January 31, 2008 – Mother the barn cat can often be found on sub-zero nights, of which there are many this year,  visiting Maria Heinrich, the artist/spirit who inhabits my studio barn and who is also the editor of Bedlam Farm Books. Maria got a new chair for the barn, above, and at night, when I visit and bring popcorn, Maria is usually hard at work on a fiber piece and Mother is tucked up in the chair, purring and receiving visitors. Then, just when I am ready to sleep, Mother heads out for a night of murderous marauding. Mother does not want to sleep inside, even though she has been offered the chance. She and Maria are quite attached to one another.
 Barn cats are entitled to cushy lairs, right in front of a wood stove. Mother is one of the great personalities on the farm, like Elvis, Jeannette the donkey, the goats and Winston. What a crew. The dogs are a whole other story.