and dislikes and most of all your love. You peel away your protective coating in all of these, leaving you open to the reactions of so many others. The courage to do this is extraordinary and you are often left open to insult and to feel surprise and annoyance and hurt.

    Good for you, I say. Long may you write and I hope the pleasure you get from doing so is more than the hurt. I have read you for years and got such delight from reading of your happy marriage and your wonderful activities and the help you are giving to so many others who desperately need it. You surmount rebuffs and insults and you and Maria continue on.

    You give me strength, at the age of 82, and in poor health, to do my own small charitable work in my community and appreciate more my own great second marriage, now in its 43rd year

    With many good wishes to you both, Erika W.

    1. Erika, bless you for that message, I don’t know if you now what it means to me, but it means a great deal..Thanks you..

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