It was a good day for us at Bedlam Farm.

Artists have roller-coaster lives, good times, and hard times, but Maria is on a roll right now, selling quilts, yarn, Heron Posters, potholders, magnets, posters,  and dryer balls.

I doubt it will calm down too much before Christmas.

She’s been shipping stuff all week and is eager to back to creating as well as shipping art.

She has worked so hard and wonderfully; she deserves every minute. I hope she returns to work soon; two things make her ugly and dangerous: being hungry and not making art.

My day also started very well. I had a severe foot injury a year ago that put me in a surgical boot for months and then healed after some surgery (bone spur.)

I had another foot injury a month ago, which landed me in another two-week surgical boot with instructions to wrap the wound in a bandage and apply medicine once or twice a day.

The boot made it almost impossible for me to walk stably or go more than a few feet outside.

As many of you know, foot injuries to people with diabetes upset doctors; they can be dangerous if they get infected.

My surgical podiatrist took it all very seriously. Maria was amazingly vigilant and diligent in helping me treat this wound, wrap it in  bandages and apply anti-biotics. The wound never seemed severe to me and wasn’t painful, but the boot sure was.

I told the nurse I wasn’t bringing more Amish cookies to the office unless they let me wear my regular shoes. That seemed to work.

I’ve also formalized plans for my Dog Support service. I’m putting up a link to Dog Support which will take people to a page where they can fill out a short application for support which will go to me and describe how this simple program works, and I will respond personally by e-mail if it seems we ought to work together.

I insist on talking personally with every person who wants my help. This is not going to be a corporate experience. If I can’t help, I will say so.

The cost will remain $50 per half hour for a month and then rise to $65 per half hour. The price will stay there for a good while.

I was beaten up all week by people – including the people paying me to help them – for not charging enough. The results have also been very gratifying.

A terrified Great Dane is beginning to respond to human affection and food, a hyper Lab is no longer jumping up on his human, and a mixed breed rescue is now going into the garage when asked and not balking at the door.

A shepherd/terrier rescue mix is not freaking out on a leash when he sees another dog, and two other dogs are responding to my specialty, claiming training for aroused, rebellious or angry dogs.

We’ve gotten two wild border collies to settle down and learn to be still and responsive to commands.

I am thrilled to be doing this work; it feels very comfortable and helpful to people. Dog training is a significant and messy swamp in America; it is difficult to get sensible, affordable, and common-sense help.

So this link to Dog Support will be implanted at the bottom of every blog post. I love helping people learn how to communicate with their dogs. I don’t mind getting paid for my work, either.

A woman came up to me in town yesterday and started asking for help with a border collie that seemed to have gone mad, nipping at people, running in circles, and defying commands.

She was going on and on.

It was a pleasure to tell her – once she paused to catch her breath –   that if she wanted my help, she should e-mail me; I said I charged $50 a half hour.

She bolted from the store as if her pants were on fire. I will not hear from her again.

How sweet to be able to say that. And how overdue.

While the new Dog Support page for appointments is being constructed, you can e-mail me if you need Dog Support.

It’s going well. [email protected].

This weekend, I will practice on my ukulele music and take some walks with Zinnia

. I am pleased about that.