My bookkeeper reminds me that I’ve done a good job this year of raising money for good causes ranging from farmers in trouble to immigrants and refugees, but I also need to remember to raise some money for me and the blog, the bulletin board and engine of the Army Of Good.

And also a place for people who love animals to go and read about their adventures and my adventures with them. Your voluntary payments keep the blog and my photography going, and I have learned the hard way that I need and wish to be paid for my work.

So if you read the blog and enjoy it and find it meaningful – I will always be open honest and authentic with you, even if you don’t like it sometimes – please consider supporting it either through one-time donations or through my relatively new voluntary payment program.

The blog is the story of my life and of my life with Maria and donkeys, dogs, sheep, barn cats, chickens and people. I share my own lessons of life in the hope they will be useful to you, and the number of people who visit my blog suggest that they are.

Publishing has changed, and while I still write books and love writing them, it is no longer possible for mid-list authors like myself to live on book revenues and royalties, they have either shrunk or vanished since the Great Recession and the rise of Amazon.

I have no complaints, I am happy to write on my blog, now with four million visits a year, and take my photos. My blog is now the focus of my creative life, I write every day and love it more all the time.

But it needs to earn some money. I can’t just make a living raising money for other people, I am told. I wish I could.

And I have given away a great deal of my own money. My choice. I don’t like asking other people for money, but I do love being a writer and a photographer.

The trade-off is worth it for me.

All of these donations and  payments are voluntary – the blog will always be free, especially to those who can’t afford to contribute.

I hold no personal or financial information on my site or pages, hackers will find nothing here but lots of photos, they are welcome to them. (I am protected by two very alert security companies and programs, by the way. It’s a very secure site.)

There are one-time donations in any amount you wish, and regular subscription payments (also voluntary) of $5 or $10 a month, or $75 a year.

You quite easily create your own account, I have no access to it, give yourself a password You can cancel it at any time, or decide not to renew – everyone is given that option a week before renewal date. If there is any kind of glitch – it happens very rarely –  money will be refunded to you instantly, I am obsessive about that, you can just e-mail me at [email protected], no questions asked.

I hope to be useful, entertaining and challenging. I will provoke  you and offend you from time to time, it isn’t intentional.

My goal is the goal of any honest writer, to get people to think. I don’t care if you agree with me or not, I’m not running for mayor, and it doesn’t matter.

There are lots of photos of adorable animals, but also pieces about life, growth, spirituality and the work I am doing with refugees and the elderly. A good mix, I think.

I will occasionally bloviate about a  political issue if it pertains to me or affects my life, but that is not the focus of the site. I have lots of people reading me who voted for Donald Trump and many who voted for Hillary Clinton. By and large, we all get alone. It can be done.

There are many people out there who love to fight, I am not one of them, even though I lose my temper too often reading Facebook messages. I do not permit hostility of any kind on my site or pages, it is the one rule that is not ever broken. I do not argue my life or my views, take them or leave them.

Please consider supporting my work, the blog and my photos depend on it. You can choose one time-donations here, or voluntary payments here. Both are very much appreciated, and also quite necessary.  It’s been several months since I’ve asked, but I can’t pretend to be rich.

If you prefer or are one of the surprisingly many people who are not online, you can also donate by sending a check to my Post Office Box, Bedlam Farm, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

The donate buttons are at the bottom of every post, the “voluntary payment” tab is at the top of the home page.

This life and work is expensive.  Blogs need maintenance, photography costs a lot of money, and I’ve given away more than 50,000 photos, I do not watermark or copyright my pictures.

And if you benefit from it, please consider supporting it in a way that works for you. In the digital age, writers and artists need to be paid for their work if they are to survive in our culture.

We take Paypal and major credit cards. Thanks for your support.

Thanks, J