Maria and I went to Battenkill Books so Maria could invite Marilyn Brooks, Connie’s mother, to show her wonderful landscape paintings at the Bedlam Farm Open House on September 1 (I have one hanging on my office.) Marilyn, who is on the shy side, said yes right away and since these are two of my favorite women and Red’s, we dragged them outside for a photo shoot. Red is absolutely shameless now, he can flirt with two women at once.
We are excited about Marilyn’s are coming to the open house. I am also scheming to show some of the wonderful work being produced by the Open Group at Bedlam Farm, 800 creatives who have come together to share their work and encourage one another. This show promises to be pretty exciting. Details on Maria’s site.
The donkeys have a simple system for dealing with me. If they don’t want to do something, they refuse to move or pretend I don’t exist. If they want a snack – 3 p.m. is usually the time – they come to gate and stare at me if I am outside, or bray loudly if I am inside. They have learned if they do this long enough and loudly enough I will come outside and give them a cookie or a carrot. Simon is the relative newcomer to the farm, but he has this down. He knows that once he sees me, it’s all over.
A reminder that Maria and I will host our second Bedlam Farm Open House on September 1, from noon to four p.m. Anyone is welcome (not dogs), there is no charge or donation. You can meet our donkeys – Simon, Lulu and Fanny – they are not veterans of Open Houses and happily line up for carrots and pats and watch Red herd our sheep. He and I will do several herding demonstrations. You can also visit Maria’s Studio Barn and buy some of the great art she and some other artists will be showing and selling there.
We cannot open up the farmhouse or offer restrooms, but food and drink and bathrooms are in plentiful supply at nearby restaurants – the Open House Cafe, Momma’s – and at Battenkill Books in nearby Cambridge. We had between six and seven hundred people last time and expect more this time, judging from the e-mail and reports from hotels and guest houses, there may be more. It was intense, it was great fun. Red had a great time chasing the sheep around and greeting the guests and so did Lenore. I took Frieda out for a couple of walks and talked about her and her training. I’ll also talk about Red’s therapy work.
My friend Jack Macmilian is handing logistics like traffic and parking and our friend the poet Mary Kellogg will read some new poems. I will also give a talk around 2 p.m. about the move, why we put Bedlam Farm up for sale and move to Florence Walrath’s beautiful old farmhouse. Details of the Open House will be posted on Maria’s website.
We are doing this to give the people who follow the blog and my books and Maria’s work and art a chance to meet us, see our new home, share our good fortune at being in such a great place with such amazing animals. I can’t guarantee the barn cats will make an appearance, but the chickens had no trouble wandering through the crowd, looking for crumbs. Please, if you bring children, remind them not to chase the chickens or anything else around here. Thanks much.
