Today marks another creative step for me, the start of the new Bedlam Farm Diary, a weekly fusion of words, still photography and the moving image that video has sparked. Better late than never, I supposed.
I am excited about this new way to present my work and my life, which are, I guess the same thing sometimes. I am picking subjects and themes and putting them together in a mini-documentary form, images with me narrating. I won’t appear in the diaries other than as a voice. In a way, I am finding my voice. I am going to prepare diaries on the life of the farm, on the Rouse Farm, on fear, on the dogs and rural life. An on grieving for animals, my next book. Also, barns maybe.
These will be available on the blog, Facebook, Twitter and on you tube. My first effort, Lenore and the intro to “Meet The Dogs Of Bedlam Farm” was very successful for me pushing the book way down in the Amazon rankings two months before it is to be published. Not bad.
The form of the story is changing. The text story is fading away, as is the paper story to some degree. The new story is organic, evolving, visual. Has a bit of all of these things. I love the new story form. It works for me.
Today’s effort marks the start of this work in the “Bedlam Farm Diary” form It is a look into my life with donkeys, and some reflections on the importance of appreciating animals like this, as they are becoming rare and less visible in our lives. As I say in the video, donkeys fit into very few lifestyles in America. I am lucky they fit into mine.
My first diary is about 4:30 minutes long. The others will be about half that length, I hope.
So here it is, the first “Bedlam Farm Diary. Vol. l: World Without Donkeys.”