A step forward for Red, a dog who never saw a child until a few months ago, he comes with me to my Saturday Recommender-In-Chief outings and today, was mobbed by a steam of adults and children. No need to worry, he took to kids the same gentle way he takes to people. I think he might need to be a therapy or hospice dog. Saturday was another show of Red’s extraordinary grounding and stability. This is a dog who, until recently, was living in a barn in Ireland and had never been in a house. I’ll put up a photo album of the bookstore dog later today on Facebook.

Also, I want to announce a series of Bedlam Farm Open Houses Maria and I have decided to hold on the farm this summer on Sunday afternoons. We are thinking of a series of two-hour Sunday open houses, a continuation of the art shows and visits we began on the first Bedlam Farm and so enjoyed. I will show Red working the sheep, Maria will show off her studio and sell some of her work, we can visit Lulu’s Crossing and see the donkeys, and, of course, Lenore and Frieda the Helldog. We will pick the dates and times shortly and Maria will post them on her website, and I will mention them here and on my Facebook page.

This is the evolution of the writer to me, no longer a remote figure holding up on the mountain, emerging for a few days each year, but part of an interactive community. The bloggers and book readers should get a chance to meet Red, see him work, meet Simon, see Maria’s studio and the sheep, and see her very creative works. So we will announce details shortly, it seems the beginning of July would be a good time. We are thinking of five or six open houses on various Sundays. Stay tuned.