Day: October 8, 2016

A beautiful montage at our Open House. Two poets, one young, one older, one who has been writing her poems for decades, one who has been writing poems for a few years. Mary Kellogg, on the left, is 86 now, and she is proud of it, Maria always knows where she is in life.

She is vital and powerful, she needs help standing for two long or getting in and out of chairs. She started writing poems when she was eleven, she was afraid to show them to anyone for fear she might look foolish or seem odd. A familiar story to many women.

Mary’s beloved husband Dick died a long while ago, she still lives alone on her 30 acre farm in a remote part of our country. Her phone is often dead, her electricity and water are often out. She wouldn’t think of moving to an easier place, she is loyal to her garden,  she is ever smiling, gracious and beautiful.

Maria and I worked together with Mary to help her publish three books of her poetry. She is a wonderful poet,  deep, wise and and poignant. Her last book of poetry is titled How To Dance.

Mary is a strong and brave person, she is comfortable with herself.

Jackie Thorne is younger, but not dissimilar. She has some of the same fears, but she stands up to them. She has also published her first volume of poetry, Gone To Ground,  and is a poet of great feeling, emotion, sensitivity and honesty.

We are fortunate to count both of them as friends and kindred spirits. Mary has known Maria and I since we met, and  is an inspiration and guide to both of us.

It was a powerful moment for me to see them both sitting next to one another at the Open House, one following the other, each at different ends of life, both gracious and quiet people of great depth. Seeing them both, I felt I was looking at life itself,  its passages and inexorable change. Two faces marked by character, two pilgrims on their journey inward.

They were different, they were the same.

This journey inward is not a simple journey, nor is it an easy one. I have gone on the journey inward, and am on it still, and will be on it until I die. Anyone who travels this path lives on the edge of confusion and anxiety.

Those pilgrims and travelers, writes Joseph Campbell, have moved out of their protected lives, “and into the dark forest, into the world of fire, of original experience. Original experience has not been interpreted for you, and so  you’ve got to work out your life for yourself. Either you can take it or you can’t.

You don’t have to go far off the interpreted path to find yourself in very difficult situations. The courage to face the trials and to bring a whole new body of possibilities into the field of interpreted experience for other people to experience – that is the hero’s deed.”

And the writers, the artists and the poets. Saturday, these two brave and remarkable women shared their inward journey with us, that is really what the Open House is about.

I was curious to see how the Gang Of Four, our willful new Romneys would take to being shorn by the very respected Vermont shearer, Jim McRae. Jim put on a wonderful show Saturday at our Open House, he talked about the history and nature of sheep, the history of shearing, he even sheared one of the sheep with an antique hand crank once used to power the shearers. He song and recited some shearing songs as well.

And he did a  beautiful, professional and highly skilled job of shearing the big willful Romneys, who had not been shorn in years. We collected four from a farm in nearby Shushan, they were in need of permanent homes.

We were shocked at the beauty of the wool Jim took off Griselle and Biddy, our two most independent and perhaps beautiful new sheep. The video speaks for itself. McRae has a rapt and enthusiastic crowd, he did a wonderful job. He is planning to retire soon and we will miss him on many levels when he is gone.

Tomorrow, Farrier Ken Norman is coming to the Open House to trim the hooves of Chloe, Lulu and Fanny. Griselle and Biddy are running around the pasture, they are a lot lighter.

For me, the past few days have been special, among the most meaningful I have yet hand in my circuitous life. Yesterday, the Creative Conference At Pompanuck Farm, and it was a powerful experience for me.

I loved teaching my blogging and writing class, Maria loved teaching her intuitive potholder class, Paula Bogdan taught a photography class and Tom Atkins (reading poetry above) taught about creativity and marketing.

It all felt so good, so connecting, so rich. Saturday, a couple showed up who flew all the way from England to come to the Open House, they read the blog every day. Another couple came from Idaho, I’d been hearing about them all week as they explored our wonderful little town in upstate New York,  and I was beginning to think they were mythical.

There was a rapt crowd to watch Jim McRae shear the Romneys and out other sheep, we collected some truly remarkable wool, Maria will have  a lot more to say about it. The Gang Of Four put up quite a fight (videos to come) but the veteran Vermont shearers handled them skillfully.

Maria sold a busload of art, and two spinners – Sue Smith and Suzy Fatzinger – sat under a tent and spun Bedlam Farm wool all day while other spinners watched. Red and Fate and I ran ourselves ragged doing herding demos, running donkey tours.

Ed Gulley talked about farming and his art, and three poets – Mary Kellogg, Jackie Thorne and Tom Atkins read some of their poems.

Red was his stellar self, Fate charmed everyone and ran around all day chasing sheep and greeting people, she was the official greeter. Tonight, she passed out. She was limping a bit today, but we are leaving her alone to get better. I did five or six herding demos and my feet don’t like me tonight.

Maria is a zombie, she started falling asleep at 7 p.m. We will do it again tomorrow. The weather was threatening all day, it got windy and cloudy and cold, the outer edges of the giant hurricane churning up the skies. Despite that, more than 500 people showed up, a steady stream that continue until after 4 p.m.

At least five people told me they were planning to move to Cambridge because of what they see and hear on the blog. I was startled by that, humbled, and found it hard to believe people would move here because of anything I write on my blog and in my books.

I loved the feeling of today, it was pure, sweet and very connecting, the sense of good and valued and trusted friends gathering to share a common spirit – one of gentleness, creativity, and encouragement. The political storms raging beyond receded, they were not mentioned here, people put all that aside to pat the donkeys, meet the pony, learn about Red, laugh about Fate, appreciate and buy the wonderful art she had assembled in her Schoolhouse Studio.

So many people have been following my writing for a long time, a writer could not ask for much more. The blog is my story, and I am committed to telling it.

Despite the weather, people came far and worked hard to get here, and we appreciated it. Tomorrow, a quiet day as Sundays are, a clear and cooler day. We have done these Open Houses for five or six years now, Maria and I do them together. For me, they are a bellwether of her artistry, strength and confidence. We are happy to share our lives with you, ups and downs, good and bad. I’ll put up some more photos and videos of the day tonight and tomorrow.

The Gang Of Four struggled valiantly but Jim McRae and Tom were more than a match for them at our October Open House. Rosemary went first. Come and see.

When you next see the Romneys – Griselle, Izzy, Rosemary and Biddy – they will look very different. Our Open House weekend starts this morning, and Jim McRae, our shearer from Vermont, will be here at 2 p.m. Visitors can look on. I wanted to give you a last look.

We trimmed Rosemary when we brought her here, and somebody did some shearing on Izzy, but I don’t think Biddy or Griselle have been shorn for several years. I’ll take another video later in the day. Fate is limping, but she is definitely better. Light duty for her today.