Last summer Pam and I went to Bedlam Farm to interview Jon Katz for my book, Horse Dancing.  I had been reading his blog posts about Simon, the donkey that he and his wife Maria rescued.  The story he was telling in his blog was about a man who loves and knows dogs stepping, no falling, into the equine world.  I wanted that story to be a part of my book.  His book Rose in a Storm, which I read in a storm, is my favorite animal story of all time.

We have been trying to connect since summer and managed a meeting today in Rhinebeck.  It is interesting to move from a virtual relationship to a physical one.  For me it has been mostly the other way around.  But Jon and Maria have been taking friendly shape for me through their writings – Jon in his Bedlam Farm Journal and Maria in her Wulf Howling blog.  Today Jon, Maria, Pam and I stood outside at the farm where we board our horses.  I had just ridden Capprichio, and he stood with us as if he was hearing and understanding everything.  Interestingly, he was not obsessed with getting his nose in the grass, but kept gazing around the little circle, taking in his human herd.

We talked today about connection and finding and creating community through the internet.  About privacy and what we reveal, and how we control the message.  About what one’s story is and how that is shared.  About sharing an artist’s life in this intimate, anonymous way.

I do not always have a clear sense of my audience, and if it is growing or how much I should care about that.  Mostly, I try to find the thread for the day, the thing that I want to push into and explore.  Today felt like friendship steeping, taking on a richer color and fragrance.  Another beginning.

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This was too delightful not to share.

(I wonder if Jon Katz who reads to his beloved donkey Simon, will take up an instrument. . . )

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I read Jon Katz’s remarkable book Rose in a Storm last winter in the midst of a big Northeaster.  I was hooked.  I suddenly needed to know what Rose was up to.  Fortunately, I discovered Jon’s excellent blog, Bedlam Farm Journal, and have been feasting on a steady diet of Jon’s daily reflections on life at Bedlam Farm since.  Following their adoption of the donkey Simon, I had the opportunity to interview Jon and his wife  Maria for my book, Horse Dancing.  Jon is the real deal.  Maria is too.  I feel as if a part of me is nestled in a corner of their farm, relishing the animals, the light on the morning glories in his wonderful photos, the sound of Simon’s morning brays.  See you there!

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