Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

April light is so different than March light. April light and October light are my two favorite months for taking pictures. In the late afternoon, when I think of, I take my camera and go out and look at the sunset work its magic over our little valley, the old farmhouse down the road catching the last of the afternoon sun.

In five minutes the old farmhouse was in shadow, and a half hour later, the night had gobbled up my April light and my farm  down the road.

Tonight, for the first time, we hear peepers in the pasture.

Bud is not into subtlety when it comes to herding sheep. Izzy was off by himself and Bud is good at this, he took off and got around him and drove him (chased?) him back to the flock.

The sheep banded together when Izzy arrived, almost as if they had called a meeting to decide what to do with this little and loud pest who guards Red and went out and chased them back to the flock.

Susie came forward, not impressed by Bud and his barking. This is where the border collie “eye”comes in, Bud does not have many tools in the shed when it comes to actually moving the sheep where he wants them to go.

They touched noses, Susie wouldn’t blink and Bud wouldn’t back off.

He dare not get too close, or he could get smushed, the sheep seem more puzzled by him than anything, and when they are banded together, they resist. They simply gather to stare him down. No way, they seem to be saying.

Red was on the other side of the flock, keeping a close eye on things. I think he can’t bear to look. Bud stared at Susie, barked some more, ran around the flock a few times, and came over to me hoping for a treat.

After a few Bud barks, offering with menacing growls,  the sheep slowly moved away. The sheep had a kind of “screw you” attitude and moved away slowly.

Bud seemed to take this as a great triumph and puffed his chest out. He declared victory and took off for the farmhouse. It was cold.

Dog love is a pure kind of love, it lifts the spirits on a rainy morning, warms the heart on a cold winter day, lifts the soul with its warmth and acceptance. This morning, Maria sat down on the footstool and was enveloped in dogs. Dog love  heals.

This morning, I thought about the importance of working to stay in the now, to not look back or think about the future, but just to ask myself where I am right now.

Today, I am thankful.

For, two refugee children and their prospects: Eh K Pru Shee Wah, who spend 10 of her 13 years in a refugee camp, and her admittance to the Albany Academy.

For Noorul Hotak of Aghanistan, a academic whiz whose father died trying to  heal sick children, and  who has been invited to visit the school and take their admittance test.

For Kathy Sosa, a teacher in a middle school,  and her help in identifying refugee children with great gifts, and for fighting for them, and also for asking me to help them take a class trip to the FDR home in Hyde Park, N.Y.

My program to get full scholarships for gifted refugee children is off to a good start.

For Cynthia Daniello’s new blog The Never Ending Song, she has affirmed the promise of a meaningful life at any age.

For Christopher Lauricella, the Headmaster of the Albany Academy, who doesn’t just talk about diversity, but is making it happen.

For Maria and her continuing evolution as a successful artist and a strong human being. She sold almost all of her scarves in just a few minutes.

For Bud, who is weaving himself into the lives of Bedlam Farm, our Peaceable Kingdom. And who seems to be doing some herding of sheep.

For Red, who clings to dignity and loyalty and his compassionate therapy work in the face of continuing decline.

For our donkeys Lulu and Fanny, who communed with us over the warm and beautiful weekend.

For our new podcast, Katz and Wulf On Bedlam Farm, to be introduced by Simon’s bray, the Call to Life.

For Ruth and Wayne at the Mansion, who have given me the honor of officiating at their Commitment Ceremony, and for Wayne for asking me to be his Best Man.

And for my very rewarding few months fulfulling a dream, my radio show “Talking To Animals.” It was worth every minute.

These are all affirmations for me, signs that life is beautiful and hope is precious. I believe we were meant to share and to do good. Here’s to all of you and to small acts of great kindness.

More computer troubles today, I’m taking the computer out today in search of help. Grandma Moses was right. Life is what you make of it.

Later.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, and I would normally be poring through my growing stack of canine and animal reference books in preparation for my weekly radio show, “Talking To Animals.”

I’ve loved learning so much about animals and their intelligence and consciousness.

I’m sorry to say I won’t be on the radio tomorrow, or in the foreseeable future. For reasons beyond my control, the program is taking a breather, and I can’t say if it will return to the air or not.

In the meantime, Maria and I will move ahead with our plans to publish a weekly or even more than weekly, podcast, details to come. We are putting the podcast together now,  Simon’s bray, his “Call To Life” will be our opening music.

I will be candid, I am sad about my radio show, I came to look forward to Wednesday.

I met some great people in the phone, including Cynthia Daniello, who started her own blog, The Never Ending Story, this morning. She was a regular caller, the first one every week. She has lots to say.

You can e-mail her with your questions and comments about life or dogs or almost any animal: you can e-mail her at [email protected] or [email protected].

Life goes on. And on. I don’t wait for it.

Please do message Cynthia. She is a remarkable 84-year-0ld full of life and determination. She has an amazing background as an author, poet and animal lover.

On my broadcast, I loved talking to animal lovers about their pets, I loved trying to help them deal with the problems that face all pet and animal lovers.

I am  glad I helped a few people and their dogs. I was happiest when talking to people who loved animals, that was the draw for me.

The broadcast was a long-held dream of mine, and I worked very hard at it. It was just beginning to catch fire with plenty of calls and messages and questions pouring in to me from all over the world.

We did this with  no money or support from the station, which had no resources to offer.

We got pretty far.

I have to say I thank WBTNAM for letting me have two hours a week of their air time, and I especially thank the quite remarkable Thomas Toscano, my friend and the station manager, for agreeing to host the broadcast, and for helping me with the technical aspects of the program, and for engaging in a dialogue with me on the air that was stimulating, entertaining and intelligent.

I never did get him to turn on the phone switch when we were talking, I think he liked to talk without interruption. He is, after all, a conductor. But it was never easy to get through.

Thomas is a fascinating man, a composer and conductor by trade and disposition, cast into a new role as a community radio station director, he works brutally long hours and pretty much runs the station by himself. Too much work for any single human. Wherever he lives, he has Brooklyn and the Bronx written all over him. His dukes are always up.

I loved taking photographs of his wild Toscanini eyes.

We became friends, I think, or were getting closer, and I should be clear that there was and is no difficulty between us, he supported the program in every way that he could, and we worked seamlessly together.

We had some great conversations about animals and life. He was stimulating and fun. If you think I’m a curmudgeon, you ought to spend some time with him. Sometimes, I felt like the Muppet Fozzi The Bear around him.

We had a rich and effective chemistry. We complimented one another well, he zigged when I zagged.

Our egos worked well together, they didn’t collide.

Thomas is a true creative. It was a pleasure to work with him, and I wish him every possible success. I hope we can build on our friendship.

I will miss our Wednesday lunches, I usually stopped at an Asian restaurant nearby and brought Bento Boxes before Thomas went on the Miami diet in preparation for some surgery. We always had lots to talk about, Thomas is the biological opposite of boring.

I can’t talk about the reasons for the hiatus, it involves the station, not me, and is not my business.

They were nothing but nice to me.

It was on “Talking To Animals” that Maria and I – she called in every week –  both realized we should be doing a creative project together, sharing our lives and minds and farm with our readers, and now, listeners.

Thomas loved Maria and saw her natural gift for this work right away.

The first call to my show was from Italy, the second from California. That was how it went. We got calls from all over the world, from Kentucky to Canada to Texas. People just found us. The blog has a lot of punch.

I thank the good people who got through, on the phone. They were brave and determined. The station’s equipment dates back to the Korean War, and Thomas was never a big fan of phone calls.

I had to rely on my blog and my readers, and I was happy that so many people started listening – it is not easy to listen to WBTNAM either. Community radio is important to me and many other people, I hope we gave them a lift.

I hope they survive.

I worked very hard to research and understand every question, I was very happy when people called back and said many of my suggestions work. I was close to 100 per cent. There is nothing that makes me happier than being useful.

I think the show inspired the podcast idea in me, I saw that I could make my own radio in my own way in my own study. Everyone with a microphone and broadband is a radio show.

Maria is excited about it as well, it seems very natural to us, and I think “Talking To Animals” inspired it, so it was worth doing for that reason alone.

I learned once more to follow my dreams and attempt the impossible and work hard. As I said to Thomas last week, we did it. And we did.

I am sad but proud. I will be pretty depressed tomorrow at one p.m. But not for too long.

In the next weeks and beyond, I’m going to focus my creative media energies on our podcast – Katz and Wulf On Bedlam.  There is a vast audience out there for podcasts, and we might even be able to flush out an ad or two.

The podcast should be up and running shortly, there will be a podcast button on every blog post, and a library for past broadcasts.

The podcast is free, donations from contented listeners will be appreciated.

Thanks for your support, and keep the questions coming. We will answer as many of them as we can  on our podcast. I won’t pretend to be happy about not having my show on the air, but I see it as a beginning, not an end.

Life is a series of chapters, one after the other. Tomorrow, we begin a new one.

Audio, Figuring Out the Sign In For the Podcast. Come and listen: