(This photo is of a young friend named Jovanka, she is the daughter of a Mansion aide and interested in fashion and art. I thought she could use a small digital camera to help her passions. Her mother is an amazing aide at the Mansion, loving and empathetic. Whenever possible, I try to jump-start the creative life for people who may not have the resources to do it themselves. I sense that this camera could transform her life.)

I have a lot of new people reading the blog these days, some came to read about politics (Something I wrote was referenced on Meet The Press recently) and some are sticking around, asking how they can help our work.

My blog is the center of this universe, the engine that brings together the Army Of Good and makes our work possible. This is my work now, and I am comfortable being paid for my work. It took a while for me to accept donations and contributions.

My political writing is only one facet of what I do. I take pictures, write on the blog daily, focus on dogs, animals, and on my life, and search for a minute.

My blog was started in May of 2007, and 29,000 posts and thousands of photos later, here I am. The photos are free, they are not bookmarked or copyrighted, you can use them in any way you wish.

I was inspired by two men, Thomas Merton, the author, and late Trappist Monk and E.B. Write, who wrote “One Man’s Meat” from his farm in Maine.

Maria and I live on a 17-acre farm in upstate New York with three dogs, two hens, two barn cats, two donkeys, and nine wool sheep.

I have written for Rolling Stone, Wired, the New York Times, and worked at CBS News, The Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Baltimore-News American, and the Dallas Times-Herald.

The blog is expensive to update and maintain, and it is free and will always be free. I do depend on support from the outside world, as the publishing world is something in the past for me, the blog is my memoir, my great work.

And yes, there are typos on my blog. I choose to spend my time writing, not proof-reading. As a Dyslexic, I have learned to love my photos.

I write about dogs, donkeys, the farm, my life with Maria, my work with the Army of Good, my search for spiritual life.

You can contribute in several ways: There is a Support My Blog window at the bottom of every blog page. You can contribute via Paypal or by major credit cards.

You can contribute monthly in one of three amounts – $5, $10 monthly, or one time for $75.  Or any one-time amount you choose, actually.

Subscriptions can be canceled at any time and no one controls or has access to your account but you. There is no financial information of any kind stored on my blog or its server.

You can also make one time donations in any amount: via Paypal, [email protected] or by check, Jon Katz, blog support, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

The blog is free and will always be free, any donations or contributions are voluntary.

You can sign up for a free e-mail subscription at the very bottom of the Farm Journal Page. Look for “free e-mail sign in.”

I work with the refugees at Bishop Maginn High School in Albany and also with the residents and aides at the Mansion Assisted Care Facility in Cambridge N.Y.

We assist these people in every possible way, but our work is focused and bounded – small acts of great kindness, supplemented by Amazon Wish Lists and crowdsourcing projects on GoFundMe.

I enjoy political writing, it is taking a good deal of time and energy.

No middle-men, no bureaucracies or administrators.

If you wish to support my work with the refugee children and the Manson residents,  you can donate via Paypal, [email protected], or the Mansion/Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.