Minnie and Flo aren’t exactly enemies, but they aren’t friends either. Barn cats are notoriously territorial and these two are rarely near one another, even in the house. Quite often, Flo will challenge Minnie and sent her scurrying away, Flo is sweet to people but not to Minnie. So we were surprised this morning to come downstairs and see the two of them sleeping together on a living room chair, not just sitting together but pressed against one another.

It was a neat thing to see, and the cold might have had something to do with it, but the stoves were going and the room was not especially cold. Perhaps they are finally drawing closer to one another, the ways of barn cats are mysterious and often unknowable.