Bedlam Farm in upstate New York is where I live, write and tend my animals – four dogs, four donkeys, 30 sheep, two steers and a cow, two barn cats, a rooster and three hens. The rambling old farmhouse was built in 1862; it’s surrounded by 110 acres of pastures, streams and wooded hillsides, plus four barns and a milkhouse in various stages of disrepair.

My border collie Rose actually runs the place, I just pretend to tell her what to do. Meanwhile, I write about dogs, other animals and rural life. Villard, an imprint of Random House, publishes my books, and my columns appear in the online magazine Slate. I also co-host “Dog Talk,” a show on Northeast Public Radio.

In my former life, before I grew preoccupied with sheepherding and moving manure around, I wrote novels and nonfiction books, along with columns and articles for Rolling Stone, Wired, GQ, the New York Times, and the websites HotWired and Slashdot.

My wife Paula Span is also a journalist who’s at work on a book and teaches at Columbia University. My daughter Emma, a sportswriter living in Brooklyn, is writing her own book about New York baseball. Emma says we’re like the Royal Tennenbaums, all immersed in our literary projects.

Nobody can run a farm by himself, I’ve learned the hard way; I’m part of a wonderful community. On this site, you’ll meet Annie DiLeo, the Bedlam Farm Goddess, my helper and friend and a true animal advocate, and Lesley Nase, a shaman, a soul retriever and animal communicator. Also one of my heroes, Mary Kellogg, the farm’s own poet laureate, whose poetry is in my next book.

You’ll meet Anthony Armstrong, my partner in crime and prime architect of the farm’s restoration. He now designs and works in concrete.

Peter Hanks, the dairy farmer and photographer who shoots the covers and pictures for my books has created a photo gallery here.

And you’ll see the craftsmanship of Bill and Maria Heinrich, two dear friends who restored my pig barn. They take apart old farmhouses, churches and barns, then bring them meticulously and beautifully back to life. Maria is also an artist.

My next book, “Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm,” will be published in June. I’ve just finished “Soul of a Dog,” a book exploring animals and spirituality, that will come out next year. And I’ve begun work on “My Farm,” a love story, really, about this place and my life here. I continue to write about dogs, animals and rural life.

A farm life is hardly a free pass to peace and happiness. But this is the closest I’ve come, or am likely to get.

In addition to information about Bedlam Farm, my books and my animals and friends, you’ll also see something called “Complaints and Compliments.” There, you can find praise for my work, and criticism as well. I learn from both.

Thanks for coming.

- Jon Katz