Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

7 June

Flower Art, Friday, June 7, 2024. Into The Beautiful Whirlwind. Have A Restful Evening.

by Jon Katz

The story I want to tell of flowers is of a world all its own, sometimes several worlds converging. Once I started paying attention, flowers began hypnotizing me, bringing dreams, colors, and hidden meanings. Flowers have a powerful grip on millions of people—and on me. I made this photo above the feature because I caught the beautiful butterfly landing right on it. Thanks, Butterfly.

Today, I continue to explore fusing cut flowers with wilder wildflowers. It worked beautifully.

This morning, it was my turn to sit in a doctor’s office while Maria was being treated for a fungus infection in one of her ears, which was difficult and uncomfortable. She is home here, of course, resting.  It’s not serious, but there was no walking in the park either.

I’m persuading her to rest over the weekend. Getting Maria to rest is like getting a dog to fly, but I’m working on it. She did manage to go out and cut some flowers for me.

We’ll be home all weekend; we might sneak out to see a movie. Signing Off. Have a restful weekend. See you in the morning.

 

 

Wildflower

 

Mix of flowers.

 

Another mix of cut flowers and wildflowers.

 

 

Cut flowers and wild flowers are, I think, beautiful with one another.

Into the sun. All eyes on me.

7 June

Something Different: From Maria, “The Night Rooster” Potholders, (Just Seven) Hand-Embroidered Fabric, $25 Plus $5 Shipping

by Jon Katz

It is unique because of its rare hand-embroidered vintage center and Maria’s craftsmanship. Here is the newest potholder: The Night Rooster Potholders, $25 plus $5 shipping, offered for sale today on Maria’s Etsy Page. Only seven are being made.

Hand-embroidered vintage fabric artwork is a rarity, making the Night Rooster Potholders all the more special and unique.

You can see it and buy it on Etsy now. (There are only seven.) If you have any questions, you can e-mail Maria at [email protected].

7 June

Adventures Of Zip. We Saved Four Chipmunks In Two Days, He Got One. Come Along And See (No Casualties Here)

by Jon Katz

 

It starts out nicely, with Zip curled up on my shoulder, getting a scratch. It ends abruptly when a chipmunk pops up on the stone wall a few feet away.

I saved four baby chipmunks in the last two days; Maria saved one yesterday. Above is a photo of Zip stalking the chipmunk; below is a selfie of his face when he spots one. These are all new baby chipmunks coming out of their hole to forage for food. Zip is onto them and is picking some of them off.

(Note: no creature dies or is injured in this post.)

Maria and I can’t bear to watch the bloodshed and torture, so we each have our way of saving the babies. I clap my hands, which startles them and him and gives them a warning, and most of them scoot off. Maria grabs him by the color and holds him while his targets flee. Yesterday, I came ot of the farmhouse to shop, and he showed up with one in his mouth.

I got him to drop it once, but then he grabbed it and ran underneath the garden beds, and I couldn’t reach him. Otherwise, I clapped or coughed, and everyone got the alert.

I did get these photos of the process; they are not grim or bloody, and I finally got a good shot of one of the chipmunks. They are all newborns, I think,  and are not yet savvy about danger. They will get the lesson of their lives. Zip has a sweet side; like all cats, he has a dark side.

We need to move the chairs.

 

 

Imagine this face staring down at you in a dirt hole.

 

Zip was sitting on my lap, purring and making nice, when he spotted a chipmunk. Maria grabbed my iPhone and took the picture. I saw the chipmunk at the same time.

I clapped my hands, and the chipmunk in the photo fled into the wildflower garden. He got away. Zip gave me a disgusted look; he seemed to feel betrayed (a projection).  I believe he was.

Zip watched for a while and gave up. He ignored me for a while.

7 June

Weekend Pantry Choices From Sarah: Peanut Butter And Beef Ravioli! Please Help.

by Jon Katz

Sarah sent three choices for foods that the pantry is out of shelves. Empty shelves are discouraging. I hope we can help over the weekend; these are the choices and requests. So far, we have done a fantastic job.

The weekend items:

– 1. Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter, 16.3 Ounce (Pack of 12): $31.28.

-2. Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter, Made With Roasted Peanuts (Gluten Free) 16.3 Oz. Jar (Pack of 12), $29.92.

-3. Chief Boyardee Beef Ravioli, 15 Oz, 4 Pack, $4.48.

The food goes out of the pantry just as fast as in.

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are a favorite of the food pantry families and a staple of lunches, especially for children. The pantry’s supply, provided by the Army of Good a couple of weeks ago, is gone.

I would greatly appreciate anything you can do to help with these three foods. These will be the only food items requested until Monday. You can browse and see the updated Cambridge Pantry Wish List here.

This is a promising time for Sarah Harrington and the food pantry; they are hopeful, even in the face of real challenges. After months of searching, they finally got a new truck in good shape.

Today, they put up the overhead lights I purchased a week or so ago and also purchased carpeting for the room that houses their shelves with food—pictures to follow.

The Cambridge Food Pantry, energized by Sarah and her volunteers, has real momentum; I hope we can help it continue to build. More and more people are coming into the pantry every week, unable to afford supermarket prices for their children.

The pantry gets food from several sources, from supermarkets to pantry banks to farmers, but it doesn’t get to choose what it receives, so many of the most sought-after items are not available. We are working to fix that gap.

The food pantry is rising to the moment. We are helping and doing the same.

Thanks so much.

Sarah hauls hundreds of boxes a week.

Email SignupFree Email Signup