Guess where Zip loves to sleep? Farmers can guess; I am a bit surprised.

Zip, it turns out, doesn’t want to escape the cold; he loves the cold. Twice now, in our coldest days, I found him sleeping on top of his heated cat house in the barn. I imagine he does sleep inside the heated tent sometimes, but I don’t often see it.

When the sun is out, no matter the temperature, Zip can be found taking in the sun on the back porch, either in the wicker chair with blankets, Maria put out for him or on the tabletop, where we have lunch in warm weather. When it’s snowing, he is hunting and playing. I don’t know where he sleeps at night.

He has no interest in coming inside.

This reminds me yet again, not that I need it, to be wary of advice from strangers on social media.

Zip is especially happy in the snow, where he can listen for mice and moles and chipmunks skittering underneath the snow and looking for food.

He is awake for our morning meeting, but when the sun is out, as it was today, he comes to the back door to nap. When I go out to touch and stroke him, I’m shocked by how warm his fur is; I learned from the donkeys that animals can absorb enormous amounts of heat from the sun.

Zip was so happy sleeping that I returned to the house and came out later. He was playing in the snow, making snowballs and tossing them up in the air. Zip has transformed life on the form; he is a dominant figure very much in command. He has turned me into a cat lover, for sure.

He loves to play, hopefully with the dogs, which usually run from him, but often by himself. He has fun no matter where he is. I am told he doesn’t like being around other cats. The rats and mice seem to have melted away for now, I credit Zip with this. We ran them out of the house with noise and barriers, and they retreated outside where Zip was waiting. He stores most of his kills in a box in the back of the barn, which we clean out regularly.

Zip is an avid hunter and eater. In addition to getting fed premium cat food twice daily, he helps himself with rodent snacks. He knows how to live outdoors. I like to think that Zip is as happy here as we are to have him. He and I took a walk together in the pasture while I was testing my new lens. Zip was alongside me every step of the way.