I meet with Zip twice daily, at 9 a.m. and then again at 4 p.m. Today was another rainy day; I have had some success looking for a way to trade some lenses for a new one that is supposed to be excellent for capturing birds and nature.

I’ll have to trade three or four lenses to get the new lens I want. It’s a good deal, and I won’t add a penny to the debt.

He is always precisely on time and stays with me for 20 to 30 minutes. Then he sails off to kill and eat something; he’s getting a tummy. Zip needs his journal. People tell me he is a one-of-a-kind cat.

My morning meeting with Zip. He loves having his cheek scratched.

Maria made a new ramp for our aging chickens today. One or two were having some trouble climbing up and into the roost. Zip inspected it immediately. Everything at the farm appears to be his.

King Zip likes to hold court on the wicker chair on the porch. He is more Imperious than the hands.

When it rains or gets cold, he retreats into his heated cat house in the barn. He believes he is in charge of everything, which might be true. This chair is the site of most of our morning meetings (see Maria’s photos above). I sit in the chair, and he sits on my shoulder, and the purring and stroking begins.

No doubt about it, Zip has changed me and the farm, he’s a little squirt with a huge personality.