The first Pink Dahlia sprouted this morning in my Dahlia garden and I love these exotic, sensual, rich flowers, they thrive in this hot and sticky weather, they inspire me to do the same.
Some notes this morning from Bedlam Farm:
-This coming Sunday, July 21, is the first open house at Bedlam Farm, noon to 4 p.m., details on Maria’s website. You can see the farm, meet some donkeys, see Red herd sheep. I’ll be doing several short demonstrations (it will be warm, but not hot on Sunday, according to the forecasts, much better) and you can see Maria’s studio, buy some art from her and other artists, and even choose vintage hankies and see your own scarf made if you’d like. We can’t offer access to the farmhouse or food and drink, but those will be readily available right nearby at Momma’s restaurant and the Round House Cafe in nearby Cambridge, N.Y. No dogs please. Hope to see some of you there, and we will do it again on September 1.
In the next week or so, bedlamfarm.com will offer a special version for smartphone users, the site will automatically re-form itself for easier viewing and thumb navigation.
-I thank you, as I do every Monday, those of you who have joined the new subscription program for bedlamfarm.com. A few years ago, my books were the only writing I did, now books are one of the things I do, and the blog is the major thing that I do. I am also doing e-books, podcasts, open groups. The blog is becoming the book, as I suspected, the centerpiece of my creative work. I have stopped calling these payments donations and contributions – I don’t care to be a charity or noble cause – and am simply getting paid for my work, a joy and an affirmation. It took me awhile to figure out that I am no different than anybody else, celebrity or not, and I like it.
You can subscribe for $5 a month, or $60 a year, or access the blog for free if you can’t afford to do that or don’t wish to. I will always find a way to offer free access to the blog for those under pressure. I’ve dropped one time contributions, feels like a charity pitch to me. I’ve only had one person squawk, somebody who complained on Facebook that there are plenty of free blogs and she doubted I needed to be paid for my work, I can always give speeches. I had the great pleasure of asking her to go enjoy her free sites, which she has done.
This is the future for writers like me, and it is here. I embrace it. This is one of the healthiest and most comfortable things I’ve done in awhile, it encourages me to work harder on the writing and photography in the blog, which I will continue to do. Information on subscriptions here.
-I am working on a very inexpensive e-book collection of my photographs, “Love And Light From Bedlam Farm,” a way to get the photographs you like without having to buy an expensive table book. Coming out this summer. I’ll keep you posted.