It was nearly 100 degrees today, I ventured out two or three times to help Maria and water my garden beds, but I retreated soon after lunch. I took Maria out to breakfast, and we had fun; the sun was warming up.

(Top photo. “Severe storm” roars in over the farm. Again.)

I really can’t handle that heat; I’m sorry to say.

(Afternoon treats.)

I worked in my air-conditioned office; even Zinnia didn’t want to go out. Last night, I had trouble sleeping for the first time in a while. I watched a movie last night that was disturbing to me.

Around 4 p.m., the severe storm warnings were pouring in, and I saw the first sign of the storm in the clouds rushing over the pasture. It rained a lot but wasn’t very severe.

I get a better sense of what’s happening from looking at the clouds than I do from the Weather Channel, which is prone to hysteria out of greed.

(Hanging flowers in Spring.)

I got the Monochrome out; I missed it while learning about the new Q2. It was a joy to take some lovely photos with it. Because of the heat, I didn’t venture too far off the farm today, not after breakfast.

I did drive out to the Food Co-op to get a bottle or two of the cold spring water I love to drink. Tonight, I hope to rest, read and go to bed early. I’m just about done with Tina Brown’s study of the royal family and their troubles.

The Palace Papers, Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth, and the Turmoil. I hope to review it tomorrow.

(Finishing the vegetable garden)

I don’t care all that much about royal gossip. Still, Brown’s book was, to me, fascinating for its portrayals of ambitious female celebrities and the awful challenges, opportunities, and pressures they face, most of them unknown to male celebrities.

What goes on behind the scenes and out of sight is astounding to me. And great reading.

The Megan-Harry stuff is remarkable; always amazing to see the truth behind the superhype.

It was a pleasure for me to take out the Monochrome after a week’s rest. I have three cameras now that works for me and my life.

(Sun hat for a princess.)

The Iphone is best for landscapes and quick color shots documenting my life. The Monochrome is the best for portraits, mood shots, and street shots (we don’t have a lot of streets here), and the Q2 is best for those evocative, soft, and gentle color images that tell so many stories.

I am blessed and working hard to live up to such good fortune. There is a mix of photos – Iphone, Leica Q2, and Leica Q2 Monochrome in tonight’s journal.

(Opening the gates for grazing. A very moody, evocative image.)

I like the photo journal a lot.

It is a creative and honest way to share my life almost daily. It refers to the idea of the Bedlam Farm Journal, inspired by the old farmer’s journals that they used to record the essential details of their lives.

I love using photos in this way. Images are now just as important as words to me.

This morning, I named my new garden The Jon Katz Memorial Garden. This started as a joke but got me thinking about death and how I wish to be remembered.

This is why I love the blog so much, one thing leads to another, and I am free to follow my mind and

That isn’t always pretty, but it is always genuine.

(Fence to the red barn.)

The Monochrome is unlike any camera I’ve ever had or am likely to have. It gives me the chance to try some mood images, images that no other camera could capture and pull off so faithfully.

It’s almost as if this camera knows what I want to do before I do it and goes and does it. I love fence shots if I can capture them in the right way. As Rober Frost understood, fences are essential, and so are walls in the country. This one had a lot of feeling in it for me.