My favorite farm truck, Rte. 197

All day long, the notion that the most important story in the world is the latest consumer confidence statistic or jobless figure or dire prediction  is beamed at us, online, on TV, on the radio, in papers and magazines. The preachers worst fears seem to be in evidence – we are obsessed with money, and the notion that it is a measure of our personal and national soul. Bad things always happened in the world – often much worse than things happening now – but we never learned of them instantly, or so continuously. We were better for that. When we are told 24 hours a day how many bad things there are in the world, that can help to make it so. I watch the news once a week, and am considering cutting back.

Money is important, and we need it to live. But I am learning every day to feed the soul, to make a deposit. I meditate. I take photos. I talk to a friend. I walk the dogs. I tell Maria how much she means to me. I write something I like. Today I got the galleys from my first children’s book “The Dogs Of Bedlam Farm” out next year from Holt, and I was overjoyed. Children’s books, I am learning, are hard to write well and I am eager to do more. Thanks to a persistent editor, I love this one, and I think it really works. It really tells the story of my dogs.

This is nourishing to me. I do not want “the news” to be my news. I’d rather live in a tent down the road. The soul can starve without nourishment, leave us barren and cold. That, to me, would be the first death. Tomorrow, I resume work on my “Agility People” short story, turning out to be harder to write than I thought. And more important.

Puzzle pieces

Maria has finished her wooden jigsaw puzzle. She goes through them quickly. Lots of good response to the Bedlam Farm notecards, up for viewing and sale at Redux Art in Dorset, Vt. Reception for Maria’s quilt show February 18, 5 to 7 p.m., the Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, N.Y. Mary Kellogg will read from her new book “Whistling Woman” at the Red Fox Bookstore in Glens Falls, March 4. My story-telling workshop at LARAC gets off the ground in March. Filling up.

I had the most wonderful lunch with my friend Steve McLean, pastor of the Argyle United Presbyterian Church. We talked about a lot of things, and this committed and spiritual man is like a tonic. We talked about surviving the news, and the spiritual nature of hard times, and how easy it is to lose perspective. He understands what is important in life, and that security and happiness does not come from money. What a gift to have such a good friend and to have the pleasure of spending time with him.

The country is my home. I cannot imagine returning to the other world.

Crystal, in my bedroom

Shortly after we began living together, Maria gave me a crystal and put it in the window of the upstairs bedroom. When the sun comes up in the morning, the first thing I see is the light coming through the glass. Light has a powerful affect on me, and since becoming a photographer, it affects me more than ever. It gives me hope, penetrates into my heart and soul, and shows me the bright possibilies in a world where people struggle to find faith and community.

My work on my Agility People story is one of those stories that lifts me up, when I read and hear so much about ordinary people giving so much of themselves to other people who are in need, trouble, or seeking encouragement and support. Stories of wonderful friendships, of homes being opened up to strangers, and of course the love of dogs. I believe in symbols, and the crystal is a symbol to me, of light and hope in an-always challenging world.