Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

The big storm as started, some driving snow, the winds picking up. I took a polarized photo of the storm, it captured the ominous feel of the cold and the snow.  I heard a lot from the men in town who love to gossip and alarm people sometimes, much dire talk about the storm and the damage it might wreak: downed power lines, frozen pipes, life-threatening cold.

A good friend, new to the area, was in a near panic after all of the hysteria she was hearing in down – one cafe owner suggested she might find herself without heat or food tomorrow. He scared her half to death.

I told her he loves drama, I assured her we would all be alive and functioning on Monday, and if the power got knocked out, we would all find some warm places to be, and the power crews would come to fix it.

One man at the hardware store suggested people might die.. I attribute this hyper-alarm to the commercialized and corporatized weather. It is now profitable to scare people, and make more money. yes, this is a big storm and it should be taken seriously, it should not be taken with panic because panic draws more views which means more advertising revenue.

Just a few years ago, everyone on a farm had a small radio connected to the National Weather Service, they told us what was coming in a reserved and calm way. We often had some awful weather, we never thought to panic about it. There is no point to panic about things I can’t help. I used to panic all the time about things I couldn’t change or help. I finally saw that there was no point to it.

Sadly, wisdom comes from struggle, not ease.

I just took this photo out in the rising storm. a couple of inches of snow on the ground. We put a heat bulb in the chicken roost and put their heated water inside of the coop. They won’t be going anywhere for awhile. The worst of this storm is five or six hours away. We will wake up to another world. I might sneak out in the middle of the night to take a peek at the howling winds and driving, drifting snow.

We took advantage of the approaching storm – it has started snowing here, and it is bone-chilling cold – to prime and paint our bedroom.

Today, we went to the hardware store and picked out the colors for the bedroom and bought primer, drop cloths and three gallons of paint.

We primed the bedroom walls today, and Maria is up painting the ceiling. Tomorrow, we paint the bedroom, assuming the power stays on, which I have faith it will. Maria works like a demon when she gets focused, and she is locked onto this room.

I listened to a new artist for me, while I worked. I never ever got a music steer from a congressperson before, but I saw a video done by U.S. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and she was listening to some neat music in the background.

I saw that someone asked her who it was, and she said it was Janelle Monae, and I downloaded the album “Dirty Computer.” I love this artist, she’s been playing in our house all day. I’m going to sign up for her Instagram feed.

Sheep and donkeys are desert and mountain animals, they can handle storms, but I always wish I could do more for them than I can really do. The Pole Barn has shelter on three sides and is quite deep enough for the animals to stay out of the snow, ice and wind.

They don’t like to be warm, and they don’t like to be restricted inside, I just hate to think of them out in the kind of cold we’re getting and much of the country is getting.

Tonight and tomorrow, we’re expecting between 15 and 20 inches of snow. Monday, the high temperature will be 0 degrees. There will be freezing rain and  high winds, so there will be a good chance of a power outage.

We are filling the bathtub with water, hauling buckets into the bathroom just in case. The cars are set up for plowing, windshield wipers up. Shovels and roof scrapes are out, ice melt by the back porch. I plan to help paint the bedroom as soon as I get the storm stuff all set up. Maria is already priming the bedroom wall, we plan to paint the bedroom while the storm  rages, unless the power goes.

Then, in that kind of bitter cold, we’ll be sleeping downstairs, by the wood stoves. Tonight, the menu is grass fed hamburger beef cooked with light Spaetzle noodles. We got a bottle of red wine. I’ll check in later, as long as I can.

There is a sweet coziness to all of this, I’ve got to run to the hardware store to get Maria a drop cloth and paint roller holder.

The return of the Mansion residents has been delayed for two more weeks as the repair and restoration project continues. The new date is February 1, hard news for the staff and the residents.

This afternoon, I went to the Mansion and proposed a series of outings for the residents who remain in the Mansion and those who have been evacuated to the Danforth Adult Care Center. My idea is that we take two to four residents out at a time for lunch or a drive for a cup of coffee, just to let them get outside.

The residents love to be taken outside, and love to eat out, they rarely get a lot of variety in their food, there are too many health and other restraints. I’d come by, with Maria if she can come, and we’ll pick some of the people up who need to get out.

It’s not a simple thing. The families have to be notified and given permission. There have to be at least two aides of there is more than one person. So it takes a lot of planning and schedule shifting and permission collecting, these are the parts I can’t do.

What I can do is plan the outings and drive them there and back (some will need wheelchair and walker help), and I ‘ll be happy to do that. Maria suggested that we also plan some tea parties, have tea and bring cakes and cookies and  talk to people who want to talk. The Mansion staff was enthusiastic about the idea and they will meet on Monday to try to figure out how to help me do it.

I’d like to do five to ten outings over the next two weeks, the give the residents something to look forward to, to get them outside and stimulated by a different environment, to ease their boredom and fear, and  to give them something to look forward to.

I went to call the Bingo game at the Mansion tonight with Maria – there are only six or seven residents left in the Mansion for now, and I brought puzzles, games, books, and some paper trains and crafts. They need these things more than ever, they were grateful for the 10 DVD’s I brought them yesterday.

These displaced elderly people are struggling with their new circumstance, often depressed and disoriented. I think this is the time give them some hope and joy and connection in their lives. The time for them to go home is coming, not quite here.

This is the critical part, coming up I could use some help with outings, if you care to contribute  you can do so via Paypal, [email protected] or by check, Jon Katz, Mansion Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. You can also donate easily by using major credit cards by clicking on the Support The Army Of Good button at the bottom of each post.

I thank you and the Mansion residents thank you. Small donations are as welcome as larger ones.