Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

6 May

Photo Journal, First Days Of Spring, Monday, May 6, Bedlam Farm

by Jon Katz

Winter makes Spring especially beautiful, one of the reasons I love where I love. I would like to be warm, just like many other people, but this is the right thing for me.

Without Winter, Spring would not be nearly as magical for Maria and me. I understand that people love warmth, but it’s not for us.

 

Maria: Greeting her flock,, which is always beautiful to see.

Using my new wildlife lens, my first bird photo after the feeders came down is of a Red Wings Blackbird sitting on the fence. I tried using a Tripod, but it didn’t work.

Bud in the yard, watching me in the pasture. When his ears go up, he’s onto something.

The Peaceable Kingdom, nibbling on grass.

Zinnia loves the brook and is a faithful retriever. The water is always warm for her, even in winter.

She was leading the flock out to grass in the North pasture.

 

Zip keeps me company while I take pictures.

Fate is worn out from chasing sheep but not herding them. She is complex and different, like her human.

 

 

 

 

6 May

Sarah’s Pantry Picks, Monday, May 4, Rice-A-Roni, Ramen Noodles

by Jon Katz

Sarah has two picks for today’s Cambridge Pantry. These items are hard to find and harder to keep, so any help would be appreciated. One is for Rice-a-Roni Dinners, and the other is for Ramen Beef and Ramen Pork Flavor.

Your help is not just invaluable; it’s personal.

Thanks to your generosity, Tide, a pantry favorite, reappeared on our shelves after a long absence, thanks. Your contributions, big or small, make a real difference in the lives of struggling families.

Rice-a-Roni Dinners and Ramen are on today’s Amazon Cambridge Food Pantry Wish List, and we hope you can help us put some on the shelves.

First, the Rice-A-Roni,

Rice-A-Roni Dinner Classics Variety Pick, 10 Piece Assortment, $12.48.

Then Ramen Beef, 3 Ounce, Pack of 24, $16.73.

And Manuchean Ramen Pork Flavor Noodles, 3.0 Pack of 24, $9.36.

I’m donating the Rice-A-Roni and the more affordable Ramen, the Flavored Noodles, for $9.36. Your contributions, no matter the size, have made and will make an enormous difference.

Ramem is a simple, filling meal to cook at dinnertime.

For me, this is what America is really about.

Thanks to you, Tide made a brief but enthusiastic return to the pantry. It will appear again on Sarah’s lists, as it is in demand.

Several students at the local high school have volunteered to transfer our kid’s backpacks to the children of the families that come to the Cambridge Pantry every week seeking food support.

It always lifts my heart to see them; they are always eager and smiling.

6 May

True Story: Last Night, The Werewolf In Me Was Unleashed, Two Mice Paid The Price….”When The Wolfbane Blooms And The Moon Is Bright…”

by Jon Katz

Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the Autumn moon is bright.” – Maleva, the gypsy in “The Werewolf” with Lon Chaney. The photo above shows my wolf-headed cane and the mice in the recycling bucket.

____

First, I should say that  I got this werewolf cane from a British artist who was and is, like me, haunted by the hapless Lon Chaney Jr.’s touching and powerful (to a child) story of Lawrence Talbot, a kind and good man who was bitten by a wolf in rural England and whose horrified father was compelled to kill him with a silver cane when his son turned on him.

Some stories get in your mind as a child and stay there. This story is always close in my mind.

I vividly remember this movie  – “The Werewolf” – the Talbot character and Maleva, the gypsy (played by Maris Ouspenskyaya), who saw Talbot being attacked in the forest by the wolf and tried and failed to help him.

As a Dyslexic, I sometimes forget to spell some names correctly.  But I have never forgotten the gypsy’s name or her warning. Talbot’s father learned the truth too late.

You’re the gypsy filling his (Lawrence’s) mind with the werewolf noise, Maleva…” Talbot Sr. told her. Talbot had returned home from a long absence to take over the family estate.

Talbot’s father, Sir John Talbot,  refused to believe in the werewolf tale. He dismissed it as a foolish peasant myth when he encountered Maleva in the forest after Lawrence realized an awful spell had been cast on him.

In perhaps the movie’s most memorable scene  —the “Heaven Help You” scene—Meleva calls Talbot into her tent and warns him that once bitten by a werewolf, a man will become a werewolf.

She gives the horrified Talbot a Pentagram necklace to protect him from the werewolf’s spell and says, “Heaven help you,” as he flees in horror. Chaney’s performance was almost shockingly sensitive and intuitive for a horror film; I still vividly remember the movie and Talbot’s dread at the thought of killing someone.

It took me months to get a werewolf cane, a replica of the one in the movie.

The craftsman who lives in the forest where the movie was filmed took two months to make it and ship it to me. It is always in the same spot, right by the back door, ready to use. I was thrilled to get it.

But what does all of this do with our farm and us?

Last night, Bud alerted us to a mouse that had somehow climbed up into a plastic recycling bucket we keep in the pantry. The mouse was trapped and was scrambling to get out.

We didn’t hear it, but Bud, our conscientious Boston Terrier, who was dozing in my lap, as he does whenever I watch a mystery, took off like a rocket. We feared the rat had returned, but it was only a tiny mouse.

Minutes later, Maria spotted another one climbing up the stairs to escape Bud. She threw a cloth on it and captured it.

I told Maria I would take care of it (she doesn’t like to kill any living thing), and almost without thinking, I went and got my werewolf cane. I love it but rarely use it. My brace has eliminated the problems with my foot; I walk without assistance.

As a kid, I often dreamt of using a cane just like it to kill a werewolf. This was one of the favorite fantasies of a frightened child whose father thought him a “sissy.”

The tiny mouse was hardly as menacing as a wolf, but using it came right to mind. Interestingly, our dreams and fantasies can be so large, but life often brings us down to size.

Since the werewolf in the movie could only be killed by a silver bullet or a silver-headed cane, I grabbed the cane and took the bucket outside to kill the two mice. I know it doesn’t make sense, but it felt good.

I don’t like to kill animals either, but mice and rats get no clemency from me once they enter our house; I’ve seen the damage they can do. If they get in once, they will get in again.

When Maria said they were especially young and “cute,” I quickly took the mice and the cane outside and killed each one using the metal head (not silver). It was sculpted to be just like the one in the movie. I can’t deny it; Talbot and the cane that killed him came to mind.

I heard the Maleva voice quite clearly: “Every man who is pure in his heart and says his prayers by night can become a wolf…”  I do not have a pure heart, rarely say prayers, and cannot be turned into a wolf. The nice were not werewolves,  but the story kept going through my head. I knew what I had to do.

And I brought the cane head down on each of the mice, killing them both instantly. All I can say is that I felt strong.

I noticed Zip, our barn cat, appeared out of nowhere in the dark and almost danced around the bodies.  It was strange. I left him alone with them, cleaned the cane (they both died instantly), and put the cane back in its position by the front door.

Then I thought of the rat. I can’t wait for that rat who ravaged through our kitchen to return. My cane is right nearby. The cane is waiting for him.

I laugh at this in a way but feel something mystical in another. This story has been inside me for many years, and a piece of the werewolf in me howled a bit last night.

That’s all I can make of it. Life is full of crisis and mystery.

6 May

Maria’s Money Morning Video: Bud And The Donkeys, The Heart Of A Warrior

by Jon Katz

I’ve decided to post Maria’s excellent Monday morning videos; they offer a fantastic view of life on the farm as she makes her morning rounds with the dogs, the donkeys, the sheep, the chickens, and Zip. As often as possible,

I often go along with her to help and take my pictures, but rather than describe what I see, I like it better when she shows and speaks her truth. We each see and write about the farm differently; I love putting her unique and loving voice onto the blog on Mondays as we start the week.

We each see different things, which is a nice feeling for me.

This morning, she focused on Bud and showed me why I love him and why he and I have so much in common. Bud sees his job as driving the donkeys and sheep away from the farmhouse as they graze. This is a hopeless task; it is never successful, and it can never be successful.

Bud is a courageous working dog who fights rats, mice, moles, and squirrels. Last night, he alerted us to two mice, which I captured and executed (more in a few minutes).

You can see in the video how the donkeys and sheep ignore him and go about their business (just like they ignore Rose). This says something about the place.

Bud is never discouraged or intimidated; he never gives up. Maria says this is my connection to him and Zip (Zud to some people). I hope you enjoy the video. It will be up every Monday here on the blog and her website, www.fullmoonfiberart.com.

This morning, I thought about the first time I invited Maria to write on my blog more than a dozen years ago. She was terrified of writing and of using a computer.

Those days are far away and long done. Please take some time to look at her video and get a feel for life on Bedlam Farm, for all the ups and downs (except mice and rats),  a very Peaceable Kingdom. This is the tenth year of the Monday Morning videos, and many more to come.

 

6 May

Monday Morning, Good Morning: I’m Starting The Week Right. Coming Back To Myself..

by Jon Katz

It’s Monday morning, and I want to start the week right. This is a place of peace, kindness, and hope; I just won’t join the fray of argument and hate that is sweeping our country like a disease—to be honest, it is a disease. No matter what others say and do, I will continue to work for empathy, sympathy, and my own mandate to do good and try to make people’s lives better in small ways.

I’m no pollyanna; I see what is happening in the world, but I won’t jump in. What matters is what’s inside of me, not what’s outside.

This morning, new tulips were radiant in color and feeling. I chose to start the week with that to set the tone for the day and my life. Thanks for coming along. I won’t spend the rest of my life in anger and grievance. I’m coming back to myself, facing the pain inside of me, and learning how to be at peace and even happy.

My tulip set the tone. I choose beauty over anger.

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