I’ve had some well-known dogs in my life, but none with the star quality of Brad Pitt. Rose was famous and very popular, but she was not into meeting fans or posing for photos. Red has a star quality about him, he is a charismatic and soulful dog, this couple came early and got to spend some quality time with Red, who gets posing and this set the template for the rest of the afternoon. Whenever I looked up, somebody was taking his photo. He has a powerful impact on people. They love his story, and he loves interacting with people.
I never take photos I like at these events, I’m too busy moving around. Maria came out of the studio twice to talk about the sheep and her wool and answer questions about them. We did a 15-minute herding demo, I showed Red’s directional commands and training language, talked about his upcoming therapy work and told his story. Like most working dogs, Red loves to perform in front of a crowd, it seems to juice him up even more than he already is. Red and Simon are enormously popular animals, they have a lot of followers and in the past year or so, interest in Maria and her work has grown dramatically.
She too has her own followers on her blog, followers of her life and art. It has been fascinating for me to see her following grow, she radiates creativity and gentleness. I said I thought of this farm as Bedlam Farm 2.0, it was the right place for us at the right time. It was much like the other Bedlam Farm, just on a smaller scale. Our farm is not tiny – it is 17 acres – but it is not a grand place either, and we are not grand people. We are where we belong. We talked about our desire to rediscover community, to turn people towards one another rather than against one another. I felt a strong sense of community today, many people who had been reading my books, following our story and our animals for some years. Old friends, good friends, the strongest possible connections in the new world.
In our disconnected world, people are powerfully drawn to the real world of animals, to their stories, their habits. It was touching to see the donkeys respond to this outpouring of interest and affection, they soaked it up and returned it.
The Bedlam Farm Open House was a great experience for us. Between 500 and 700 people came through the farm from noon to 4 p.m., including a half dozen members of the Open Group At Bedlam Farm, who traveled from all over the Northeast to come and see us. The donkeys had a great afternoon, groups of 20 to 30 coming non-stop into the pasture to meet them and hear their stories. Lots of carrots, some organic apples. It is always a special pleasure to match faces with the e-mails and Facebook names and messages, like meeting good and valued old friends.
Maria sold a ton of her art and the Schoolhouse Studio was full all afternoon. Mary Kellogg read some new poetry and Kim Gifford and Diane Fiore read from their work in the Hubbard Hall Writer’s Workshop. The donkeys were a hit, but Red was a superstar happily showing off his herding skills in front of his biggest crowds yet. Red was great, when he is with the sheep, there is nobody in the world but him and me. People were fascinated by him, had dozens of questions. Four hours was not really enough, there was almost too much going on to fill the time.
Lenore was an industrious greeter, she wore herself out saying hello. I brought Frieda out to introduce her, talk about my next book and acclimate her to the crowds. She was great, calm and comfortable. I think in my next life I’ll drop all of the writing stuff and just be an animal handler. Maybe my next life is here. We’ll do it again September 1. Many thanks to Jack Macmillan for handling the crowds and traffic and pasture control and to Kim Macmillian for putting together some scarves in the studio. Maria and I collapsed and five and fell asleep on the living room couch. I am stirring again, sort of. More photos coming.
I never pose photos, but this was irresistible, a chance to capture three famed Men-Eaters, the Gangi women – Maria, her mother, and her sister Fran Welge. Fran came to the Open House with a van load of the mini-gardens she has been making and showing off on Facebook. The Gangi women are notoriously wary of men, they are tough women and strong. Fran is selling her mini-gardens, trying to figure out what to charge for them.
Went to the Round House Cafe to pick up some food for Maria’s mother and some people who are helping us with the Open House, ran into the first visitors to the Open House, Barbara and Brenda, who drove up to the Open House from Atlanta, George, long-time followers of my books and the blog, and lately, of Maria’s work. I think Maria has become as big a draw as Red and Simon (they are all bigger draws than me, for sure). It was a great encounter, a bit emotional to meet such good people who have come so far to see us and share our life. They are heading over early once they finish brunch, a great start to a good day.
