Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

Red may have his back and leg  troubles, but he has a lot of eye power, and it froze Rosemary right in her tracks today.

Red is almost totally blind in one eye (cataracts) and has limited vision in the other, but he still comes out to work with the sheep twice a day and he still has the strong eye of the border collie around sheep.

Fate, wonderful dog thought she is, does not have the eye, I’ve never seen  her  use it on the sheep. I love the way Red is working now, I don’t ask him to do outruns or send him off to run, but so far, he is managing to do what he needs to do and what we need him to do.

Red is a remarkable working animal, he never quits on his work, as I hope I will never quit on mine.

To mark the Winter Solstice, Maria made a pillow for me, the symbols and markings are inspired by the pagan celebrations of the first day of winter, and the beginning of the longer day. I appreciate being married to an artist.

We have a friend,

At Christmas, I think of her spirit,

her generosity and warmth,

her hard love and hard work,

her love of her family, for whom

she has worked so hard,

and for so long.

We have a friend, she is nameless,

faceless in so many ways,

she reminds me of my own life,

my sweet grandmother,

We have a friend, she is

the little pawn in a big game

played by angry and cold men.

We have a friend,

her heart is as big as an oak tree,

she works day and night,

every day of the week, in broiling sun

and bitter cold.

We have a friend,

she does not know how to whine

or complain, or lie.

We have a friend,

who is a strong woman,

when I ask if I can take her  picture,

she smiles and says, “thank you,”

We have a friend

we wish her the happiest of Christmases,

a prosperous and peaceful,

and safe New Year.

We have a friend,

she wishes you all the same.

We took Fate and Bud to the town dump today, they are excited to see Bob, they trade hugs and kisses and biscuits and donuts, on a good day.

Bob is one of the people  who has the Christmas spirit every day of the year, it is a part of his life and soul, not just something to trot out between shopping trips in December.

He is always ready to lend a hand, to carry a can, to hug the dogs, to give them treats, to say hello, to be warm and courteous. His is a generous spirit.

Since my open heart surgery (which I don’t know how he heard about), I have never been able to carry a garbage can from the car to the receptacle, he just ignores my claims that I can handle it.

Bob is not one of those people who has to be asked to do good. And his love of dogs is pure and powerful, as is there love for him. Dogs are among the world’s best readers of character and good energy.

Fate knew Bob first, but Bud has joined in with great enthusiasm.

That good energy radiates from Bob and he and the dogs had a special Christmas celebration today at the dump, a shower of wiggles, licks, and treats.

Merry Christmas to you Bob, you are really what Christmas is all about, from Christmas to Christmas and in between.

I’ve never had as much response to a photograph (except for Red when he came) as I have had to this photograph, I call it the “Morning Path.”

So we are still offering it for sale. In the photographic world in 2018, a huge sale is not really huge – I’ve sold about 18 prints.

But in the age of the cell phone camera, that is a lot, it is the new huge. I don’t charge $1,000 for my photos.

But I’ve had a few hundred messages about it, and Maria is selling it on her Etsy Shop for $125 plus shipping. In the world of art photography, that is considered a bargain.

I like the idea of my photos going out into the world – I see them as angels sailing forth to brighten walls and lives, that’s why I never copyright or bookmark them. I lowered the price of this by $5 because there was so much interest.

It’s not much, but all I can afford to do.

I charge enough to cover costs and make a small profit.

The photo will be printed on the highest quality rag paper by my incredibly gifted and conscientious printer, the Image Loft In Manchester, Vt. There are not many people in the world who care as much as they do about the quality of their work (and mine.)

The print is 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches.

The photos will be signed and unframed and shipped in a the strongest available tube. It takes about two weeks to print them and send them off.

You can see the photo here. Thanks for your interest in it, this reaffirms my love of photography. The photo just seems to grab people.

I took it at sunrise about two weeks ago, I saw the sun through the trees from my bedroom window and rushed outside minutes before the mist started to burn out. I think the power of the photo is the idea of taking a path to a better place.

I think this is something we all need to feel these days. I just love it that photographs can sometimes do that. And isn’t that the point?

Photography has radically altered my life, it has helped me to see the world anew. I love taking pictures like this, and it means the world to me that people like them enough to want to buy them.

The Christmas shopping season is blessedly ending, and I imagine a lot of people have no money left. But one woman in California said she was buying the photo as a “gift for me.” That was neat.

So in you are interested, take a look, Maria says she’s willing to sell the photo as long as even one person wants it.  Thanks for liking it so much. And happy holidays.