There is a lot of news from Bedlam Farm, and the blog is, in many ways, the daily journal of news from Bedlam Farm.

First off, our plans to rent the farm to a family of five from West Hebron are moving along. We hope to sign a lease this week and the new family will move in shortly. I plan on getting a family photograph of them, we are lucky to have found them and many of you intuitively know how relieved I am (Maria too) at this very nice and responsible family is going to be living on Bedlam Farm. It’s a little strange for me to think of anyone else living there, but I feel very good about this. I am especially happy to have three neat kids living there, the farm will really be alive again.  My wish for them is that they love it and enjoy it as much as I did. It is a magical place, it takes care of the people living on it.

Next. I’m making good headway with my insulin injections. I’m figuring out the testing, the strips, needles, lancets and meters. I’m a whiz as injecting myself, no troubles.  Diabetes treatment is complicated at first, but once you get your own systems going, it proceeds smoothly. My blood tests have been even and have come way down. Karen Bruce, my nurse practitioner knows what she’s doing and we are moving in slow, steady steps towards managing this condition. In a month or so, I expect to be a normal blood sugar levels, and then I will make whatever other adjustments are necessary for my life and my health. I feel good and strong and relieved to be dealing with this so directly. I see it as a way to get healthy and stay there. Like everything else in our world, part of any treatment is brushing aside the hysteria, alarm, struggle stories and fear that permeate the world of health care. Despite what happened to your brother, mother or Uncle Harry, I will not be wearing white socks anytime soon and expect to have all of my limbs, heart and mind intact for a good long time, probably a lot longer than if I hadn’t gotten such good treatment.

Diabetes does not define me, and the people who greet me by asking about my health will soon find another way to say hello.

Open House News: Since I blew the deadline for the country fair, I will have four or five nice photos to sell at the Open House Sunday. I am much looking forward to meeting some of the names and messages I  only know online, I think a good crowd is heading here, including some of the bright lights of the Open Group at Bedlam Farm, already mythic, even legendary. Pearl and Lenore and Red (Frieda too for brief appearances)  will be greeting people, my friend Jack Macmillan will be organizing parking and crowd control, Kim Macmillan will be assembling scarves in the Schoolhouse Studio, and Maria will be selling her nice stuff there.

I will be doing my animal circus act, giving guided donkey tours and Red and I will be doing some sheepherding demos. I will also be doing a demonstration of therapy training, hope corral some kid into helping me out with it.

One last note. We found four dead mice by the back door this morning, a record for a single night kill left out for us. Minnie and Flo were looking pretty pleased with themselves.  Cats are a different kind of pet.