Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

11 February

Beautiful Sky, A Beautiful Morning, Sunday, February 11, 2024. Birds, Clouds, Donkeys

by Jon Katz

We made breakfast at home today, the only place we’ve gone is to the Farmer’s Market, on winter schedule I got a new blue head cap for the winter, some lobster mean, some tea from Casey, some scones, some lobster meat, and crabcakes, we also got some goat cheese from Cindy the Goat Lady and I picked up the soap I made last week in my soap making class. It came out nicely, a photo later.

This is a beautiful and restful day.


With my new lens, I can get close enough to birds to capture the image without them knowing. I’m’ eager to go out and take some nature pictures. The new lens is a game-changer. It was a good move on my part, although it scared the hell out of me.

Animals share food on the farm. Maria dropped some old vegetables and fruit in the pasture, and one of the hends came over to share in the feast. The donkeys are generous, they didn’t mind.

 

This morning, the landscapes were especially beautiful as the sun began to rise.

 

Sheep grazing in the back pasture. As long as they see the ground, they will graze. I got the photo from the top of the hill, thanks to my new lens.

10 February

The New Lens: Stepping Back

by Jon Katz

For the first time, I extended my new 100-400 zoom lens to 400 feet. I was literally on the other side of the yard when I took this shot of a bird at the feeder. I can adjust the focus so that the bird is razor-sharp clear and the twigs soft but I just wanted to see how the new camera would work at the maximum range of the lens.

I liked the atmosphere and the attitude. I’m not looking for calendar photos of birds, I want to set the scene. I know how to move near where the bird will be in focus, not the branches. This lens is a gem.  The farther away I am, the more the birds come out. In two months or sooner, they won’t be feeding out of the feeder at all, but with this lens, I can catch them in the trees while they sing.

10 February

Photo Album, Bedlam Farm, Saturday, February 10. Sun And Rain. Ride Through Vermont, Beautiful Dusk.

by Jon Katz

I had a lot of driving to do today. First, I had to get to Bennington to get some fresh Cannabis I use to help me get to sleep. I got a few new gummies that help me decompress after a day of writing and more writing. The sleeping gummies have been a complete success, the daytime calmdown gummies are still a work in progress.

I have to buy my cannabis in Vermont, the New York State program is a catastrophe. I won’t buy my cannabis illegally.

Then I went to make a giant grocery shop, also in Bennington. (Maria does the muscle work, I do the shopping).

I also went into town to buy something for Valentine’s Day.

Maria suspects I got something for her, but I have no comment to make about what I bought. We have both agreed not to buy presidents for one another on Valentine’s Day another of those holidays with murky, mostly commercial, meaning.

I got home just in time to see the rain clouds show up and drown out the sun. It will be raining for a few hours. Maria was home from a friend’s lunch and when I pulled into the driveway she was sitting with Zip in her lap, looking out at the world.

Zip loves and loves to be loved. It works. He fully trusts the both of us now.

Tomorrow, back to the farmer’s market and then a day of rest. Monday we go downstate to check out a new knitting mill for our sheep’s wool.

We’re meeting with the new mill owner in Columbia County to see if he can spin some yarn for Maria and her sheep. Rumor has it he was a successful Broadway actor. Next Thursday, another implant. The week after, another toe surgery. All is well.

 

Horses on the way to Vermont.

The yellow barn is my favorite standing barn for my pictures.

Rte 68 in Vermont, dusk as a new storm blows in.

For the first time, I opened up my 100-400 to its maximum telephoto lens. I was about 30 ars away when I took this photo. That’s the lonest shot I took, and look at the detail from that far. It will help me with bird and nature pictures, but also with flowers and other pictures.

Dusk, and it started to get dark and windy early. I was trying to catch the mood, shooting right through the apple tree limbs.

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