8 August

The Sucking Up To Chickens Campaign

by Jon Katz
Sucking Up To Chickens

In one way or another, I love all of the animals on the farm, but I have drifted apart from some – mostly the chickens and the sheep. I adore the donkeys and am profoundly connected to them. The dogs and barn cats too, especially Flo.

Maria is so good and attentive with all of the animals – she brings the hens gourmet delicacy’s from  restaurants and friend’s dinner tables – that I don’t bother with them much. They don’t have time.

But i also throw things at them and curse when they try and steal the barn cat’s food or come up on the porch to take enormous and smelly dumps.

So I’m on a meal worm  campaign, not unlike the Beef Jerky campaign I launched against Frieda, Maria’s fellow-man-hating companion.

My philosophy is simple. We like to think animals like chickens and dogs love only us, but the hard truth is they tend to love anyone who feeds them and doesn’t hurt or frighten them. So I ordered a big bag of mealworn  and every morning, I go over to the barn door next to the stone slab, cluck like a fool and the two hens we now have coming rushing over.

I dump a handful or two on the stone, and get closer each time. The chickens are relaxing around me.  Now, when I go out to the pasture, they run over to me, not away from me, they want to see what I am carrying. If it’s only the camera, they yawn and move on.

If it’s meal worm, they are my dear friends. They want to hang out with me. This will take some consistency and a month or so. Chickens are dumb about some things, but not about food.

They are coming to see me as a good thing, and I think if I stay patient about this and do it every day, in a week or two, all will be forgiven. So far so good.

8 August

Maria’s New Blog Banner (And Mine)

by Jon Katz

Maria has finished work on the new banner for her blog, Fullmoonfiberart.com, and artist Abrah Griggs  (check out her brilliant work  here) has finished work on mine;

My new banner

Mannix Marketing is re-designing our blogs so they will be simpler for users on new and different platforms to use. Our blogs were designed when most people read them on computers.

Now, most people read them on phones and tablets. We both intend to be relevant and we are especially conscious of graphics and visual images.

My new banner is already up on my Facebook page and will be atop the new Bedlam Farm Journal. It will be simpler and easier to navigate.

The work on Maria’s blog is nearly done and it looks stunning. Mine is a month or so away. In a sense, our banners are our signatures, Abrah nailed my blog perfectly. Maria designed her own, of course.

Thants for sticking with us.

8 August

Portrait: Zelda In Autumn

by Jon Katz
Zelda In Autumn

Zelda is growing mellow in her autumn, more and more, I see her sitting off from the flock, taking the sun, even on the hottest days. Most of her front teeth are gone, her wool is too think and scraggly for twice-a-year shearing and she has surrendered her leadership of the flock to Rosemary, as sheep do.

They don’t fight for territory, they don’t really fight at all. Zelda just resigned.

I’m wanting to take some photos of Zelda in her older age. Today is my 71st birthday, and I suppose I’m conscious of aging. I’m feeling good and strong.

Some of you might recall when Zelda routinely knocked me and Red down, led some breakouts out of our first fences and gave Red and I some merry chases up and down the road. She doesn’t do stuff like that any more. I have never had another sheep like her.

For a sheep, she was one of the early feminists.

We are off to a sleazy motel and a some theater today and tonight, back in the morning. I’ve still got a couple of  hours here. I love our quick getaways. I even am learning to love sleazy motels.

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