I was driving to Vermont to buy a birch tree for our yard, and a gathering storm rushed out to greet me. The sky was alive and uncertain, the clouds grew dark but the sun shone warmly and brightly on the Green Mountains, just ahead of us. I think it was showing us all it had to offer.
The Bedlam Farm Spring Open House is less than two weeks away – June 25, 26 – the weather forecast is wonderful. The Open Houses were begun as an art show and a festival for creative encouragement, we have never publicized them anywhere but on our blogs and in announcements in local newspapers. The first one drew more than 1,500 people to Bedlam Farm in West Hebron, subsequent ones have ranged from eight or nine hundred to 1,500.
In recent years, I felt the Open Houses had drifted a bit from their original purpose – to showcase gifted and deserving artists in a show curated by Maria, and to share our lives and animals with friends, fans and readers. This year, it feels like we are getting back on track – art, community and hope are what the Open House is about.
For those coming for the first time, a chance to meet us, see our animals, watch Red and Fate do their thing with the sheep, learn about donkeys and maybe get close to them, and see a celebration of the art of rural life: shearing, hoof trimming, talks by Ed Gulley, our artist/farmer friend.
Joshua Rockwood will be coming by, Scott Carrino will sing some songs for us, some poets will read from their work (Jackie Thorne will read from her very new book, Going To Ground), Mary Kellog will read from her third volume of poetry, How To Dance.
I’ll talk about my next book, Talking To Animals, and our work here communicating with animals. My friend Cathy Stewart, a member of the Creative Group at Bedlam Farm and a New York-based political activist will be here to help me stay focused and organized and keep things moving.
We will have a blackboard listing times and schedules, we will even try to hold to them. Maria will be holed up in the Schoolhouse Studio overseeing art sales, of which I think there will be many. She has assembled an extraordinary group of artists, their works is both exciting, original and affordable. Tyler Lindenholl will return to help manage traffic, crowds and parking. I hope to meet some of you here, we are pleased to open our farm up to the public and share our lives with you.
This year, we are asking for a voluntary $5 donation to help defray some of the rising costs of hosting the Open Houses, from portable toilets to hiring some staff, etc. If you don’t have the money, feel free to come anyway, no one will be keeping track. Feel free to bring some carrots or horse cookies, please, no dogs. Donkeys really hate strange dogs.
We have rented two Portable Toilets, we cannot, unfortunately, open up the farmhouse to the public.
In town, the Round House Cafe will be open for breakfast and lunch, Heather will be selling beads and socks, Battenkill Books will be open for browsing, Jack Metzger will be at Jack’s Outback selling his wonderful antiques and historical pieces and his own art.. Famed photographer George Forss will be here to do portraits, one of the great photographic bargains in all of the arts. Deb Foster will be conducting donkey and horse tours, our shearer Jim McRae will sing songs, dance and shear sheep, Ed Glley will talk about his new life as an artist and his long-time life as a farmer.
For those of you who want to meet Kelly at the Bog, she will be working there Sunday night.
Lots of people come every year, the Open Houses have a kind of family feeling to them, almost a re-union for some, a new experience for others. Children are welcome, but please keep an eye on them, there are animals, cars and lots of people around. And do not let your children chase the chickens, it is not fun for them. Chickens can die of fright and shock.
Some of the students from my writing class will be on hand. June Open Houses tend to be quieter, smaller and more intimate than the October Open Houses. This one has a great feel for us, Maria and I both feel as if we are returning to our roots, a simple, busy full two days celebrating art, creativity, sharing our good loves, giving thanks and offering hope.
Open Houses can be chaotic for me, I don’t feel comfortable resting or hiding while all sorts of people are coming by hoping to say hello. I love showing off the dogs and their training to people, it is a joy for me. By Sunday, I’m shot, and so is Maria, but we are also exhilarated.
This Open House feels very good to me. More than ever, art, community, and hope are important. We will be honoring all three.
I dare to believe it will be a healing weekend in many ways, for us, hopefully for you. Details will be posted on Maria’s website. It’s really her show, I just do the herding and animal tours. Cambridge is a wonderful town, a place of connection and community. I hope some of you will get to explore it a bit, we are lucky to be here.
Details here.
We went to the Gulleys today, Maria wanted to take a video of Ed Gulley for the Open House next week – June 25-26. Ed and Carol had their portable studio out, they were painting their wooden flowers and Ed showed us his new creation, made from an old sawblade, he calls her Mahonga Heila, I call her Ms. Hedgehog. It is the coolest kind of thing for a lawn, people are already trying to buy it.
Ed is bringing all of his creations to the Open House next week, and we are excited for him and for Carol, the artist inside of him is shrieking to get out, and it is coming out. Ed is a sculptor as well as a folk artist, and he will also give a talk at the Open House about farming and his blog and his art. We are very happy to know him and Carol.
I love the way the Zeiss portrait lens handles color and background. I took the shot a little too close, it was a bit blurry, but I liked it, it worked, it showed Carol Gulley with Grissom, one of her Aussies. Maria and I went over to the Gulleys so she could take a video of him in advance of next week’s Open House. The big thing I have to learn is focus, I am good with the rest. I wish my eyes were a bit younger.
The shots look crystal clear in the viewfinder but the image is distorted a bit. I’ll get there.
My new (used) Zeiss 85 mm portrait lens came today, and the first portrait I tried was of Maria. This lens is my first manual focus lens, and while I sometimes shoot manually, it will take some getting used to. I like it so far, it has the most beautiful depth of field and Maria went about her business patiently while I annoyed her by taking photos of her. I like this one, the lens is exciting for me. But I have some learning and experimenting to do.
