"She did have one regular visitor, though, Maria later reported. Mother [the cat], delighted to have company at night, often dropped by, knocked a bit of yarn about, and napped in the old leather chair before resuming her lethal prowl."
I feel as if I had heard about Jon Katz a couple of years ago in reference to (semi)local authors, or farm owners, but that may be wishful thinking. I'm always saying I like supporting local artists, local farms and businesses, but when it comes to writers, it's more of a theory than a practice.
The disparity between the two states, however, has eased a bit in recent years due to Cold Antler Farm a blog run by Jenna Woginrich. I started reading Jenna's blog when she lived in Tennessee, and followed her move to Eastern New York with delight. In the beginning, I read mainly for the stories of her struggles and triumphs, the details of life on a farm, but as she put down roots and began connecting with neighbors and other local folks, my attachment to the area and her friends grew; Jon Katz was one of those people.
Despite the fact I follow his book releases and devour his occasional guest post, until I read Dog Days I was familiar with Jon only through Jenna's eyes. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in what he had to say or the stories he had to tell, quite the opposite in fact, but I made the mistake every reader makes, I stuck his books on my TBR pile. This may not seem like such a big deal, but if we compare my list of movies to watch (16) to books to read (274), I most certainly have a problem: too many books and not enough time.
There have been books on that list for over five years now (*whimpers*), which is why stumbling across this book was such a treat. Finding it at the library meant I had to read it, and read it now, before I had to return it.
Dog Days is a book about Jon's life on Bedlam Farm, the farm he owned (until recently) outside of Saratoga Springs (which is north of Albany, which is north of New York City...). It's a quiet, unassuming, and green part of the state for any of you who may have driven through. It's the kind of place you would expect to find farms tucked into the hills, even if one of those farms has an overly affectionate cow, multiple overprotective donkeys, sheep, a rooster with a rather hysterical harem of hens, the cutest cat ever, and some really awesome dogs.
I know some of you will be surprised that I didn't spend this entire post rambling on about the cat in the book (my favorite quote is about the cat. I feel that's far compensation), but there's so much more to this book than any one animal, than all the animals. Jon's writing is honest in a way that's both heartfelt and breathtakingly refreshing. Jon acknowledges his own fallibility as well as that of others, he admits his mistakes and relishes in his triumphs over them. He talks about his struggles: with himself and with other people. He expresses his point of view but acknowledges that of others.
Jon's stories aren't sugarcoated or moralized, they're warm and personable but straightforward and matter of fact. I love this about his writing. The way he can weave a story out of words that evokes both a deep understanding of the situation and a feeling- sadness, joy, frustration- whatever it may be, in such a seamless fashion. I'm not one to cry over books. I'll get misty eyed, sure, but never has the phrase "raining on my face" applied to a book until now. This certainly wasn't something I expected when I picked up the book, but in the end it's one of my favorite things about this book. There's such a sense of joy and love in this book.
That's not to say the book doesn't touch on serious, less straightforward issues, because it does that too. There's a strong sense of dichotomy in the book: modern life opposite farm life, nature opposite urban areas, flatlanders (outsiders) opposite local farmers. Jon doesn't provide answers to all the questions that result from the differences between these lifestyles and values, but he does a great job of teasing out the nuances of each.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in homesteading or life on a farm and to any animal lover (particularly dog lovers) who enjoy quirky stories about working animals. Also, anyone who enjoys reading Jenna's blog would appreciate this book. Jon's writing is a bit softer, and the stories he tells are quite different from hers, but the underlying humor and philosophy are quite similar.
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