Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

8 July

Pantry Help For Monday, July 8th: Shells And Cheese, $6.39, Stuffing Mix, $1.98 No Rest For The Weary Here.

by Jon Katz

Thanks again for your incredible support in cleaning the Cambridge Pantry Amazon Wish List yesterday. Your efforts have brought many smiles and relief to the Pantry today.

You’ve offered your hand to the hundreds of people who come to the pantry. You’ve given them a sense that they do matter, after all. You’ve given discouraged and frightened people something to take home and smile about.

There is little time to boast in this business, and life continues.

Sarah sent two more requests for food that were almost impossible to keep in stock. I looked at this list today, and these items are also inexpensive: shells, cheese, and stuffing mix.

I’ve got five or six dollars hanging around; I’ll put them to good use.

Sarah and I would be immensely grateful if you could take a moment to browse the new wish list, which was updated this morning. Your support is invaluable. Every bit helps, no matter how small.

The links for the two items in urgent need today are below:

Stuffing Mix, Chicken Flavor, 6 Oz, $198.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese, Saude Meal (3 Ct Pack, 12 Oz Boxes), $6.39.

For Sarah and the volunteers, there is no end to the work and planning they need to do. Sarah gets one day off a week but always seems to be working. There is no rest at this non-profit. Eating is something people need to do every day.

Pastor Jim Cramer, head of the Cambridge Pantry Board.

We have lifted her spirits and the growing number of working-class people who cannot afford the high prices of food at supermarkets. Morale matters. This has been good for me. We all need a way to feel good and enrich our humanity.

I am sure we can keep it up. It’s a powerful antidote to hate and despair. Thanks again.

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Beautiful Morning

8 July

Beautiful (Warm) Morning At Bedlam Farm, Monday, July 8. Maria Slings Manure, Zip Has A New Man Cave, Sheep Shade One Another, Just Another Day

by Jon Katz

Another warm and humid day. Spring lasted a couple of days. We are luckier than many. I’m thinking of the people in Florida getting destroyed again. More later. It is cooler in the morning, though, and we both get up early to walk around the farm, check on animals, and take our photos and videos. I realized that I was missing a lot of the feeling and beauty of the farm by waiting until later in the day, when I also go out, often in my bathrobe.

(This photo speaks of heat.)

Zip is a genius at drawing attention and being part of whatever happens. We’ve been bringing wood out to our pagan celebrations of daylight. Zip has made the sood pile his new cave, watching the world and peering out, perhaps hoping to catch a mouse. Could you come along for the walk? This is a beautiful place, no matter the weather. The animals all tell their own stories. I hope to get to the Mansion this morning for my meditation class.

Zip, always a good and eager poser, has found a new cat cave underneath our burn pile in the pasture. He has many hiding and cooling places.

Portrait, Maria cleaning up the Pole Barn.

I am giving shade to one another in the heat.

Asher is scratching an itch.

Talking with Robin.

We were standing still in the heat.

Maria’s garden.

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Maria's Monday Morning Video

8 July

Good Monday Morning Video From You Tube From Maria. Mornings On The Farm We Love. Walk With Her.

by Jon Katz

Also, you can see Maria’s Good Monday Morning videos on her blog, fullmoonfiberart.com. They also will run here every Monday morning.

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Zip

7 July

Me And Zip: Dogs Don’t Want An Independent Life. Zip Demands It.

by Jon Katz

Zip has grasped and embraced my love of flower photos; he is present whenever I step outside to take a picture or walk over to the garden bed. He jumps onto the table to say hello, gets his rubbing and stroking, then leaves abruptly to sit on the table or nap and hang around my feet.

He stays close until I get up and walk away. He leaves quietly and without complaint.

Sometimes, while on a murderous hunt, Zip doesn’t show up, and I miss him. Zinnia, as wonderful a dog as she is, is not interested in my photography; when I take the camera out, she heads off towards the barn, hoping for something disgusting to eat.

The animal rights people think me cruel for not bringing Zip into the house at night in the winter, but Zip and I have a beautiful contrast. We unite, exchange love and affection, and then separate.

I have a human I love to sleep next to, and Zinnia occupies the rest of our bed. I don’t need anything else at night, and I told Zip today that we each had our secrets and love lives, and we both respect that.

I’m not ready to hug him, but he thinks of something. That’s the thing I most love about Zip. He shows his interest and affection, and I love and respect his independence, which I find fascinating. Dogs don’t want independence. Zip demands it. He is a barn cat.

He is my associate and muse when taking a flower photo. He gets it; I see it in his eyes. (Photo By Maria Wulf)

_____

“Winter. Time to eat fat
and watch hockey. In the pewter mornings, the cat,
a black fur sausage with yellow
Houdini’s eyes jump up on the bed and tries
to get onto my head. It’s his
way of telling whether or not I’m dead.
If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am
He’ll think of something…”

by Margaret Atwood

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Flower Art

7 July

Flower Art: Study In Bright Sun, July 7, 2024 – Flower Paintings. The Wildflowers Meet The Garden Flowers And Dance Together And Squint Together…

by Jon Katz

One of the many things I am learning to love about flowers is the way they die so beautifully. We, humans, live way too long and take so much longer to die that we lose some of our characters. Flowers begin to die almost the minute they start to bloom. They often become more beautiful and have great character.

I love how this Calendula flower from my garden bed is beginning to die; it is more beautiful than ever.

Today began an experiment in bright sunshine and how it impacts light coming through – right through – the flowers.

It was powerfully beautiful and about 90 degrees; the sun was blinding and drove me inside after 15 or 20 minutes. As a diabetic with heart disease, I’m again warned to stay inside on days like this, but I go out for short periods, drink lots of water, and then go inside in front of an air conditioner. I’m not going to hide inside all day every time it gets hot.

I wanted the exposure to capture the brightness and strength of the light; we were in the middle of a heat alert.

Tomorrow, I am told, will be hotter, a day for me to stay indoors except for some brief forays out in the morning. I’ll try. I hope you can sense what I did with these flowers; they stirred and inspired me. The lighter, the more beautiful it is, at least for me.
I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Tomorrow, a good friend and a great storyteller are coming over to learn how to start their blog, and I’m excited. She will be wonderful writing on a blog. As almost everyone gets frightened at first, she used to say that she didn’t want to ever be on the Internet; she was afraid of social media. Aren’t we all? I said, you learn to get past it – the freedom to tell your story is worth it. The delete button is a friend. So is the blocking button.