Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

16 August

Flower Art, Friday, August 16, 2024. Imagineering. Walking Through The Clouds.

by Jon Katz

“Colour is one of the great things in the world that makes life worth living to me, and as I have come to think of painting, it is my efforts to create an equivalent with paint color for the world, life as I see it.” – Georgia O’Keeffe.

I’ve written for years that I am addicted to color and light, but I didn’t quite understand what that meant until I began taking photos of flowers and studying their light. In two weeks, I will have some eye surgery to keep me seeking the color, and I look forward to it. I never compare myself to O’Keeffe, although she inspires me every day.

She often speaks my mind and heart.

I laughed with a friend today who blurted out a story about someone who had the same surgery (cataract surgery in two weeks), coughed, and had a needle damage his eye by a startled doctor. Ouch. She immediately realized this wasn’t a good story to be telling me.

We both laughed. She said she didn’t know why she had told me that story, that she was sorry, and that I had to laugh with her. I’ve yelled out many things that I regret, and I am very fond of her; she has been good to me. I didn’t want her to feel bad. We both like to laugh.

Maria and I were chuckling about it. I assured my friend that it didn’t hurt and that we would keep it a joke; I promised to tease her.

It reminded me that no matter how conscious we are of what we should say, it’s human nature to say things we don’t mean to. I’ve done it too many times to count.

Humans are the only animals who know they will die and can forgive life’s minor bumps.

The story took me aback for a minute, but I have no fear of the surgery; cataract surgery isn’t remotely as dangerous as open heart surgery or even having a toe amputated. But it is surgery and deserves respect.

I fell into one of those funks this afternoon. I was out in the sun too long and got burned. And it was a difficult emotional week for me. I got exhausted today. I didn’t realize how hot it was and how much I was reacting to it. Will I ever really grasp that this kind of heat is dangerous? I’m trying.

Here are my flower art photos. I worked hard on them and had great fun with them. I used the IPhone 15 Pro Max camera and my Leica SLR Mirrorless.

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The Cambridge Food Pantry

16 August

The Cambridge Pantry Volunteer T-Shirts. One Day They’ll Be Available To Everybody.

by Jon Katz

Sarah Harrington, the Cambridge Food Pantry’s Executive Director, is skilled at many things. She is a designer by training, and in addition to running the food pantry and fighting for its patronage, she is working hard to bring a sense of community to it.

She acknowledges the volunteers’ hard work and shows her appreciation.

I enjoy working with her. Her latest good idea is classy T-Shirts for the many hard working pantry volunteers.

She is also re-designing the food pantry to make it brighter and more modern. She is also a wicked grant seeker.

She is bringing tremendous energy, lifting the morale of the volunteers, and touching the community, her community, and beyond. I’m urging her to sell them and raise money for the pantry through the Army Of Good.

She is the person who invited me to be an advocate for the pantry, and that has worked out well (to say the least.)

One of Sarah’s designs, these T-shirts, made a significant impact at the Memorial Day Parade for the Food Pantry. They were a huge hit, drawing attention to the cause and the hard work of the volunteers.

The T-shirts have been ordered for volunteers only. I don’t wear T-shirts, but I asked for one for Maria. I know she would love the design. She works as a volunteer at the pantry every week.

I love the sense of community and achievement that Sarah is bringing to the pantry; it’s exciting to watch her work. It’s also been a great gift to me; it gives significant meaning to my life and work and has fired up Ithe Army of Good.

The world needs good deeds right now, community, and empathy.

We’re due for a Compassion Revolution.

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The Cambridge Food Pantry

16 August

Sarah’s Plea For Friday: The Most Popular Pasta, $7.47, And One Of The Most Popular Meal Flavorings, $1.42. Baby Days For The Weekend, Diapers And Wipes

by Jon Katz

This is another chance to make many of the Cambridge Food Pantry’s patrons happy for pennies.

Sarah tells me that Velveeta shells and cheese disappear faster than any other pasta and are very difficult for the pantry to get from the food bank (they can only offer what the bank sends them.)

Turkey stuffing mix is one of the most requested foods for one of the healthiest dinners. It’s also pretty damn cheap.

Today, both items are on the list of urgently needed items.

The turkey stuffing is especially popular now that cooler weather is coming, so it’s suitable for a hearty meal this fall. I am learning a great deal about food, hunger, and choices. Sarah is educating me.

Velvette Shells And Cheese, Original Shell Pasta & Cheese, Saude Meal (3ct Pack, 12 Oz Boxes), $7.47.

Amazon Fresh, Stuffing Mix Turkey Flavor, 6 Oz, $1.42

Note: You can visit and order from the Cambridge Food Pantry Amazon Wish List anytime, day or night, seven days a week. You can choose what you wish to donate and when and for how much money. You control all of it; there are no middle-man fees or administrative charges.

There are now 12 items listed on the wish list we use. Sarah updates them several times a day. Everything on the list is something the pantry is out of running out of or can’t get. Every donation matters; it lifts morale, offers sorely missed food, and is as inexpensive as we can muster. Thanks so much for supporting it.

P.S. Our weekend food is for Baby Support, diapers, and wet wipes. Both are on the Wish List now if anyone wants to get a jump on the weekend. I start or end every day by buying one item for the food pantry. I wake up feeling good and so right to sleep. Both items are on the wish list here. Remember to click the green button at the bottom of every blog post here.

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Beautiful Morning

16 August

Beautiful Morning At Bedlam Farm. Gorgeous Sunrise, His Majesty Zip, Gets A New Castle And Watching Post. How Many Ways Are There To Spoil A Cat?

by Jon Katz

Every morning, Zip sits on his wood debris throne to stare at the marsh and watch for his nemesis, Alvin the Chipmunk. We burned his first wood pile hideout the other day; it was getting too big. Maria went out and collected some fallen maple and other limbs and built another one for him this morning. He went to it right away and held court.

This is now Zip’s favorite thing to do in the morning. He goes to the wood pile right after getting his morning breakfast. I would like to know if there is an afterlife and how I might arrange to be one of Maria’s animals.

Zip loves to sit in his wood pile for an hour or two. Zip is like me in at least one way: we love to silently sit outside and stare at the world. How many ways are there to spoil a cat, a dog, a hen, a sheep, or a donkey?

Beautiful sunrise through the mist.

Next to Zip and Zinnia, Fanny and Luly are the two most spoiled animals on Bedlam Farm, Bud moving up the line. Every morning, Maria picks up the fallen apples off the ground and feeds them to the donkeys; I love the sound of their crunching and drooling. She takes a basket full into the house to make applesauce, which is delicious.

We usually bring Zinnia and Fate into the pasture in the morning. They don’t like it when we don’t.

Asher checks me out. He’s looking for apples from the apple tree, one of the very few sheep we have who eats apples.

St. Joseph watches the hills become visible in the mist.

Lulu is our guard donkey; she watches out for the sheep day and night. They know it, too; they all gather around her when there is trouble—Woe to the strange dog or coyote that comes near the sheep without her permission. She never bothers our dogs.

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16 August

Sue Silverstein Needs Our Help And Support – Donations And A New Art Supply Wish List Coming

by Jon Katz

Note: When I first met Sue Silverstein, she was going broke buying food and clothing for needy refugee children. Catholic school teachers don’t make much money; I talked her into doing a series of successful Amazon Wish Lists for her art supplies. The Army of Good responded with great heart and generosity. Now, as the new school year approaches, Sue is out buying things again for her art student, and once again, I have pressured her – she hates to ask for money – to prepare a Wish List so that her students will have the supplies they need to do the fantastic art she has been teaching then how to do. We’ll put up this new Bishop Gibbons Amazon Art Class Wish List shortly; please be on the lookout for it. I’ll make noise about it on the blog and support it all the way. As you can read below in her 16th Friday column, she also needs more of the donated objects she has used so brilliantly all year and that so many of you have been generous enough to provide. Thanks for supporting her. School teachers should not have to spend their very hard-earned wages on supplies, tissues, and snacks. She has spent most of her life helping children; she never lets them down, and we will never let her down. – Jon Katz

News from the Art Room 16-Summer Edition

The days of August, especially the last two weeks…..

A teacher I know went to the dollar store for tissues and spent 65$. There were just so many cool classroom things: tissues, of course, and….the cutest little paint mixing cups with lids, dish soap, hand soap, the ever-important stain remover, bags of colored stones (so pretty), glue sticks, and amazing metal sunflowers. I can say with certainty that all my fellow teachers do the same thing. I am getting super excited about the lessons I have been working on this vacation. Watch for some utterly amazing art this year!

I will add a set design component to the Fall semester’s 3D Design and Sculpture Class. I have put together many lessons about the design and creation of sets. I cannot say what the school musical will be (big secret), but we will be helping create some incredibly fun set designs.

I was away from school for most of this week. I had some things to care for, and the fabulous maintenance staff stripped and waxed my floors. There are many moving parts in the art room, so it is not easy to empty the room and put everything back. I appreciate them so much. They wanted it to be all set for me to come back next week. So many good people bless me.

Near the end of the month, Jon kindly offered a wish list for all the disposable things we need to make our program work. I genuinely do not know how to thank him for all he has done for us and has done for the past years. He is the most compassionate man I know.

As we get closer to being back in business full-time, I am still seeking donations of everything you feel could be turned into art! Wire, gauze, plaster, shutters, glassware, paint, canvas, printing materials, maps, stamps, sandpaper, wood scraps, and all the other amazing things you can think of would be so helpful. If you are local and have smallish pieces of furniture you would like to see repurposed, we are always looking! I even did a dresser for my house this summer that I bought for ten dollars at a church sale. The students love to make old things new!

I love hearing from you. My email is [email protected].

Have a blessed day!

Sue

ND-BG

2600 Albany Street

Schenectady, New York 12304