It may not be scones and finger sandwiches at the Savoy, but at Bedlam Farm, we have our own version of tea. It’s a polyglot crowd; sometimes there’s a dog, sometimes three chickens, a barn cat, or two. No one is forbidden to attend.

And in the background, two donkeys impatiently await their turn for their snack. braying softly but persistently. I usually feed the donkeys; Maria usually gets the rest of the crew. It’s quite civilized and has become an almost sacred right on the farm, our own Peaceable Kingdom.