This weekend, I’m changing the logo of bedlamfarm.com to reflect the evolution of the farm and the plan for the future. I thought it was time to let Red rest in peace, and I asked Abrah Griggs, the very gift designer, to do some updates.  She did her usual wonderful job. Red is gone, and Lulu replaced him. I added Zip to the logo as he is rapidly becoming the new spirit of the farm, at least for now. The blog should be the place of the living, much as we love those that are gone.

Animals have always been a driving element of the blog, and the logo reflects that. Joined by the charismatic Zip, my new animal pal, animals will always be near the center of my life, as will my search for spiritual life and a happy life with Maria on our farm. We are where we want to be: happy, creative, and growing together.

The blog is a living organism and has changed, along with all of the people who are reading and following it. My book publishing days are gone, but not my publishing days. The blog is my living book, my virtual memory. Over the years, as I have healed and grown, it has become what I hope is a gentler, warm, and consistently uplifting place. Apart from the inevitable losses of a farm, little or no bad news is offered here. I am learning how to deal with the creepy trolls who roam the internet like mosquitoes. I am ignoring and enjoying it. It took me years to figure out you miss them, to feed off of someone else. How foolish of me.

I reserve the right to challenge or kick off obnoxious, intrusitve, and hostile people; I don’t want them around me or on my blog. That’s fair; it’s a way of doing good and fighting off pestilence.

The photography is leading me to a better place, as are Maria, my flowers, my photography, and the blog itself, which reflects my soul and work for a spiritual life. The animals and the pictures reflect my soul and how I wish to spend the rest of my life.

But photography is an expensive habit, and so is a farm. If you are enjoying it as your messages suggest or find the blog valuable, please consider donating so we can continue to grow via Paypal, jon@bedlamfarm.,com, Venmo, Jon Katz@Jon-Katz-13, or by mail, Jon Katz, Blog Support, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Thanks.

The photography and the blog speak for me; that’s my voice. The rest of it doesn’t really matter.

I’m excited about where the blog is going; it fits me. I’m finally free and finding the courage to be me, not anyone else’s slave.

I’ll continue to write about many different things, but always in a spirit of thought and truth. I will stay out of the fray and watch it from a distance.

The blog has helped me be authentic, grow, and challenge myself. I thank all of you for your support and encouragement over the years. The blog was born in 2007, and I have never been prouder. I will work hard to write thoughtful, empathetic, and generous pieces and grow as a photography, and bring some light and color into a world that is sometimes too bleak..

The motto will continue to be “creativity and gentle warmth.” I think that says it.