Day: June 8, 2013

Bedlam Farm was a grand stage for big and sweet dreams, many of them realized. For me, none was sweeter than the series of open houses/art shows we held at the farm. It was pretty splendid, there were acres for parking, wide fenced-in pastures for sheep-herding demos with Rose, and the crown jewel, the restored Pig Barn, which we turned into an art gallery for Maria and other artists to show their work. I think the first art show was the pinnacle of my life at Bedlam Farm, one of the best things that happened there.

Nearly 2,000 people came to see the art over two days and to meet, Rose, Simon, see the farm, the beautiful view, the rolling hills. It was by far the most extensive opening up of my life to the people who read my work and shared my life on the blog. Before Maria, the farm was a castle, a fortress, there was a moat all around it.  Visitors were not welcome, there were few. That weekend was the beginning of my opening, or re-opening to life, the sharing of experience. Towards the end of the hero journey, we return to the world, share what we know, what we have.

We put Bedlam Farm on the market more than a year ago, we moved last October to our new farm, and while it is beautiful and perfectly suited to us – we are very happy here – it is not as grand a stage, does not have acres of sweeping pastures, or big and available barns to turn into art galleries and display stages. This was disappointing to me, the open houses and art shows were very much what we were about and what we wanted our farm to be about. The most painful part of my visits to Bedlam Farm are looking at the beautiful Pig Barn Gallery, all gussied up with no art to show. Sometimes I think, I had it all, right there, and somehow let it go.

But that is not true, and I know that. We are doing our open house and art show again. Several times, in fact. The spirit is stronger than circumstance. This will be on a different scale, but with similar purpose and sensibility. Maria knows how to put on art shows and loves doing them. I am pleased to show Red’s spectacular work with me herding sheep and to keep on introducing the social Simon and his “Call To Life” to the world. Lulu and Fanny love to greet visitors, as does Lenore. Frieda will do her best to keep everyone away and fail.

Chickens will still be walking around, barn cats hiding in the barn. This year, we can even all go see Lulu’s Crossing, right behind the barn. We are planning three open houses this summer and one around Labor Day. Our idea is to open up the farm for several hours on a series of Sunday afternoons – the dates and times to be announced shortly. We don’t have 90 acres, but we have a quiet and beautiful 17, and that is plenty. We are not off in the beautiful hills, but right on the road for the world to drive by and see. It works fine. Rose and Izzy are gone, we don’t have a big roomy barn to display art – it is crammed with lawn mowers and tools and hay – but we have plenty of space for Maria to show her work and for people to walk around. The sheep pasture is close by and the donkeys will be mixing with the crowd. It is an intimate old farmhouse space.

I see that the new writer is part of a community, not a world unto himself, he is closer to his readers than writers used to be, the Internet spawns many things good and bad, but one of the good is a sense of community, a new ability to communicate. This is part of writing, and it is also part of being human, two things I am always working on. People used to warm me not to do this, it is dangerous, intrusive, disruptive, they said, all kinds of dangerous and crazy people will show up. That has not been the case. Our gatherings have been warm, nourishing, affirming. I am opening up, always opening up. I trust my readers as they trust me. We might not always agree, we don’t need to agree, we just keep on the path together and try and figure things out.

These gatherings are not about money or raising money. Everybody needs some time off from that. These open houses want to be fun, a celebration of life. It doesn’t really matter how grand the stage is, it matters who comes to see the play. Washington County is a beautiful place to visit and drive around. Vermont is right next door, and the Round House Cafe and Momma’s will offer rest and refreshment.

The open houses are free, and there are no collection baskets or donations for the farm. I might put up a basket for donations to the Hubbard Hall Scholarship Fund, but that is  quite optional, there are no fees or expectations. The open  houses are about connection, nothing more.  If she chooses, Maria may sell some of her artwork, and she might invite another artist or two, I don’t know, that is up to her. We will firm this up in the next day or two, and we will pass on the details. We are thinking about four three-hour open houses here at the new farm. They will all include meeting donkeys (and dogs) watching Red work and seeing some nice art.

This is an idea that wants to live, and it might, in fact, be simpler and easier at the New Bedlam Farm. Dreams don’t really have to die, they just have to adapt. We are not giving up on this one.

Red and I went to Battenkill Books today as part of my Saturday job as Recommender-In-Chief. Red is the co-Recommender-In-Chief. Red grew up on a farm in Ireland, and until recently, was never in a house or around children. He was a working dog who lived in a barn or crate. He was a bit confused coming to the bookstore at first, he wasn’t sure what the work was, but like Izzy in hospice, he figured out it was the people. Today, there were many children in the bookstore, and I was anxious at first about how Red would handle that. Border collies are skittish around sudden movements and rarely liked being grabbed or hugged. I needn’t have worried, Red enters any space I am in and joins with me, he is a wonderful dog. Even Izzy was anxious around children, and would nip at them or try and herd them if they moved too quickly or grabbed him.

Red loves the bookstore, he its in as if he grew out of the stacks. I had a wonderful time watching him, taking photos of Connie, who came in on her day off to help with the crowds. Red draws a lot of people, he makes a lot of friends, and people react to him in the most powerful way. When we came in, Connie was on the phone taking pre-orders for “Second Change Dog: A Love Story”  (Maria and I will sign and personalize any copies of that book ordered from Battenkill) and I got to talk to Sally from Coral Gables, Fla. and others who follow the blog and like to buy their books from Battenkill, a wonderful independent bookstore, my hometown bookstore.

It is quite an experience to watch Red evolve, enter our lives, adapt and learn. He is a profoundly grounded dog (mostly except when the floors are of linoleum and then he panics) and he has the ability to connect with people in the most beautiful way. Red and I are at Battenkill Books on most Saturdays from eleven a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can call the store at 518 677-2515 to see if we are there. People are delighted to see  him there, and he is careful not to bother people who don’t approach him or talk to him. If they look at him and say “hey, Red,” he will come over. Otherwise, he stays with me or lies down on his carpet. I have a photo album of this sweet experience on my Facebook page, it is up now.

A step forward for Red, a dog who never saw a child until a few months ago, he comes with me to my Saturday Recommender-In-Chief outings and today, was mobbed by a steam of adults and children. No need to worry, he took to kids the same gentle way he takes to people. I think he might need to be a therapy or hospice dog. Saturday was another show of Red’s extraordinary grounding and stability. This is a dog who, until recently, was living in a barn in Ireland and had never been in a house. I’ll put up a photo album of the bookstore dog later today on Facebook.

Also, I want to announce a series of Bedlam Farm Open Houses Maria and I have decided to hold on the farm this summer on Sunday afternoons. We are thinking of a series of two-hour Sunday open houses, a continuation of the art shows and visits we began on the first Bedlam Farm and so enjoyed. I will show Red working the sheep, Maria will show off her studio and sell some of her work, we can visit Lulu’s Crossing and see the donkeys, and, of course, Lenore and Frieda the Helldog. We will pick the dates and times shortly and Maria will post them on her website, and I will mention them here and on my Facebook page.

This is the evolution of the writer to me, no longer a remote figure holding up on the mountain, emerging for a few days each year, but part of an interactive community. The bloggers and book readers should get a chance to meet Red, see him work, meet Simon, see Maria’s studio and the sheep, and see her very creative works. So we will announce details shortly, it seems the beginning of July would be a good time. We are thinking of five or six open houses on various Sundays. Stay tuned.

Researching my Frieda book, I was able – thanks in part to the reach of the blog – to piece the story of Frieda’s life together. I knew who the breeder was, where he was, where she was dumped off the highway in the Adirondacks, generally where she lived and hunted for foraged for several years. I know where the auto body shop/junkyard was where she was used as a guard dog, I
know the family she saved from a fire, the college where she scavenged for nearly a year and enjoyed the generosity and compassion of some of the students. All of these stories are in the book.

Once I found out where she had been left, I took Frieda back to the Adirondacks. People wince when they hear of her abandonment, but I don’t think Frieda hated it so much or suffered so much. Walking in the woods with her, she was transformed, much as Red is when he enters a pasture, her ears went up, she began putting her nose to holes in the ground that I couldn’t see, she listened for sounds I couldn’t hear, the footsteps, perhaps of rabbits or wild turkeys. I think she lived the life of a dog out there, she was in her element. But she also got sore out there, got arthritis, came to savor warmth and a soft carpet to lie on.

Perhaps she is looking for her pups. She was pregnant when she was left at the side of the road.