Flo entered another chapter in her and our lives today, when a bitterly cold and driving winter storm descended on the farm and I went out to the woodshed to get some more firewood – Maria has gotten my cold and has lost her voice and has a fever. It was just getting dark and already hovering around zero, it’s supposed to get colder tonight and tomorrow. Whenever I get firewood, Flo comes down out of her perch high up in the woodshed to say and I just couldn’t quite handle her being out in this storm for the next two days while we are sitting inside by the woodstoves – Maria, me, Red, Frieda, Lenore and Minnie all gathered in the living room.

Flo spent one or two nights in the basement during the last winter but has never been in the house, I called to her and she came down and let me pick her up and I brought her into the house, right by Frieda, lay down on my favorite chair with her in my lap, and took a brief nap, it was a long and busy day. Flo stared around, especially at Frieda, and then began purring. I headed to the kitchen to make dinner and she is sitting on my chair, she seems to be getting comfortable.

She will stay in the house tomorrow also, if she wishes and then will head back outside, where she seems quite happy. On awful nights, I’ll bring her inside. It was never my plan to have cats in the house, but we evolve, I was getting the sense from Flo that she wants in, Flo came into our lives more than a year ago when she appeared in a storm and made contact with Maria. She has been watching Minnie come in and out, and hanging around more by the door. I just had trouble with her being outside in the woodshed in this kind of weather, I don’t know if she minds the weather or not, probably not, but it is on my mind. Flo’s had a long trip, I think this is the next stop for her.